Oct 18, 2026

Best AI Receptionist for Salons (2026): 6 Compared

AI Receptionist Salon Software AI Phone Answering

The phone rings most when nobody at the salon can answer it: every chair is full and the front desk is ringing up a client. The caller wanted Thursday at 4. They’ll book wherever picks up.

The quick answer: Carly is the best AI receptionist for salons. It picks up when your team can’t, answers questions from your own menu, books the right stylist, texts the confirmation from your salon’s number and answers in Spanish when the client does. Copy one prompt into ChatGPT or Claude, grab a number, and you’re live. If you run Boulevard or Zenoti, their built-in receptionists are worth a look too.

US list prices from each vendor’s own pricing page, checked October 13 to 18, 2026.

AI receptionists for salons compared

AI receptionist	Works with	Books appointments	Charges by	Starting price
Carly	Your calendars, Square and thousands of other apps	Yes, while the client is on the line	Plan	Free Zapier-style workflows; AI agents from $35/mo
Boulevard (Beau)	Boulevard only	Books, or texts a booking link	Minutes per location	$125/mo per location for 200 min
Zenoti AI Receptionist	Zenoti only	Yes, plus confirmations	Quoted	Quoted with Zenoti
Rosie	Booking links and calendars	On Scale and up	Minutes in plan	$49/mo; Scale $149
Goodcall	Through integrations	Through integrations	Unique customer	$79/mo for 100 customers
My AI Front Desk	Google or Outlook calendar	Yes	Minutes in plan	$99/mo for 200 min

1. Carly

Carly follows your salon’s rules exactly: which services need a consultation, who does color, how long a balayage takes, your cancellation policy. Write it once and Carly applies it the same way on every call.

Answers when your team can’t, after hours only, or around the clock.
Books the right stylist with the right appointment length, across all your team’s Google and Outlook calendars.
Texts from your salon’s number. Clients text to book or reschedule, every missed call gets a text back, and reminders go out to each client on their own.
Answers in Spanish when the client speaks it, no phone menu.
Hands off to the front desk through ring groups or a phone menu.
One inbox. Every call, transcript, voicemail and text on each client’s timeline, in Carly’s CRM or yours.
Runs from ChatGPT or Claude. Text a client, build the receptionist or steer a live call from a chat (how it works).

Carly connects to thousands of apps, Square and Vagaro included. Rebooking nudges and review requests run as free Zapier-style workflows.

Carly business setup prompt

Paste this into ChatGPT, Claude or any AI. It walks you through the rest.

Help me connect Carly Teams so I can work with my organization's business texts, phone calls, voicemail and voice/text agents from this chat. I'll add it to you myself: tell me exactly what to click for the app you are, one step at a time, and wait for me to confirm before moving on. If a step doesn't match what I see, ask me what's on my screen. If you can do the setup yourself (Claude Code, Codex, Muse, Grok Bot), go ahead, and ask me for any key in your secure credential prompt, never in the chat. Don't tell me it's connected until list_phone_lines works, and if I have several teams, ask which to use. Before sending a text or making a call, confirm the team, recipient and message or task with me. The steps are below.

# Connect Carly Teams to an AI app

> Carly Teams works a team's business phone lines through the team's AI agents: business texts, phone calls, voicemail, the voice and text agents, and the team's CRM.

MCP server: https://carlyassistant.com/team/mcp (streamable HTTP, OAuth)

## Setup

Carly Teams isn't in any plugin or connector directory yet, so it's added as a custom connection by URL.

