Browser-Based Calling: Make and Receive Calls Without a Desk Phone

Answer Calls in Your Browser

When a call comes in to your practice number, it can now ring directly in your browser. A notification appears with the caller's number and — if they are an existing client — their name and upcoming appointment details. Click to answer, and the call connects instantly.

The in-browser experience includes everything you would expect from a modern phone:

• Mute and hold — put a caller on hold while you check their file, or mute your microphone during a brief interruption
• Dialpad and DTMF — navigate automated phone menus or enter extension numbers during transfers
• Call timer — see how long the current call has been active
• One-click end — hang up cleanly when the conversation is finished

There is nothing to install. If your browser supports audio (Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari all do), you can take calls.

Make Outbound Calls

Browser-based calling is not limited to answering. You can place outbound calls to any Australian number directly from your dashboard.

The outbound calling interface includes:

• Dialpad — enter any number and call with one click
• Recent calls — redial recent numbers without re-entering them
• Client quick-dial — call a client directly from their record

Outbound calls display your practice number as the caller ID, so clients see a familiar number — not your personal mobile. This is particularly valuable for practitioners who work from home or across multiple locations and want to maintain a consistent professional identity.

Inbound Call Routing

Not every practice wants calls answered the same way. A solo practitioner in session might prefer calls go to voicemail. A group practice with a receptionist might want calls to ring in the browser first. A practice that uses the AI receptionist might want it to handle everything except during specific hours.

Grounded Scribe now supports four inbound call routing modes, configurable per practice:

1. AI Receptionist

The default for practices with the AI receptionist enabled. Incoming calls are answered by the AI agent, which greets the caller, answers practice questions, checks availability, and books appointments. If the caller requests a human, the AI can transfer the call to a staff member.

2. Forward to Phone

Calls are forwarded to one or more phone numbers you configure — a receptionist's mobile, the practice landline, or any Australian number. If nobody answers within the configured timeout, the call falls back to your chosen fallback (voicemail, AI receptionist, or another number).

3. Answer in Browser

Calls ring directly in the browser for logged-in staff. This is ideal for practices where someone is always at a computer — reception staff, practice managers, or practitioners between sessions. If nobody answers within the timeout, the call falls back to the configured alternative.

4. Voicemail Only

All calls go straight to voicemail. The caller leaves a message, which appears in your dashboard as a transcribed summary. This mode is useful after hours or during holidays when you do not want calls answered live.

You can switch between routing modes at any time from your phone settings. Some practices change modes throughout the day — browser answering during business hours, AI receptionist after hours, voicemail on weekends.

Ring Strategies for Group Practices

For practices with multiple staff members, a single ringing phone is not enough. Grounded Scribe supports three ring strategies that determine how calls are distributed across your team:

Ring All

Every available staff member's browser rings simultaneously. The first person to answer gets the call. This is the simplest approach and works well for small practices where any staff member can handle any call.

Sequential

Staff members ring one at a time in a priority order you configure. If the first person does not answer within the timeout (say, 15 seconds), the call moves to the next person in the sequence. This is useful when you have a primary receptionist and want calls to escalate to a practice manager or practitioner only when the receptionist is unavailable.

Role-Based

Calls are routed based on staff roles. For example, new client enquiries might ring reception staff first, while existing client calls route to the assigned practitioner. Role-based routing uses the caller's information (if they are a known client) to make intelligent decisions about who should answer.

Each strategy supports configurable timeouts and fallback behaviour. If nobody answers after all ring attempts, the call can fall through to voicemail, the AI receptionist, or a forwarding number.

Attended Transfer

Sometimes you answer a call and realise it needs to go to a colleague. Traditional transfers are blind — you push a button, the caller gets dumped into someone else's line, and if that person does not answer, the caller is left hanging.

Attended transfer solves this. When you initiate a transfer:

1. The caller is placed on hold with hold music while you connect to the transfer target
2. You speak privately with the target — explain who is calling, provide context, confirm they are available
3. You choose your next action:

- Complete the transfer — the caller is connected to the target, and you drop off

- Merge into a three-way call — all three parties join the same conversation, useful for handovers that benefit from everyone hearing the same information

- Cancel the transfer — you return to the caller as if nothing happened, useful when the target is busy or unavailable

This is particularly valuable in clinical settings. A receptionist can answer, determine the caller needs to speak with a specific practitioner, check that the practitioner is available and willing to take the call, provide context ("It's Mrs Chen about her referral letter"), and then hand off — all without the caller ever being dropped or bounced.

Presence System

Browser-based calling works best when your team knows who is available. The presence system shows real-time availability for every staff member:

• Online — logged in and available to receive calls
• Away — stepped away from their desk (set automatically after inactivity, or manually)
• Busy — in a call, in a session, or otherwise occupied
• In a Call — currently on an active browser call (set automatically)

Staff can also set a custom status message — "Back at 2pm", "In supervision until 3", or "Available for urgent calls only" — visible to other team members.

The presence system integrates with ring strategies. When a call comes in and your ring strategy is set to ring all, only staff members whose status is "online" will ring. Away, busy, and in-a-call staff are automatically skipped.

Setting It Up

Browser-based calling requires no additional hardware or software. To get started:

1. Navigate to Settings → Phone in your dashboard
2. Choose your routing mode — AI receptionist, forward, browser, or voicemail
3. Configure ring strategy (for group practices) — ring all, sequential, or role-based
4. Allow browser notifications — so you see incoming calls even when the dashboard tab is in the background
5. Test with a browser call — use the free browser test to verify audio quality and call flow

The first time you receive a call, your browser will request microphone permission. Grant it once and you are set.

Who Is This For?

Browser-based calling is available on all AI Receptionist plans. It is particularly useful for:

• Solo practitioners who want to answer calls between sessions without carrying a second phone
• Group practices that need calls distributed across multiple staff members
• Practice managers who want to monitor call flow and availability in real time
• Telehealth-heavy practices that already spend their day in a browser and want phone calls in the same window
• Practices replacing traditional phone systems that want a modern, software-based alternative without hardware costs

Create your free account and try browser-based calling today.

Disclaimer

*This article describes product features available in Grounded Scribe. Browser-based calling requires a compatible web browser with microphone access. Call quality depends on your internet connection. Australian phone numbers are provided by our telecommunications partner and are subject to Australian telecommunications regulations. Feature availability may vary by plan.*

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