AI receptionists for salons: phone, salon software or DMs
Yevhen Kurapov, co-founder · Updated Oct 19, 2026
First decide whether clients call or message you. On GlossGenius, Boulevard or Zenoti, try the receptionist built in: $50 a month, $125 per location, or a Zenoti quote. On other systems, Rosie ($49) and My AI Front Desk ($99) answer calls. ChatPal answers Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger and website chats, free for 100 replies, but not calls.
We make ChatPal, one of the tools below, and list its limits on the same terms as everyone else's.
An AI receptionist for a salon answers clients when nobody at the desk can: it gives prices, finds a free time and books it, or takes a message for the team. Most products sold under that name answer the phone. ChatPal, which we make, is a receptionist for chats and DMs: your website, WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger and Telegram. It does not answer phone calls.
So the first question is where your clients reach you, not which tool sounds most human. This page lists six options in three groups, with prices checked on 19 October 2026.
Calls or messages: decide first
Look at last month. If the problem was a phone ringing while everyone had their hands in someone's hair, you want a voice receptionist. If it was forty unanswered Instagram DMs on a Sunday night, you want an assistant that answers in the chat. Many salons have both problems, and none of the five phone tools here mentions Instagram DMs on the pages we read.
The second question is what happens when the client is ready to book. Some of these tools put the appointment in your calendar during the call. Others send the client a booking link and leave the last step to them. A link works well for regulars who already know your booking page; a new client has to finish it on their own.
How we chose
Most of what ranks for this search is written by companies that sell an AI receptionist, us included. We picked tools a small salon can buy today that publish a price or at least a starting point. We left out Fresha, Booksy, Vagaro, Treatwell and BookingBee.ai, because our comparison of AI chatbots for beauty salons already covers their AI.
We read each vendor's own pricing and product pages on 15 October 2026 and checked the prices again on 19 October. We did not test the other five tools hands-on. The tools are grouped by the situation they suit, not ranked.
Six options, by situation
| Tool | Best for | Price |
|---|---|---|
| GlossGenius Reception | Built into your salon software | $50 a month for 100 minutes and 200 texts, free until 30 November 2026 |
| Boulevard (Beau) | Built into your salon software | $125 a month per location for 200 minutes, then $0.60 a minute |
| Zenoti AI Receptionist | Built into your salon software | Quote-based; Zenoti's blog said in September 2025 that it comes with the platform, from about $400 a month |
| My AI Front Desk | Phone calls, whatever software you use | $99 a month billed monthly, or $79 billed annually, with 200 voice minutes and 100 chat conversations |
| Rosie | Phone calls, whatever software you use | $49 a month for 250 minutes, billed monthly; $149 for 1,000 minutes |
| ChatPal | Clients who message on Instagram, WhatsApp or your site | Free for 100 replies a month; $20 for 500, $50 for 1,500 and $120 for 4,000, billed monthly |
Built into your salon software
GlossGenius Reception
Price: $50 a month for 100 minutes and 200 texts, free until 30 November 2026
Good at
- Answers calls and texts 24/7 and books straight onto your GlossGenius calendar
- Adds clients to your waitlist and takes a deposit or card on file when your policy asks for one
Keep in mind
- Works only inside GlossGenius, whose plans start at $28 a month billed monthly ($56 for a team on Gold)
- Past the allowance, $0.50 a minute and $0.05 a text
Boulevard (Beau)
Price: $125 a month per location for 200 minutes, then $0.60 a minute
Good at
- Already knows your service menu, hours, location and policies from Boulevard
- Can answer every call, only the ones nobody picks up, or only after hours
Keep in mind
- Sends the caller a booking link instead of booking the slot itself
- Needs Boulevard, from $159 a month for one location billed monthly
Zenoti AI Receptionist
Price: Quote-based; Zenoti's blog said in September 2025 that it comes with the platform, from about $400 a month
Good at
- Answers missed and after-hours calls 24/7, then books, reschedules and confirms by voice or text
- Transfers to a person when the guest asks or the situation calls for it
Keep in mind
- Only for salons on Zenoti, sold by quote; its pricing page says AI agents need the AI Plus package
- Built for calls, with text as a second channel; Zenoti says it is “not a chatbot”
Phone calls, whatever software you use
My AI Front Desk
Price: $99 a month billed monthly, or $79 billed annually, with 200 voice minutes and 100 chat conversations
Good at
- Phone answering, web chat and two-way SMS in one plan, in 20+ languages
- Checks availability and books into Google Calendar or Outlook during the call, or hands off to a Cal.com booking link
Keep in mind
- No salon software among its named integrations; anything else goes through Zapier or a webhook
- No free plan, only a 7-day free trial
Rosie
Price: $49 a month for 250 minutes, billed monthly; $149 for 1,000 minutes
Good at
- English and Spanish on every call, with a website chat widget included
- Picks up your hours and business details from your website and Google Business Profile
Keep in mind
- The $49 plan texts a booking link; booking straight into your calendar starts at $149
- Built for any small business, with no salon software integration listed
Clients who message on Instagram, WhatsApp or your site
ChatPal
Price: Free for 100 replies a month; $20 for 500, $50 for 1,500 and $120 for 4,000, billed monthly
Good at
- Answers Instagram DMs, WhatsApp, Messenger, Telegram and your website chat around the clock, in the client's language
- Books from real free times in Altegio, Google Calendar or Calendly, with times the client taps in the chat
- Booking, reminders and every channel are on the free plan too
Keep in mind
- Chats and DMs only: it doesn't answer phone calls
- Books into Altegio, Google Calendar or Calendly, not GlossGenius, Boulevard or Zenoti
Where each one answers, and what it books into
| Tool | Answers | Books into | Starts at |
|---|---|---|---|
| GlossGenius Reception | Calls and texts | GlossGenius calendar | $50 a month, plus GlossGenius |
| Boulevard (Beau) | Calls | Sends a booking link | $125 a month per location, plus Boulevard |
| Zenoti AI Receptionist | Calls, with text | Zenoti appointment book | Quote, with Zenoti |
| My AI Front Desk | Calls, web chat and SMS | Google Calendar, Outlook, Cal.com | $99 a month |
| Rosie | Calls and website chat | A texted link, or your calendar from $149 | $49 a month |
| ChatPal | Website, Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger, Telegram | Altegio, Google Calendar, Calendly | Free for 100 replies |
If you already run GlossGenius, Boulevard or Zenoti, start with the receptionist built into it: it works from the services and calendar you already keep there, so there is no price list to rebuild. A standalone voice tool makes sense when your diary lives in Google Calendar or Outlook, or in software that has no AI receptionist of its own.
