Editorial note: We aim to provide accurate, up-to-date reviews to help beauty salon and spa owners choose the right tools for their business. The Salon Business is a subsidiary of Mangomint, a salon and spa software platform. Our reviews are based on our editors’ hands-on experience with the tools we cover. Learn more.
Your phone rings while you’re with a client. Do you stop what you’re doing to answer it, let it go to voicemail or hope they book online instead?
AI receptionists offer another option. The latest tools can answer calls, respond to texts, book appointments and handle common client questions, even when no one is at the front desk.
But not every AI receptionist works the same way. Some answer the phone and book directly into your calendar. Others follow up on missed calls or focus primarily on text. And because many are built into salon and spa software platforms, choosing one may also mean choosing the system behind it.
We compared nine of the leading options to see what they actually do, what they cost and which types of businesses they’re best suited for.
Best AI Receptionists for Salons at a Glance
- Mira by Mangomint: Best for salons and spas that want one AI receptionist to handle both calls and texts
- Fresha AI Concierge: Best for businesses looking to optimize their schedules while handling calls and messages
- Zenoti AI Workforce: Best for large chains and franchises that need enterprise-level automation
- Podium Avery: Best for medspas and larger practices that prefer a lead generation tool to a scheduling management tool
- Boulevard Beau: Best for businesses that want an AI receptionist with a more cautious approach to booking
- Mindbody AI Concierge: Best for Mindbody users who primarily need help with texts, web chat and missed calls
- Phorest Front Desk AI: Best for salons that want AI support for text-based booking and client questions
- Vagaro Vera: Best for businesses focused on filling open appointments rather than answering calls
- GlossGenius Reception by Genius AI: Best for solo providers and small teams that want call and text support built into their software
How We Evaluated Each Salon AI Receptionists
Not every tool labeled an “AI receptionist does the same job. And there’s a difference between what a product promises and how it performs when a real client calls.
To evaluate each AI receptionist, our team evaluated the tools using hands-on testing where available, along with product demonstrations and published materials. We focused on the factors that matter most when deciding whether an AI receptionist will actually take work off your plate.
Phone and messaging capabilities
Does it answer live calls, respond to texts or both?
Booking capabilities
Can it book, reschedule and cancel appointments directly in your calendar, or does the client still have to complete the process?
Integration
Is the AI built into the salon or spa software, with direct access to scheduling and client information, or does it rely on a third-party connection?
Ease of use and control
How much say do you have over how the AI responds, what it can do and when a conversation gets handed off to your team?
Pricing
Is there a flat monthly fee, usage-based pricing, a commission or a custom quote?
Best fit
We considered the types and sizes of businesses each option is designed to serve, from solo providers to multi-location operations.
We based our evaluations on product pages, help centers and other materials published by each company, along with third-party reviews and industry sources where relevant. Features and pricing can change quickly, so always confirm the latest details before making a decision.
Quick Comparison
The Best AI Receptionists for Salons and Spas
1. Mira by Mangomint
Mira is Mangomint’s AI receptionist, built specifically for the beauty industry and directly into the Mangomint platform. She can answer calls and texts, manage appointments and respond to client questions using real-time information about your clients, schedule and services from day one.
Best for: Salons and spas that want one AI receptionist handling both phone and SMS, with direct access to their Mangomint calendar and client information.
Standout features:
- Answers calls and texts 24/7, with three voice options and customizable greetings
- Handles multiple calls and text conversations simultaneously
- Navigates interruptions, changes of mind and complicated booking requests naturally
- Books, reschedules and cancels appointments directly, following your booking policies, and texts clients a link to add a card or pay a deposit when required
- Suggests service add-ons based on your guidance, such as regular or gel polish with a mani/pedi
- Answers questions about services, pricing, policies and availability
- Keeps conversations going when requests get confusing and escalates issues to staff when needed
- Can be trained conversationally, much like coaching a new team member
- Provides call summaries, transcripts, recordings and Client Insights
Pricing: Custom pricing
What we like: Mira combines phone and text support with native booking and an unusually approachable way to train the AI. Because she’s already connected to Mangomint, there’s no separate integration or second system for your team to manage. She’s also trained on your services and calendar from day one.
What to know: Mira is only available to Mangomint customers and requires the Mangomint Phone add-on.
