What is the best AI receptionist for hair salons?
Comparison Salons and beauty Updated 10 min read By the Solwees team
The best AI receptionist for a hair salon depends on the booking system and on how clients reach the salon. Fresha AI Concierge and Booksy AI Receptionist fit salons already on those platforms that book mostly by phone. Solwees fits salons on Altegio, Booksy, Fresha or Treatwell whose clients also message on WhatsApp or Instagram. Voka AI fits Square and Acuity users, BookingBee salons on Meevo, Mindbody or Phorest.
Key takeaways
- Start with the booking system: Fresha, Booksy, Zenoti and GlossGenius sell their own phone assistant as part of their platform.[1, 2]
- On the pages we read, Solwees is the only one of the seven that names WhatsApp and Instagram as channels its assistant answers.
- Phone answering starts free (Phonely, Smith.ai, the first 500 in the Booksy beta), then $19 plus minutes (Voka), €94.95 or $99 per location (Fresha, BookingBee), and €249 at Solwees, or €99 plus a €39 minutes pack.[1, 3-7]
- Booksy and Smith.ai list English and Spanish, Solwees 50+ languages, Phonely 100+.[1, 8]
How we compared AI receptionists for salons
This comparison of AI receptionists for hair salons, barbershops and nail studios uses six criteria: answering calls, booking into the salon’s booking system, messages on WhatsApp and Instagram, reminders, languages and price per location. It is based on what each vendor publishes on its own site as of October 2026, not on hands-on testing.
The order is not a ranking of quality. Assistants built into a salon’s own booking platform come first, then Solwees as the pick for salons whose clients also send messages, then the rest.
Seven AI receptionists for salons compared
Seven AI receptionists for salons are compared here: Fresha AI Concierge, Booksy AI Receptionist, Solwees, Voka AI, BookingBee, Smith.ai and Phonely. The first two work only inside their own booking platform. CloudTalk is left out: by its own account it has no native connector for salon software, and its AI agent is an add-on to a CloudTalk phone plan.
| Product | Best for | Channels | Booking systems named | Starting price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fresha AI Concierge | Salons on Fresha that book by phone | Phone, SMS, in-app chat | Fresha only | €94.95 a month per location, 200 minutes included[6] |
| Booksy AI Receptionist | Booksy providers who book by phone | Phone[1] | Booksy only[1] | Free for the first 500 providers[1] |
| Solwees | Altegio, Booksy, Fresha or Treatwell salons whose clients also message | Phone, WhatsApp, Instagram, Telegram, Messenger, website chat, email | Altegio, Booksy, Fresha, Treatwell, Bokadirekt, Bookio, Wix Bookings | €99 a month per location, €249 with phone answering |
| Voka AI | Salons on Square or Acuity | Phone, SMS add-on[5] | Square Appointments, Acuity, Google Calendar, Calendly | $19 a month plus $0.45 a minute[5] |
| BookingBee | Salons on Meevo, Mindbody or Phorest | Phone, SMS confirmations | Meevo, Mindbody, Phorest, Square | $99 a month per outlet[7] |
| Smith.ai | A live person as backup | Phone | Calendly, CRMs | Free for 25 calls a month[4] |
| Phonely | Trying phone answering for free | Phone, SMS, chat[8] | None named on its salon page | Free for 100 minutes a month[3] |
Fresha AI Concierge
- Best for
- Salons on Fresha that take most bookings by phone.
Fresha AI Concierge is an AI phone receptionist built into the Fresha booking platform. It answers inbound calls, books, reschedules and cancels appointments in the Fresha calendar, and transfers the call to a team member or takes a message. It detects the caller’s language, and with Fresha Connect it also handles SMS and in-app chat.
Pros
- No separate setup: it reads services and prices from the Fresha account.
Cons
- An add-on to a Fresha Business account: it books only into Fresha.
- WhatsApp and Instagram are not named among its message channels.
- Its May 2026 launch post names English-speaking markets first; the feature page lists no countries.
- Pricing
- €94.95 per location a month with 200 minutes and 500 messages included, then €0.57 a minute and €0.04 a message. As shown in Spain on 2 October 2026.[6]
Booksy AI Receptionist
- Best for
- Booksy providers, solo or with a team, who take bookings by phone.
