What happens when AI handles more than 738,000 patient conversations and books 75,000 appointments?
You get a front-row seat to how patient expectations are changing and where the future of aesthetics is headed.
On this episode of The Dr. Randi Show, Dr. Randi Boyette sits down with Dennis Steele, Co-Founder of Podium, to discuss how artificial intelligence is transforming the patient experience and helping clinics meet a new generation of consumer expectations.
Drawing from hundreds of thousands of real-world patient interactions, Dennis Steele shares what today’s consumers want, why speed and convenience have become critical drivers of conversion, and how AI is evolving from a simple chatbot into a powerful business tool capable of booking appointments, optimizing schedules, and supporting clinic growth.
The conversation also explores why OpenAI recognized Podium’s work, what separates effective AI from the countless tools entering the market, and how clinics can leverage technology without losing the personalized experience patients expect.
Dr. Randi & Dennis discuss:
🔹What 738,000 patient conversations reveal about today’s aesthetic consumer
🔹Why response time has become one of the biggest drivers of patient conversion
🔹How AI is influencing patient decisions before they ever contact a clinic
🔹The rise of Agentic AI and what it means for aesthetic businesses
🔹Why OpenAI spotlighted Podium’s technology
🔹How AI is helping clinics improve conversion, efficiency, and revenue
🔹What the future of patient communication may look like
Whether you’re embracing AI or still trying to understand where it’s headed, this episode offers a practical look at one of the biggest shifts happening in aesthetics today.
Sponsored by NewBeauty💄
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Episode FAQ
How is AI changing the patient experience at aesthetic and med spa practices?
In this episode of The Dr. Randi Show, host Dr. Randi Boyette talks with Dennis Steele, co-founder of Podium, an AI platform for aesthetic clinics that has powered more than 738,000 patient conversations and helped book more than 75,000 appointments across over 1,800 clinics. Dennis Steele explains that today’s aesthetic patients are far more sophisticated than they were a decade ago, researching procedures deeply through Google and AI before choosing a provider and expecting fast, accurate, personalized responses. He describes how practices that use well-built AI can meet patients wherever they are in their journey, from early education to ready-to-book, while still sounding natural and human.
How is AI research changing the way patients choose and approach aesthetic treatments?
According to Dennis Steele on The Dr. Randi Show, patients now arrive far more informed because AI research lets them go as deep as they want into a procedure before ever contacting a clinic, rather than relying on surface-level advice from a friend. He notes that many younger, Gen Z patients expect instant gratification and quick answers, and that practices need to be adaptable enough to educate a patient who has done zero research or to book, with no friction, a patient who already knows exactly what they want.
Do aesthetic patients actually want to interact with AI, or do they just want fast answers?
Dennis Steele acknowledges on The Dr. Randi Show that there is a real stigma around patients not wanting to talk to AI, but he attributes that to what his team at Podium calls “bad AI,” responses that feel robotic. He says patients are not opposed to AI itself; they simply want fast, accurate, natural answers. Because Podium builds AI into the practice management software with full context about each business, he says responses can be customized to sound close to the practice’s own staff, refined over three years and close to a million conversations.
How much does response time matter when a patient is choosing an aesthetic provider?
Dennis Steele says the data shows responsiveness is the number one factor in whether a patient chooses a provider, and that it is becoming even more important as Gen Z patients, who he has seen triple across many practices over five or six years, come with new expectations. He explains that these patients are power mobile users who will quickly find another service if they do not get an immediate answer, and that their expectations are set by everyday experiences like Uber, not just by competitors. Because meeting a 24/7 demand is very hard without AI, he argues that practices which do not leverage it are unlikely to fully meet patient expectations.
What is agentic AI and how is it used in an aesthetic practice?
On The Dr. Randi Show, Dennis Steele describes agentic AI as the step beyond a classic question-and-answer chatbot: instead of just replying, the AI uses reasoning and instructions to carry out real tasks. He gives the example of Podium’s AI agent, named Avery, which not only talks with patients but has full access to the practice’s EMR and actually books appointments, reserving the correct room, provider, and day. He distinguishes this from a simple automation, explaining that agentic AI weighs many pieces of information, such as the schedule, providers, and rooms, to make decisions, own a task, and even escalate to an office manager when needed.
What is the biggest misconception about AI in the aesthetics industry?
Dennis Steele says the biggest misconception is that all AI is created the same. He explains that many people who tried an early tool like ChatGPT assume every AI is at that same level, but Podium released its first AI employee in 2023 and has spent three years working out the kinks to make agents like Avery as helpful as possible. He encourages practices that had a poor early experience to give the technology another chance, noting that AI is still in its early innings and will only keep improving.
What business results can AI deliver for an aesthetic practice?
On The Dr. Randi Show, Dennis Steele shares that OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, chose to spotlight Podium’s work because of the complexity behind creating a great patient experience, including a background AI that turns a practice owner’s plain feedback to Avery into written instructions. He says Podium ties AI to real outcomes rather than just activity, reporting an over 30% lift in revenue and a 45% increase in conversion from using AI. He stresses that the goal is not simply using AI but making sure it actually drives revenue and conversion.
How can you tell which AI companies are truly innovating versus just capitalizing on the hype?
Dennis Steele says the clearest telltale sign of genuine AI innovation is customization, because it is difficult to build and is what lets an AI adapt to the million nuances that make each practice different. He explains that AI which only sounds good in a demo will frustrate a practice if it cannot be corrected and trusted to respond the right way next time. He also argues that the companies which lead will be the ones that operate the whole business, which is why Podium invested in building a full AI operating system with calendaring, charting, and patient records rather than offering an add-on bolted onto older software.
Does using AI replace the human relationship in a med spa, or can it enhance it?
Dennis Steele addresses a common fear that handing communication to AI means losing control of the patient experience and the human relationship. On The Dr. Randi Show, he says Podium has found the opposite: when it is set up correctly, AI can enhance the experience by giving patients instant answers and handling their needs quickly, which gets them into the office sooner and frees up more in-person time for relationship building. He adds that patients have embraced this faster than expected, sometimes coming in and asking to meet Avery by name after she helped answer their questions online.
How will AI change the way patients interact with aesthetic clinics in the future?
Looking ahead on The Dr. Randi Show, Dennis Steele expects AI models to keep getting smarter and faster, enabling real-time experiences such as automatic check-in, live charting during the visit, and a checkout that is ready by the time a patient reaches the front desk. He points to Podium’s new Operator feature, still in beta, which can carry out almost any task in the EMR, from building custom reports to running local market research on competitor pricing or optimizing a full week’s schedule and rebooking patients in minutes. He believes these capabilities require a platform built on top of AI rather than bolted onto an older system.