2. Fresha AI Concierge
Fresha AI Concierge is built into Fresha and handles calls, texts and in-app chats using live information from your calendar and client records. It can manage multiple conversations at once and automatically responds in the client’s language.
Best for: Salons and spas that want a native AI receptionist with strong scheduling capabilities and clear controls over what it can do.
Standout features:
- Answers calls 24/7 and can handle multiple calls at once
- Manages calls, texts and in-app chats
- Uses live scheduling and client information from Fresha
- Lets businesses customize the AI’s voice, name and accent
- Automatically detects and responds in the client’s language
- Can rearrange flexible bookings to help close gaps in the schedule
Pricing: $99.95 per location/month, including 200 minutes and 500 messages. Additional usage is $0.60/minute and $0.04/message.
What we like: Fresha combines a broad range of communication and booking capabilities with granular controls. It also requires its AI to identify itself on every call, so clients always know who or what they’re talking to.
What to know: AI Concierge is relatively new, so there isn’t much of a long-term track record yet. And while the base price is straightforward, businesses with heavier call or messaging volume could pay more in overage charges.
3. Zenoti AI Workforce
Zenoti takes a broader approach to AI, with a suite of specialized agents designed to automate different parts of a beauty and wellness business. Its AI receptionist handles calls, while other tools cover areas like lead management, marketing and internal reporting.
Best for: Large chains and franchises that need enterprise-level automation across multiple areas of the business.
Standout features:
- Answers calls 24/7 in 29 languages
- Handles more than one million calls a month across 3,500+ locations, according to Zenoti
- Connects with guest history and scheduling information
- Includes AI tools for lead management and marketing
- Offers an AI Scribe for medspas
- Includes Zeenie, an internal assistant that can answer staff questions using business data
Pricing: Custom pricing, with AI features sold à la carte.
What we like: Zenoti offers the most extensive AI ecosystem on this list, with tools that go well beyond answering the phone. Its scale also gives it a more established track record than many newer AI receptionists.
What to know: This is an enterprise platform, and its breadth may be more than an independent salon or smaller group needs. Pricing isn’t published, so you’ll need to talk with Zenoti to understand the full cost of the platform and any AI features you want to add.
4. Podium Avery
Avery is Podium’s AI receptionist, designed to handle much more than incoming calls. Built initially with medspas in mind, it works across phone, text, social and web chat while connecting with Podium’s broader tools for intake, payments and marketing.
Best for: Medspas and larger practices that want AI handling multiple parts of the front office, not just the phone.
Standout features:
- Answers calls, texts, social messages and web leads 24/7
- Collects appointment requests and client details for staff follow-up, based on the public demonstrations we reviewed
- Supports intake forms, consent and payments
- Follows up with leads automatically
- Generates AI-powered marketing campaigns
- Includes a simulation mode so teams can test changes before they go live
Pricing: Custom pricing.
What we like: Avery brings a lot of front-office functions into one system, which could be especially useful for busy medspas managing everything from new leads to intake and payments.
What to know: Podium doesn’t publish pricing, and Avery is part of a broader platform rather than a standalone receptionist. Its focus also leans more toward medspas and larger practices than traditional salons and spas.
5. Boulevard Beau
Beau is Boulevard’s native AI receptionist, built to answer calls and texts while taking a more cautious approach to booking. Instead of completing an appointment during the conversation, Beau sends the client a pre-filled booking link to review and confirm.
Best for: Salons and spas that want AI phone coverage but prefer clients to complete their own bookings.
Standout features:
- Answers calls using the business’s existing phone number
- Recognizes returning clients by caller ID
- Helps clients navigate the service menu
- Sends a pre-filled link for clients to complete their booking
- Hands conversations off to staff when needed, with a summary for context
- Identifies itself as an AI receptionist on calls
Pricing: $125 per location/month for 200 minutes, with additional usage at $0.60/minute.
What we like: Beau gives businesses AI phone coverage without completely handing over the booking process. Clients still get help finding the right service and time, but they confirm the final details themselves.
What to know: That extra step also creates more friction. Unlike several other options on this list, Beau doesn’t complete bookings, rescheduling or cancellations during the conversation, instead sending clients a link to complete the process themselves. In our testing, Beau was quick to suggest involving a team member. When asked, “Hi, Beau, how are you today?” it responded that the request would be better handled by staff. When the caller clarified that they simply wanted to reschedule, Beau ended the call.