Booksy AI Receptionist is an automated phone booking assistant for Booksy providers, in beta as of October 2026.[1] It picks up when the provider cannot, recognises returning clients by their number and confirms the appointment in the Booksy calendar.[1] A request it cannot handle becomes a callback request to the provider.[1] It speaks English and Spanish.[1]
Pros
- The provider keeps the existing phone number.[1]
- Pricing
- Free for at least 12 months for the first 500 providers who join the beta. No price is published for anyone else or for later.[1]
Solwees
- Best for
- Salons on Altegio, Booksy, Fresha or Treatwell whose clients both call and message on WhatsApp or Instagram.
Solwees is an AI receptionist and booking software for service businesses. For a salon it answers phone calls, WhatsApp, Instagram, Telegram, Messenger, website chat and email in 50+ languages, and hands the conversation to a person when it should. It books into Altegio, Booksy, Fresha, Treatwell, Bokadirekt, Bookio or Wix Bookings; a salon on another system can use Solwees’ own calendar. See integrations.
Pros
- One inbox for phone calls, WhatsApp, Instagram and four more channels.
- Free trial for 7 days without a card, up to 100 active clients and 20 call minutes.
Cons
- Booking connectors are limited to the seven systems named; others on request.
- Phone answering is in the Studio plan at €249 a month; the cheaper route is Solo plus a €39 pack of 100 minutes.
- Solo covers 400 active clients a month, Studio 1,000; each location pays for its own plan.
- Visit reminders are in the paid Marketing module, €19 a month.
- Pricing
- As of October 2026, per location a month: Solo €99 (chats), Studio €249 (adds phone answering, 100 call minutes), Network €499. See pricing.
Voka AI
- Best for
- Salons on Square Appointments or Acuity.
Voka AI is an AI voice receptionist with a page for hair salons. It answers calls, books into Square Appointments or Acuity Scheduling, books multi-service visits such as a cut plus colour at the right length, and books a stylist by name. Its site offers assistants in English, Spanish and more.
Pros
- A trial of 14 days or 100 minutes, whichever comes first, without a card.[5]
Cons
- Its salon page describes no reminders of its own: confirmations come from Square or Acuity.
- Pricing
- From $19 a month plus $0.45 a minute; booking into Square or Acuity adds $19.99 a month. As of 2 October 2026.[5]
BookingBee
- Best for
- Salons on Meevo, Mindbody, Phorest or Square that take bookings by phone.
BookingBee is a voice AI receptionist for salons, spas and barbershops. It answers calls around the clock, manages bookings, reschedules and cancellations, and connects to booking systems such as Meevo, Mindbody, Phorest and Square. BookingBee says a salon that relies on Instagram, website chat or WhatsApp needs a separate tool for those channels.
Pros
- Missed and dropped calls are not billed, per its FAQ.[7]
- Sends SMS confirmations and reminders after a booking.
- Pricing
- $99 per outlet a month for up to 8 staff, $299 for up to 16, $499 for unlimited staff. As of 2 October 2026.[7]
Phonely
- Best for
- A small studio that wants to try AI phone answering for free.
Phonely is a general AI phone agent platform with a page for spas and salons. Phonely answers customer questions, schedules appointments and automates SMS and phone reminders. The free plan includes 100 minutes a month, and Phonely states support for 100+ languages across voice, SMS and chat.[3, 8]
Pros
- SMS and phone reminders are part of its salon offer.
Cons
- Its salon page names no salon booking system.
- Pricing
- Free for 100 minutes a month. Starter $50 and Professional $150 a month on monthly billing, $33 and $100 when billed annually. As of 2 October 2026.[3]
What salon booking platforms offer on their own
Several salon booking platforms sell their own assistant. Fresha, Booksy, Zenoti and GlossGenius answer phone calls.[2] Phorest and Vagaro describe assistants that answer messages.[9] Mindbody lists an assistant that responds to missed calls. Each is sold as part of its own platform.
| Platform | Assistant | What it answers | Published price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Phorest | Front Desk AI | SMS and WhatsApp: books, reschedules, cancels, confirms | Not on the page |
| Vagaro | Vera Receptionist | Listing page chat and SMS; by SMS it sends a booking link[9] | $10 a month in the US, with a Text Marketing plan[9] |
| Mindbody | AI Concierge | Client questions and missed calls | Add-on price not public |
| Zenoti | AI Receptionist | Missed and after-hours calls, confirmation calls | Not public |
| GlossGenius | Reception | Calls and texts[2] | Free until 30 November 2026, then $50 a month with 100 minutes and 200 texts[2] |
How to choose an AI receptionist for your salon
Choose an AI receptionist for a salon by two facts: which booking system the salon runs on, and whether clients only call or also send messages. A tool that cannot write into the booking system only takes messages. In several cases below another product is the better choice.
