Docs / Agents
Identity and privacy
How the agents confirm who they're talking to before anything personal, and the three identity modes.
A phone number isn't proof of who's typing: caller ID can be faked, and families share phones. So before an agent reads or changes anyone's records (appointments, refills, insurance, bills, results), it confirms who it's talking to, the way your front desk does: full name and date of birth.
The rules that never change
- Details stay hidden until the person is confirmed. Until then, the agent doesn't see their appointments, insurance or bills, so it can't reveal them.
- The agent can check a date of birth but never reads one out.
- A wrong attempt never says which detail was wrong. After 3 wrong attempts, only your staff can confirm that person in that conversation.
- Phone calls always need the check. Caller ID can be spoofed, so a number is never enough on a call.
- A shared number is never trusted on its own. If several people use one number, the agent asks who it's talking to.
- Confirmation is per conversation and per person. It lasts 30 minutes after it was last used.
Identity modes
Choose a mode in Settings → Business → Identity. It decides how much a person's own WhatsApp or SMS number counts.
| Mode | On WhatsApp and SMS | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Strict | Every conversation confirms name and date of birth before anything personal. | Clinics that want the same check on every channel, every time. |
| Balanced (default) | Someone who confirmed who they are on this number within the trust period (90 days by default) is recognised: greeted by name, and can book, move, cancel and list their visits. Refills, insurance, results and bills still need a quick date-of-birth check. | Most clinics: familiar for returning patients, careful with sensitive things. |
| Relaxed | The number on file is enough for everything, like most consumer apps. | Businesses where messages aren't sensitive. |
The trust period can be set from 1 to 365 days. In every mode, a wrong attempt forgets the remembered identity.
New patients
Someone who isn't on file yet registers in the conversation: full name, date of birth, reason for visit, and insurance or self-pay. Registering confirms them, so they can book straight away. If the same name and date of birth are already on file, the agent treats them as a returning patient instead of creating a duplicate.
What the AI model sees
Dates of birth and insurance details are stored on the patient's record and compared by code. They're never put into the AI model's prompt.
Something missing or unclear? Ask in the chat at the bottom right, or talk to the Saient team.