01
Menu
Write out your service menu
Cuts, colour, foils and treatments with prices and times, plus policies: deposits, cancellations, patch tests, late arrivals. The AI should answer only from this.
Guide · AI receptionist for salons
Build your own AI receptionist for your salon
The phone always rings mid-blow-dry. Here's how to set up an AI that answers, quotes from your own price list and texts clients your online booking link.
Buy or build
Salon AI receptionist: subscription or DIY?
Several Australian services now sell AI receptionists built for salons, and some book directly into salon software such as Shortcuts, Phorest, Kitomba, Timely or Fresha. If booking straight into your appointment book during the call matters most, one of those is likely the better fit.
If what you really need is for the phone to stop going to voicemail, a DIY build is cheaper and fully under your control. It answers the common questions (prices, hours, parking, patch tests, how long a colour takes), takes a message for anything tricky, and texts or emails the client your online booking link. You pay per minute answered rather than a monthly plan.
Step by step
How to set up a DIY salon AI receptionist
02
Build
Create the agent
On a voice platform such as Retell AI, Vapi or Bland, paste the guide's receptionist prompt with your menu, and pick a warm voice.
03
Book
Hand off to your online booking
Have it send your existing booking link by text or email, or take the client's preferred stylist, service and day for you to confirm.
04
Number
Connect a number and divert
Bring an Australian number from a telephony provider and divert the salon line to it when nobody picks up, after hours, or both.
05
Test
Test it like a fussy client
Colour correction questions, a bride asking about a trial, someone running late. Make sure it hands off instead of guessing.
Don't forget the website
Add a chat receptionist to your salon website too
Plenty of clients message instead of calling. The guide's second build is a website chat widget that answers from your own information and sends visitors to your booking page, for about US$13-40 a month. Tell clients they're chatting with an AI, and keep it to your menu and policies.
Build Your Own AI Receptionist
What the US$3.70 guide gives you
What's in the guide
- Three builds: phone answering and booking line, website chat receptionist, inbox and calendar assistant
- Three copy-paste prompts
- 10 test scripts and a launch checklist
- A compliance page (AI disclosure, call-recording consent in Australia and the US)
Typical running costs (from the guide)
- Phone number: about US$1-3 a month
- Phone usage on Retell AI: roughly US$0.07-0.31 a minute
- Phone usage on Bland: US$0.14 a minute
- Website chat: US$13-40 a month
Vendor pricing pages, November 2026. Prices change often.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Can a DIY AI receptionist book into Fresha, Timely or Shortcuts?
Usually not directly without extra integration work. The simple DIY approach sends your online booking link or takes a booking request for you to confirm.
What does it cost to run?
A phone number (about US$1-3 a month) plus the minutes answered, roughly US$0.07-0.31 a minute on Retell AI. Website chat is about US$13-40 a month. Prices from vendor pages, November 2026.
Will clients know it's an AI?
They should. Say so in the greeting, and say if the call is recorded. Call-recording rules vary by state.
Do I need to code?
No. It's point-and-click setup plus copy-paste prompts. The only technical step for website chat is pasting an embed snippet.
Get the guide
General information, not legal advice. Prices from vendor pages, November 2026. No affiliate links. Salon software names belong to their owners.