6. Mindbody AI Concierge
Mindbody’s AI Concierge handles client questions and booking through text and web chat. It can also follow up by text when you miss a call, but unlike the voice-based AI receptionists on this list, it doesn’t answer the phone itself.
Best for: Businesses already using Mindbody that want AI support for texts, web chat and missed-call follow-up.
Standout features:
- Responds to client questions through text and web chat
- Follows up by text after missed calls
- Books appointments directly
- Uses real-time calendar, pricing and client information
- Allows businesses to customize tone and guardrails
- Handles more than 90% of messages without staff involvement, according to Mindbody
- Active users save roughly 25 hours a month, according to Mindbody
Pricing: Included for single-location businesses on Mindbody’s Ultimate plan. Available as a paid add-on for Accelerate plans, with pricing not publicly listed.
What we like: AI Concierge can take a meaningful amount of messaging off your team’s plate while working with the client and scheduling information already in Mindbody.
What to know: This isn’t a live phone receptionist. If answering incoming calls is one of your main reasons for considering AI, you’ll need another solution.
7. Phorest Front Desk AI
Phorest’s Front Desk AI focuses on text-based client communication rather than live phone answering. It handles booking questions and appointment changes through SMS, while other AI tools within Phorest help with business insights and client retention.
Best for: Salons that want AI support for text-based booking and client questions.
Standout features:
- Handles booking and rebooking through SMS
- Responds to frequently asked questions
- Escalates more complicated conversations to staff
- Uses real-time calendar, pricing and client information
- Includes Insights AI for asking questions about business data in plain English
- Uses Client Reconnect to identify lapsed clients and send win-back messages
Pricing: Phorest doesn’t publicly list separate pricing for its AI features.
What we like: Phorest treats AI more like a helping hand for the front desk than a replacement for it. Its combination of client messaging and business insights could appeal to teams that want to introduce AI gradually.
What to know: Front Desk AI doesn’t answer phone calls. Businesses that want AI voice support need to connect a third-party solution.
8. Vagaro Vera
Vera takes a different approach from most of the tools on this list. Rather than acting as a traditional AI receptionist, its Fill My Books feature identifies openings in your schedule and promotes them to clients through Vagaro’s marketplace.
Best for: Vagaro businesses that are primarily interested in filling open appointments rather than adding an AI phone receptionist.
Standout features:
- Identifies open appointment times in your schedule
- Promotes availability to past and prospective clients
- Uses email and push notifications to help fill openings
- Charges only when the promotion results in a booking
- Can be paired with third-party tools for AI phone answering
Pricing: No monthly fee for Fill My Books. Vagaro charges 5% of the booking value for returning clients and 20% for new clients when the feature generates a booking.
What we like: The pay-for-performance model means you’re paying when Vera actually helps fill an appointment, and Vagaro’s marketplace gives businesses another way to reach prospective clients.
What to know: Vera isn’t really a phone receptionist. Live AI call handling requires a separate third-party service, and commission fees can become significant as booking volume grows.
9. GlossGenius: Reception by Genius AI
GlossGenius’ Reception by Genius AI is designed to answer calls and texts, respond to common questions and book appointments directly into the calendar. It’s already being used by some GlossGenius customers, although it isn’t yet broadly available.
Best for: Solo providers and small teams that want call and text support built into GlossGenius.
Standout features:
- Answers calls and texts 24/7
- Books and cancels appointments directly into the calendar
- Answers common client questions
- Communicates business policies
- Collects deposits
Pricing: Free through November 30, 2026. Then, $50/mo., which includes 100 minutes + 200 texts. Overages: $0.50/min.; $0.05/message.
What we like: Reception by Genius AI brings phone and text support directly into a platform already geared toward independent beauty professionals and small teams.
What to know: Availability is the big caveat. Some customers are already using Reception by Genius AI but it’s still in a limited rollout. In our testing, the AI also struggled with interruptions, sometimes talking over the caller. It couldn’t handle service add-ons, such as adding gel polish to a manicure or pedicure, without involving a staff member. One workaround would be to list add-ons as separate services, but that could make your service menu longer and more confusing for clients.