1. Add Carly Teams:
- ChatGPT: open https://chatgpt.com/plugins, click Add, and choose Create MCP App (not Create plugin or Upload plugin archive). If Create MCP App isn't on the menu, turn on Developer mode first in Settings > Security and login. Name it "Carly Teams" with the description "Work with my team's business texts, calls, voicemail and voice/text agents," paste https://carlyassistant.com/team/mcp as the server URL, choose OAuth, create it, and sign in. Then in the message box open the + menu, choose Developer mode, and pick Carly Teams. No plugin needs to be built, packaged or uploaded.
- Claude (claude.ai, Claude Desktop, or Cowork): Customize > Connectors > Add custom connector, name it Carly Teams, paste https://carlyassistant.com/team/mcp, and sign in.
- Claude Code: `claude mcp add --transport http --scope user carly-teams https://carlyassistant.com/team/mcp`, then /mcp, pick carly-teams, and authenticate.
- Codex: `codex mcp add carly-teams --url https://carlyassistant.com/team/mcp`, then `codex mcp login carly-teams`.
- Cursor: add {"mcpServers": {"carly-teams": {"url": "https://carlyassistant.com/team/mcp"}}} to ~/.cursor/mcp.json, then sign in to carly-teams from Customize.
- Muse: a custom connector to https://carlyassistant.com/team/mcp with a Carly API key as its bearer token. The key comes from carlyassistant.com/integrations (Advanced > API Keys > Create a new key, with Owner set to the team and all scopes selected) and goes in Muse's connector settings, not in a chat message.
- Grok: grok.com/connectors > New Connector > Custom, paste https://carlyassistant.com/team/mcp, and sign in.
- Grok Bot: a custom remote MCP server named carly-teams at https://carlyassistant.com/team/mcp. Approve it and sign in.
- Perplexity: Plugins in the sidebar (or Customize > Connectors), then Add custom > Connector > Add MCP connector. Choose Remote, name it Carly Teams, paste https://carlyassistant.com/team/mcp, pick OAuth, check the box and click Add, then click the Carly Teams card to sign in.
- Anything else: a remote MCP server (streamable HTTP) named carly-teams at https://carlyassistant.com/team/mcp. It signs in with OAuth.
Sign in with the Carly account that belongs to the organization.

2. Once it's added, the Carly Teams tools show up in the chat, including list_phone_lines. If they don't, turn Carly Teams on for the chat or start a new chat.

3. To check it worked, call list_phone_lines: it returns the teams and phone lines the account can reach. A team with no phone line yet can get one with find_numbers (optionally by area code) and get_number, which may return a checkout link to finish.

4. Something to try first: "Review our missed calls and voicemail and help me reply to customers." Carly Teams also reads and answers business texts, has the team's agent make calls, and edits the voice and text agents. Texts and calls go out at once from the agent's number and can't be taken back. Team permissions apply.

## Email, calendars and workflows

Email, calendars, files, booking pages and workflows are the regular Carly connector, added separately. It's listed in ChatGPT's plugin directory (https://chatgpt.com/plugins/plugin_asdk_app_6a67a26316b88191860222f918d4ec54) and Claude's connector directory (https://claude.ai/directory/carly), and connects anywhere else at https://carlyassistant.com/mcp/. Its setup is https://carlyassistant.com/mcp.txt.

Best for: salons, spas and barbershops that want every call and text handled the same way, on any booking software.
Pricing: Free Zapier-style workflows; AI agents from $35/month. Get started.

2. Boulevard (Beau)

Boulevard’s AI receptionist, Beau, answers calls to your Boulevard number, helps clients book and manage appointments, answers common questions and passes callers to your team. It can run always-on, as backup for unanswered calls, or after hours only. It is in beta and rolling out to Boulevard customers.

Best for: salons and medspas already on Boulevard.
Pricing: $125 a month per location for 200 minutes, then $0.60 a minute, on top of Boulevard’s plans (from $143 a month for one location).
Limitations: Boulevard only, still in beta, and calls to a different number have to be forwarded to your Boulevard number.

3. Zenoti AI Receptionist

Zenoti’s AI Receptionist answers missed and after-hours calls 24/7, then books, reschedules and confirms appointments by voice or text. Zenoti says it converts one in three missed calls into appointments.

Best for: multi-location salons, spas and medspas running Zenoti.
Pricing: quoted with Zenoti.
Limitations: part of the Zenoti platform, so it’s a decision about your whole salon software.