What it costs a three-chair salon
Take a salon with three stylists that misses about 60 calls a month at roughly 3 minutes each, so 180 minutes, and gets about ten message threads a day with three replies in each, so roughly 900 replies a month. Prices are billed monthly and before tax.
- GlossGenius: the $50 add-on covers 100 minutes, and the other 80 minutes at $0.50 add $40. With Gold ($56), the plan GlossGenius pitches at teams of up to 9, that is $146 a month, and Reception itself is free until 30 November 2026.
- Boulevard: $125 for Beau covers the 180 minutes. Add Boulevard Essentials at $159 and the total is $284 a month.
- Zenoti: you get a quote. Zenoti's blog put the platform at about $400 a month in September 2025, receptionist included, but its pricing page now says AI agents need the AI Plus package, so ask what the quote covers.
- My AI Front Desk: $99 covers 200 minutes and 100 chat conversations, on top of whatever booking software you pay for.
- Rosie: $49 covers 250 minutes, but only texts a booking link. Booking straight into your calendar takes the $149 plan.
- ChatPal: 900 replies fit the $50 plan, which includes 1,500. It answers none of the 60 calls.
A salon that wants both the phone and the DMs covered could pair a voice tool with ChatPal: Rosie at $49 plus ChatPal at $50 comes to $99 a month, before your booking software.
What a DM receptionist looks like
Here is an example conversation we wrote for this page, showing how ChatPal handles a late Instagram message for a hair salon that books in Altegio. It follows the steps ChatPal's booking instructions set: the price comes from the salon's own service list, only free times Altegio returns are offered, as buttons rather than a list in the text, name and phone are asked for in one message, and a number typed without a country code is read back before booking.
Client: Hi! How much is balayage, and do you have anything on Saturday?
Assistant: Balayage starts at $180 and takes about 3 hours. Mia does it, and here are her free times on Saturday, October 17. Pick one below, or type another day and time.
[Card: buttons for Saturday, October 17 at 9:30 am and 1:00 pm]
Client: Saturday, October 17 at 1:00 pm
Assistant: Saturday at 1:00 pm with Mia is free. What's your name and phone number for the booking?
Client: Emma Clarke, 512 555 0147
Assistant: Book balayage with Mia for Emma Clarke, +1 512 555 0147, on Saturday, October 17 at 1:00 pm?
[Card: buttons for Yes, book it and Change number]
Client: Yes, book it
Assistant: You're booked, Emma: balayage with Mia, Saturday, October 17, 1:00 to 4:00 pm.
The appointment lands in Altegio like any other, and you get a booking alert by email or Telegram. The same client can later write "do I have an appointment?" or ask to move it, and the assistant finds the booking by her phone number.
Some requests need a person: a colour correction, a complaint, anything about a reaction to a product. Turn on Hand off to a human when needed and add a category for those requests that hands the chat to your team. The assistant tells the client the team has the message and stays quiet until someone clicks Return to AI. For more situations, from a fully booked day to a rescheduled visit, see eight booking conversations.
Before you pay for one
- Count where last month's enquiries came from: calls, Instagram, WhatsApp, your website.
- Check whether the tool books the slot or sends a link, and which calendar it books into.
- Work out the cost past the included minutes or replies, at your busiest month.
- Call or message it yourself with ten real questions: a price, a fully booked Saturday, a change of time, a complaint.
If DMs are your main problem, the Instagram DM setup guide for salons walks through connecting Instagram, writing the price list and deciding what goes to a person. If you book in Altegio, see how ChatPal books into Altegio. If you are still weighing an AI receptionist against a human answering service, read AI receptionist vs answering service vs chatbot.