If the salon runs on Fresha and bookings come by phone. Fresha AI Concierge is the simpler choice, and at €94.95 per location with 200 minutes included it costs less than a Solwees plan with phone answering.[6]
If you take bookings in Booksy by phone. Request access to the Booksy beta, free for at least 12 months for the first 500 providers, unless you depend on No-Show Protection.[1] See also the page for barbershops.
If clients message on WhatsApp and Instagram as often as they call. A voice product will not see those messages. Solwees answers calls and messaging apps and books into Altegio, Booksy, Fresha or Treatwell. A Phorest salon should look at Front Desk AI, which answers WhatsApp and SMS inside Phorest.
If the salon only needs the phone answered. A voice product costs less than Solwees with phone answering: Voka AI starts at $19 a month plus $0.45 a minute, and Phonely and Smith.ai have free plans.[3-5]
If the salon runs on Phorest, Mindbody, Square, Vagaro, Zenoti or GlossGenius. Solwees has no connector for these systems. Look at the platform’s own assistant in the table above, at BookingBee for Meevo, Mindbody or Phorest, or at Voka AI for Square.
If a person must be able to take over. Smith.ai can transfer a call to its own live receptionists: a transfer started by the AI is free, other live-agent work is a per-call add-on. With Solwees a caller reaches a person only in working hours, if a team member accepts the call in the mobile app within 30 seconds; otherwise the caller is told a manager will call back.
Questions and answers
What is the best AI receptionist for a hair salon?
No single AI receptionist is best for every hair salon. A salon on Fresha or Booksy that books mostly by phone should first look at the assistant built into its platform. Solwees fits a salon on Altegio, Booksy, Fresha or Treatwell whose clients also message on WhatsApp or Instagram.
Can an AI receptionist book straight into my salon software?
Yes, if the vendor names your system. Fresha AI Concierge and Booksy AI Receptionist book into their own calendars.[1] Voka AI names Square Appointments and Acuity, BookingBee names Meevo, Mindbody, Phorest and Square. Solwees books into seven salon systems, among them Altegio, Booksy, Fresha and Treatwell.
Is there an AI receptionist that also answers WhatsApp and Instagram?
Yes. Solwees answers WhatsApp and Instagram direct messages alongside phone calls, Telegram, Messenger, website chat and email. Phorest Front Desk AI answers WhatsApp and SMS for salons on Phorest. BookingBee says a salon that relies on those channels needs a separate tool.
How much does an AI receptionist for a salon cost?
Published prices in October 2026 start at zero: Phonely and Smith.ai have free plans.[3, 4] Voka AI starts at $19 a month plus minutes.[5] Fresha AI Concierge costs €94.95 per location with 200 minutes included, BookingBee from $99 per outlet.[6, 7] Solwees costs €99 per location for chats and €249 with phone answering.
Do AI receptionists send reminders and handle no-shows?
Some do. Zenoti AI Receptionist calls unconfirmed guests before the visit. BookingBee and Phonely describe SMS reminders. Solwees sends confirmations and reminders through its paid Marketing module. Booksy AI Receptionist cannot yet book appointments that have No-Show Protection enabled.[1]
Sources (9)
All sources were accessed on .
- Booksy. AI Receptionist for Salons and Barbershops (beta).
- GlossGenius. Reception by Genius AI.
- Phonely. Phonely AI pricing.
- Smith.ai. Plans and pricing for AI Receptionist.
- Voka AI. Pricing: voice plans.
- Fresha. Fresha pricing.
- BookingBee. AI Receptionist Pricing for Salons.
- Phonely. Phonely home page.
- Vagaro Support. Set Up a Chatbot for Your Business with Vera Receptionist.
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