4. Rosie

Rosie is a general AI answering service for small businesses that answers 24/7 in English or Spanish, takes messages and texts booking links.

Best for: solo stylists and small salons who mostly need the phone answered.
Pricing: Professional $49 a month for 250 minutes; Scale $149 for 1,000 minutes with calendar booking and transfers; Growth $299.
Limitations: on Professional, clients get a link to book themselves. More in Rosie AI.

5. Goodcall

Goodcall charges by unique caller rather than by minute, so a regular who calls three times in a month counts once.

Best for: busy salons with lots of repeat callers.
Pricing: Starter $79 a month for 100 unique customers; Growth $129 for 500; Scale $299 for 2,000.
Limitations: booking runs through integrations you set up. See Goodcall.

6. My AI Front Desk

My AI Front Desk (now Frontdesk AI) answers calls, texts and chats and books on Google or Outlook calendars.

Best for: salons that book on a Google or Outlook calendar.
Pricing: $99 a month, or $79 billed annually, for 200 voice minutes.
Limitations: 200 minutes go fast on a busy Saturday. See My AI Front Desk.

What a salon receptionist actually handles

Test any AI receptionist on the calls your front desk gets every day:

“Do you have anything Thursday?” Check the real calendar and offer times, not take a message.
“How much is a full highlight?” Answer from your menu, including the price range.
“I need to move my appointment.” Reschedule within your cancellation policy.
“Can I get in with Emily?” Book that stylist, with the right duration.
New client with a color correction. Book a consultation first, if that’s your rule.

Carly handles all five from your own rules and texts the confirmation from your salon’s number.

How to pick an AI receptionist for your salon

Calls and texts handled by one set of rules, on any booking setup: go with Carly.
On Boulevard and happy there: try Beau.
A multi-location Zenoti business: Zenoti’s AI Receptionist.
Just need the phone answered cheaply: Rosie’s entry plan.

More for the chair and the front desk: best AI tools for salons and AI agents for salon owners. Outside the beauty business, see best AI receptionist for small business.

FAQ

What is the best AI receptionist for a hair salon?

Carly, for salons that want every call and text answered, booked and confirmed by the same rules. Boulevard and Zenoti salons can use their built-in receptionists.

How much does an AI receptionist for a salon cost?

Rosie starts at $49 a month, Goodcall at $79, My AI Front Desk at $99, and Boulevard’s Beau at $125 a month per location. Carly: Free Zapier-style workflows; AI agents from $35/month.

Can an AI receptionist book salon appointments?

Yes. Carly books on the stylist’s calendar with the right appointment length while the client is on the line, then texts the confirmation. Some cheaper plans only text a booking link.

Does it work with my salon software?

Built-in receptionists work only inside their own platform (Boulevard, Zenoti). Carly connects to thousands of apps, Square and Vagaro included.

Can clients text the AI receptionist?

With Carly, yes: clients text your salon’s number to book, reschedule or ask a question, and get answers from your own menu and policies.

How do I set up Carly for my salon?

Copy one prompt into ChatGPT or Claude, grab a number in the chat, and you’re live in minutes. Get started.

Ready to automate your busywork?

Carly schedules, researches, and briefs you—so you can focus on what matters.

See what people say

"Before Carly, I relied on a Calendly link, but the whole process felt impersonal and not very professional. Carly changed that by handling all the back-and-forth, so I'm no longer stuck in endless email threads trying to line up schedules.

Now Carly reaches out to candidates, shares my real-time availability, lets them pick a slot, then sends a Zoom link and drops it straight into my calendar. She sends reminders to both of us before each call, which has significantly reduced no-shows and last-minute confusion.

On top of scheduling, Carly acts like a full executive assistant, sending me my schedule the night before so I can prepare for each call. It reminds me of the old x.ai assistant, but Carly is noticeably smarter, faster, and better suited to my healthcare recruitment business."

Gus Ibrahim, Founder & Director, IHR