Short answer: choose a human service if your clients expect a person on every call, and an AI receptionist if you need every call answered and booked at any hour for less. Prisma Voices is an AI receptionist from $30 a month that books into Google Calendar 24/7. Check how bookings reach your salon software before you choose either.
Stylists are with clients, the front desk is checking out the last appointment, and the phone rings out to voicemail. A virtual receptionist picks up those calls. This guide covers the two kinds, what they cost today, and what to ask before you sign up.
Why do salons use a virtual receptionist?
- The front desk is busy with people in the salon. The phone rings while you check out the 11 AM appointment, and the 11:30 caller goes to voicemail.
- Stylists cannot answer mid-service. Hands in someone's hair means the next caller waits.
- Calls after closing. If clients call after you close, an answering service that runs 24/7 books them when they call, not the next morning.
- Service menus are detailed. A receptionist needs your menu and prices to answer questions correctly.
What are the two kinds of salon virtual receptionist?
Human virtual receptionists
Services such as Ruby and Smith.ai put trained people on your calls. Ruby lists 24/7 live answering on every receptionist plan, with plans from $250 a month for 50 minutes to $1,725 for 500 minutes, and lists scheduling among its optional features (ruby.com/pricing). Smith.ai's live receptionists start at $300 a month for 30 calls (smith.ai/pricing). Pros: a person on the line. Cons: you pay for staffed time.
AI virtual receptionists
Services like Prisma Voices use voice AI to answer calls 24/7. Pros: plans at $30, $99 or $249 a month, bookings into Google Calendar during the call, your service menu and prices in the agent's knowledge base, and more than one call at once on Starter (2) and Growth (5). Cons: some callers want a person, and the agent books into one calendar, so your front desk assigns the stylist.
Which fits depends on your clients. If they expect a person on every call, a human service is built for that. If what you need is calls answered and booked at any hour, AI does that for less.
What should a salon look for?
1. Your service menu and prices
The receptionist should answer questions about services and prices from information you give it, and never guess. Prisma Voices answers from the menu and prices you put in its knowledge base. It books one appointment length, so ask any vendor how it handles a three-hour colour next to a thirty-minute cut.
2. Stylist requests
If each stylist has their own calendar, ask a vendor whether it can book into the right one. Prisma Voices books into a single connected calendar; the stylist the client asked for is in the call summary, so your front desk assigns it.
3. A live calendar
The receptionist must read your calendar as it is now, not a morning snapshot. Prisma Voices checks your Google Calendar's free and busy times on every call, so a slot taken at 11:15 is not offered at 11:16.
4. Reminders
Prisma Voices texts a confirmation after booking and, for appointments more than a day away, a reminder the day before, where SMS is set up for your number. The client replies YES or NO. A NO marks the booking as declined and emails you; if the client does not reply to the confirmation within about three hours, Prisma Voices calls them back to reconfirm.
5. Cancellations on the call
When a client calls to cancel, the receptionist should cancel the appointment on your calendar during the call, so the slot is open for the next caller. Prisma Voices does this. It does not keep a waitlist or text other clients about the opening.
6. Returning clients
Prisma Voices recognises a returning caller by phone number, can greet them by name, and uses notes from their earlier calls, so they do not have to repeat themselves.
What does each option cost?
From each vendor's own pricing page:
- Ruby: $250/month for 50 minutes, $395 for 100, $720 for 200, $1,725 for 500. 24/7 live answering. No overage rate listed.
- Smith.ai (live receptionists): $300/month for 30 calls, $11.50 per extra call on Starter.
- Prisma Voices Pay as you go: $30/month plus $0.50 per answered minute, 1 call at once.
- Prisma Voices Starter: $99/month for 250 minutes, then $0.40/min, 2 calls at once.
- Prisma Voices Growth: $249/month for 700 minutes, then $0.35/min, 5 calls at once.
Pick by minutes: Starter costs less than Pay as you go from about 138 answered minutes a month, and Growth costs less than Starter from about 625. The answering service cost guide has the full table.
How do bookings reach your salon software?
A receptionist that only takes messages adds a delay between the caller and a confirmed slot. Ask every vendor exactly how bookings get onto the schedule your team works from, and check it in your booking software's own settings before signing up.
Prisma Voices books into Google Calendar and has no direct Vagaro, Booksy, Square Appointments, Mindbody or Fresha connection, so it fits salons that already run on Google Calendar or whose booking software can read one.
How long does setup take?
Prisma Voices goes live in about 5 minutes on your side: forward your phone number, connect Google Calendar, and give us your service menu, prices and hours. Setup is done for you on Pay as you go, Starter and Growth.
Bottom line
If your clients expect a person, compare Ruby and Smith.ai on the figures above. If you need every call answered and booked at any hour, try an AI receptionist on your own calls first. See how Prisma Voices works for salons and spas, or start the 4-day free trial.
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