AI Front Office for Grocery & Drug Stores. The AI receptionist for pharmacies and grocers.
Zanus AI is an AI receptionist for pharmacies, drugstores and grocery stores that answers the store line, the pharmacy line, the website chat and the inbox, day and night. Hours, stock and platter orders are handled on the spot; refill requests are written down for the pharmacist, and medication questions go to a person.
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7 days free · per company, never per seat · nothing to install
Easy setup
Answers & books
You talk. Lisa sets it up.
You“Refill calls go to the pharmacy queue; medication questions go straight to the pharmacist.”
Lisa“Refill requests now open a ticket in the pharmacy department, and medication questions ring the pharmacist first, with a message taken when nobody can pick up. Apply?”
Any setting, in any module · applied only on your yes
Start with the one thing you need. Add more anytime by asking Lisa.
The whole Front Office › · All industries ›
Who reaches you
Who the AI answers for Grocery & Drug Stores
- Patients calling in a refill or asking about a prescription
- Shoppers checking store, pharmacy and holiday hours
- Families asking whether an item is on the shelf today
- Schools, offices and churches ordering deli platters and cakes
- Online-order shoppers with a missing item or a pickup change
- Neighbors who would rather speak Spanish, Vietnamese or Haitian Creole
What it answers
What an AI receptionist for pharmacies and grocers takes off the counter
As an AI receptionist for pharmacy counters and grocery service desks, one assistant works the front desk at every door of the store, finishes the routine request and leaves the pharmacist and the clerks free for the line in front of them.
The pharmacy line, first ring
Patients stop waiting on hold while the technician counts tablets. The AI greets pharmacy calls as your pharmacy, hears what each caller needs in their own words and handles the routine part of the call.
Refill requests for the pharmacist
The patient gives the name, the prescription number and the pickup day. The AI reads the callback number back and files the request for the pharmacy team, who decide what happens next.
Store and holiday hours
Store, pharmacy and deli hours, the Thanksgiving closing time and the shorter Sunday schedule are answered from the hours you gave Lisa, with the message you wrote for each holiday.
Is it on the shelf?
With AI Inventory, the AI answers from your own product list whether the gluten-free bread or the store-brand water is available, and it can hold the last holiday ham for a caller.
Platters, cakes and pickup windows
With AI Quoting, a tray order is priced from your deli list, and AI Booking puts the pickup window in the deli calendar while the caller is still on the line.
The website, the inbox and the forms
The same approved answers reach shoppers in the website chat, by e-mail and on your catering and vendor forms, each in the language the shopper writes or speaks.
A day at the store
The calls that crowd a pharmacy and grocery store day
Before the gate goes up
The pharmacy line rings again and again before opening. Each caller is answered, and the refill requests are lined up in order for the team when the counter opens.
The lunch rush at the deli
The deli clerk is slicing for a line of shoppers. The AI takes the call about Saturday's sandwich trays, prices them from your list and books the pickup window.
Flu-shot season
Callers ask when the pharmacy gives flu shots and what to bring. The AI answers from your clinic days and books the slot in the vaccine calendar with AI Booking.
The week before Thanksgiving
Turkey pickups, closing hours and pie orders keep the phones busy all week. Every caller is answered at once, and nobody waits behind the service desk queue.
After the counter closes
At nine in the evening a patient calls about tomorrow's refill. Like the other after-hours calls, it is answered: the AI takes the request for the morning team, gives the pharmacy hours and says when to expect a call back.
An unhappy curbside shopper
A curbside order came home without the eggs. The AI hears the shopper out, opens a ticket for the online-order team and says when the answer will come.
Real screens
The pharmacy and grocery front office on real screens
The screens carry demo data; each picture shows the job the screen does at your counters.
Compared
An AI receptionist for pharmacies compared with the usual phone setups
Most independent pharmacies and grocers answer with a clerk, an old phone tree or a voicemail box, and some pay an answering service for the night. Here is how the three usual setups compare with Zanus AI, an AI front desk for independent pharmacies, on the calls that matter.
| What the store needs | A clerk at the service desk | An old phone tree | Voicemail | Zanus AI |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calls at opening time | One at a time, the rest on hold | Callers sorted, then left on hold | A full mailbox by nine | Every caller answered: in their own words, with no hold queue |
| Refill requests | Written on a slip between customers | Recorded for a technician to replay | Played back when someone has time | Written for the pharmacist: with the callback number read back |
| Hours and holiday closings | Answered when the desk is free | A recording that is often out of date | Not answered | Answered from your hours: with the holiday message you wrote |
| Platter and cake orders | Taken by whoever picks up | Sent to the deli voicemail | Called back the next day | Priced and booked on the call: with AI Quoting and AI Booking |
| Medication questions | Passed to the pharmacist | Routed to the pharmacy queue | Waiting on the tape | Put through to the pharmacist: with the question announced first |
| Languages | Those your staff speak | One or two recorded languages | Your greeting only | The caller's language: on the phone, in the chat and by e-mail |
What goes to a person
Where the AI stops and the pharmacist or the manager takes over
No dosing or medication advice
A question about a dose, a side effect, an interaction or a symptom is never answered by the AI. Such clinical questions go to the pharmacist: the caller is put through, or the question is filed for the pharmacy team.
