A morning hello
A short call at a time you choose. If it is not answered, you are told — which is often the whole point.
How it works
You set it up once. They just pick up the phone.
This page is the whole mechanism, in order: what you tell us, what happens on a call, what Operator will not do, and what you see afterwards.
Step one
Setting it up takes about ten minutes.
All of it happens on your phone or laptop. The person Operator is for does not need to be present, and does not need to do anything.
1
Who is calling
Their name, and the phone number they will ring from. That number is how Operator knows it is them and greets them by name.
2
Who to reach
The family members Operator may connect them to, in the order you want them tried. “Ring my daughter” then becomes one sentence.
3
What it should know
Appointments, medication times, the names of grandchildren, which neighbour holds the spare key. You can add more at any time, or nothing at all.
4
Give them the number
Write it on the pad by the phone, or put it in their contacts. That is the entire instruction they ever receive.
On a call
What actually happens when they ring.
Operator answers on the second ring. It knows who is calling from the number, so there is no menu, no account number, and no “please say your date of birth”.
- It introduces itself as an assistant. Every call, unprompted — so nobody is ever misled about who they are speaking to.
- It listens without a timer. Silence is treated as thinking, not as the end of the sentence.
- It answers from what you told it, and says plainly when it does not know something rather than guessing.
- It offers to connect or pass a message whenever the answer is really “that’s one for your family”.
OperatorA call, from the top
OperatorGood evening, Margaret. It’s Operator — I’m an assistant, not a person. How can I help?
MargaretI’ve got a letter here about the hospital and I can’t make head nor tail of it.
OperatorI can’t read the letter, I’m afraid. Shall I ask Susan to look at it when she comes on Thursday? I can send her a note now.
MargaretYes, do that.
OperatorDone. She’ll have it in a moment. Anything else while I’m here?
Calls out, not just in
Operator can ring them, too.
A call out on a schedule you set — and, importantly, a note back to you about how it went. This is the part families tend to value most after the first fortnight.
Before something matters
The evening before an appointment, or at the hour a prescription needs collecting. Reminders, in a voice, not a notification.
A note back to you
After each call you get a short summary — what was asked, what was answered, whether anything sounded worth a look.
Being straight with you
What Operator will not do.
A product for vulnerable people has to be clear about its edges. These are not features we haven’t built yet — they are deliberate limits.
- It is not an emergency service. Operator cannot dispatch an ambulance, the fire service or the police. If a caller describes an emergency it says so plainly and tells them to hang up and call 911.
- It does not give medical advice. It will not interpret symptoms, suggest a dose, or tell anyone whether to see a doctor. It can remind, and it can pass a question to the person who should answer it.
- It is not a monitoring device. There is no microphone in the house, no motion sensor, and nothing listening between calls. Operator only knows what happens on a call.
- It does not pretend to be a person. Ever, including when asked directly.
- It will not act on money. Operator cannot make purchases, move money, or take card details — which also makes it a poor target for the scams aimed at this age group.
What you see
Enough to be reassured. Not enough to intrude.
Family members see a short summary of each call and can read the conversation if they want to. Your parent is told, at setup and on request, exactly who that is.
- A summary after every call — when it was, roughly what about, and anything that sounded worth following up.
- The full conversation, if you want it. No editing, no highlights reel.
- You choose who is on the list. Access is by named person, and you can remove someone at any time.
- They can ask who is listening and Operator will tell them the truth.
To SusanAfter this evening’s call
SummaryMargaret rang at 6:40pm. She asked about a hospital letter she couldn’t read and asked for you to look at it on Thursday. Nothing sounded urgent. Call lasted four minutes.
That is the whole product.
If it sounds like it would help, it takes about ten minutes to set up. If you would rather ask a person first, that is what the other button is for. The details live in common questions and privacy and security.