No refill decided on the phone
The pharmacy AI writes the refill request down and the pharmacy team works it. It never confirms, changes or refills a prescription, and it never tells a caller that an order is filled.
Food-safety reports to a manager
A shopper who says a product made someone sick, or found something in a package, reaches the manager on duty, or an urgent ticket opens with the product, the store and the date.
Recalls in your own words
When a recall makes the news, the AI reads only the notice you approved in your knowledge and adds nothing of its own; follow-up questions go to the store manager.
Refunds and rain checks stay yours
Refunds, rain checks and exceptions to your policy are decided by a person. The AI explains your published rule and opens a ticket for the front-end lead to answer.
Approved answers, or a person
Every answer comes from the knowledge base you approved in AI Knowledge. When nothing about the question is written down, the AI says so and offers a person, instead of guessing about your store.
Set-up
Set up your pharmacy and grocery AI receptionist in 2 minutes
Forward the store line
Forward the store line and the pharmacy line to your Front Office number. The AI picks up the next shopper's call, and the number on the weekly ad never changes.
Lisa reads your website
Lisa reads your store pages, then asks for the store, pharmacy and deli hours, the holiday closings and the languages your neighbors speak.
Say who takes what
Tell her who takes pharmacist questions, food-safety calls and catering orders. Each department can be AI first, staff first or AI only, and she shows the change before you apply it.
Try it for 7 days
Run it on your own store for 7 days with no credit card, then read the transcript and the summary of every call it answered for the pharmacy and the store.
Questions & answers
Questions pharmacies and grocers ask about an AI receptionist
What is an AI receptionist for pharmacies?
It is software that answers a pharmacy's phone, website chat and inbox the way a trained clerk would. Zanus AI greets callers as your store, answers hours and store questions from your approved information, writes refill requests down for the pharmacist and puts medication questions through to a person.
Can one AI answer both the grocery store line and the pharmacy line?
Yes. Forward each number to your Front Office and set them up as departments: the pharmacy, the deli, the bakery, online orders and the service desk. Each department answers in an AI voice of its own and follows its own rule, whether that is AI only, AI first or your people first.
Will the AI give dosing or medication advice to callers?
No. Questions about a dose, a side effect, an interaction, an allergy or a symptom are never answered by the AI. The caller is put through to the pharmacist, who hears who is calling and why before the call connects, or the question is written down for the pharmacy team.
Can patients call in a refill request?
Yes. The patient says what is needed in plain words; the AI takes the name, the prescription number and the pickup preference, reads the callback number back digit by digit and files the request for the pharmacy team. The pharmacist decides, and the AI never confirms, changes or refills a prescription.
Can the AI tell a patient that a prescription is ready?
Not on its own. The AI does not read your pharmacy management system, so it never states a prescription status. It asks the questions your rule sets first, such as the caller's name and date of birth, and writes them down with the question for the pharmacist, or transfers the call to your own people; once the order is filled, your team calls or AI Auto-Call places the prescription ready reminder with the facts you wrote.
How does the AI know what is on the shelf?
From your own product list in AI Inventory. You import it from a CSV file your current system exports, or add items by talking to Lisa, and you choose what the AI says about each one. With your online store connected, its products are searched too. It never guesses about the next delivery truck.
What happens when a shopper reports a food-safety problem?
A person takes it. The AI collects the product, the store, the date and the lot code if the shopper has it, then puts the call through to the manager on duty or opens an urgent ticket. For a recall, it reads only the notice you approved and adds nothing.
Which languages can shoppers and patients use?
Their own. The AI answers the phone in the caller's language and the website chat speaks 40 languages, so a neighbor who opens in Spanish, Vietnamese or Haitian Creole hears the store in that language. Every conversation is written on the record for your team to read.
Can we keep our store and pharmacy phone numbers?
Yes. You forward each existing number to your Front Office line and pharmacy phone answering starts at once, with no porting and no new phone system. The number printed on prescription labels, receipts and the weekly ad stays the same.
How much does an AI receptionist for a pharmacy cost?
Zanus AI is priced per company, never per seat, so the pharmacy, the deli and the service desk share one subscription. Start with the phone for the pharmacy counter and add the chat or the catering quotes when the store wants them. The plans are on the pricing page, and the Front Office is free for 7 days with no credit card.
Does the AI take the place of our pharmacist or our clerks?
No. As a virtual receptionist for pharmacies, it takes the routine calls, chats and e-mails off the counter, so your pharmacist and clerks spend their time with the people standing in front of them. Every call a person must take reaches that person, together with what the caller already said.
How long does it take to set up the store's AI receptionist?
It is ready in 2 minutes. Forward the store and pharmacy lines, let Lisa read your website, then tell her the hours, the holiday closings, the frequently asked questions your counter hears and who takes medication, food-safety and catering calls. You can add your product list and catering prices the same day.
Award-winning AI
Winner at CES 2026, ISE 2026 and TMCnet Enterprise AI Product of the Year.
REAL AI - the whole Front Office is AI, not old software with an AI button.
Awards & trade shows ›
Give Lisa your website.
She sets up your business in 2 minutes.
Other software makes you learn it. Zanus AI learns your business.
Try it free on your own business — no credit card, per company, never per seat.
Ready to buy? See plans & pricing ›
Or call +1 (954) 736-3939 — the AI answers.