How to answer your salon's calls and WhatsApp without stopping work
So that you don't have to stop a service every time the phone rings, let an AI receptionist answer the calls and WhatsApp messages on your Booksy, Treatwell or Koibox diary. It checks your real free slots, books the appointment and passes anything that needs judgement to the team. You carry on with the client in front of you.
David Zafra · · 10 min read ·
- Calls come in just when your hands are busy.
- The AI receptionist works on the diary you already use, with no change of software.
- It also answers the salon's WhatsApp, on the same number, at any hour.
- It sends reminders and confirms appointments, so the slot of anyone who can't come is freed in time.
- Anything that needs an in-person assessment, it passes to the team.
Why does the phone interrupt a service so much?
Because it rings when you can't pick up: with a colour on, scissors in your hand or a client on the treatment bed.
Whatever you choose, the interruption has already happened. If you answer, you lose the thread of the service. If you don't, the caller tries the next salon. And the client who writes on WhatsApp waits for a reply that nobody has time to give until closing time.
With an AI receptionist, the call is answered first time and the appointment goes into the free slot. The team doesn't have to stop anything.
Is an online booking link enough?
It helps, but it rarely stops the calls.
People who book through the link know what they want. But many clients don't know which service they need, how long it will take or whether they can see the same stylist again. They also call to change an appointment, say they're running late or ask a last-minute question. Those conversations still arrive by phone and on WhatsApp.
That's why the link and the receptionist don't compete. The link covers people who already know what they want. The receptionist looks after people who have a question and, while talking to them, writes the appointment into your diary.
Can an AI receptionist book in Booksy, Treatwell or Koibox?
Yes. heydiga connects to the diary you already use, reads your free slots and writes the appointment there while it talks to the client.
Your software is still your diary. The AI receptionist doesn't replace it: it reads what it needs from it and writes into it whatever it settles.
| Software | What the AI receptionist reads | What it writes | What else |
|---|---|---|---|
| Booksy | Availability by professional and by service, durations, prices and the client record | The appointment with the right professional and service, time changes, cancellations and call notes | It books while it talks, without offering a slot someone has just taken in the app |
| Treatwell | Availability, service catalogue, published prices and client records | New appointments, time changes, cancellations and call notes | It syncs appointments and avoids double bookings between your own channel and the marketplace |
| Koibox | Availability by professional, treatment room and service, packages, remaining sessions and history | The appointment in the right slot and with the right professional, changes, cancellations and notes in the client record | It recognises the client by her phone number and checks her record |
All three connect from your own account, with a permission you can revoke whenever you like. Nothing to install and no technical help needed.
One point about Treatwell: it is still your channel for winning new clients. Appointments taken by phone are the salon's own bookings, not the marketplace's.
And one about Booksy: you keep paying for your software. Its pricing page lists €34.99 a month plus VAT, and €8 plus VAT for each additional team member (Booksy Biz, pricing, 29 October 2026 (opens in a new tab)). The AI receptionist is added to that cost; it doesn't replace it.
How do you answer the salon's WhatsApp at any hour?
With the number your clients already have saved. The same assistant answers the phone, with the same diary.
heydiga works with your business's WhatsApp: there's no new number to give your clients. It replies at night and at weekends, checks the real free slots before suggesting anything and leaves the appointment booked. An appointment asked for on WhatsApp and one asked for by phone draw on the same slots, so they never get double-booked.
If the client sends a photo or a document, the receptionist receives it. And if you want to step into a conversation yourself, anyone on the team can join a WhatsApp chat that heydiga is handling and see everything that has been said.
The limit: it doesn't improvise anything that needs an in-person assessment, such as a tricky colour or a new treatment. It passes it to the team or takes a message so the salon can call back.
Conversational WhatsApp can be added to any plan for €39 a month excl. VAT (heydiga pricing, 29 October 2026).
What about client no-shows?
Clients are reminded of their appointment and can confirm or change it, and the slot of anyone who isn't coming is freed in time.
The AI receptionist sends a confirmation when the booking is made and a reminder before the appointment, at the time you decide, for example the day before. The client can confirm or change it from the message itself. Anyone who can't come says so right there, and the slot is freed in time to give it to someone else.
An example. A client cancels her 6 pm appointment on Friday. Without notice, that slot won't be filled. With the cancellation made on Thursday afternoon, the slot can be offered to another client.
A practical tip: one reminder is enough, and several in a row are annoying. And only send reminders for the appointments you choose, not necessarily all of them.
More on reminders and no-shows.
What about the team's holidays and days off?
They stay in your diary, where you already manage them. The AI receptionist doesn't offer blocked-out slots.
Each professional's holidays and days off are still managed where they are managed today. With Booksy and Koibox, the receptionist books according to each professional's hours and availability. If the client doesn't mind who looks after her, the receptionist gives her the salon's first free slot.
Which calls go to a person?
The ones that need judgement. The AI receptionist handles the rest.
| The AI receptionist handles it | Goes to the team |
|---|---|
| Booking, changing or cancelling an appointment in a free slot | Anything that needs an in-person assessment |
| Answering with your prices and the real time each service takes | A question it can't answer: it says so and transfers the call |
| Confirming appointments and sending reminders | A WhatsApp conversation you want to step into yourself |
| Answering at night, at weekends and when the salon is closed | A message so the salon can call back |
heydiga doesn't improvise: it never makes up a price, opening hours or an appointment.
How can you test it before signing up?
With your real diary and made-up details. Note down how each case ends: completed, awaiting confirmation, passed to the team or unavailable.
| Case | What should happen |
|---|---|
| Cut and colour with a particular stylist | It looks for a slot long enough for both services, with that stylist |
| Time change on WhatsApp | It changes it in the diary and frees the previous slot |
| A slot that has just been taken in the app | It doesn't offer it |
| A service whose price you changed yesterday | It gives the new price |
| A tricky colour | It takes a message and passes it to the team |
| The diary isn't responding | The appointment stays pending and it alerts a person |
A rule for any provider, heydiga included: if the diary isn't responding, the appointment can't be treated as booked.
Where heydiga fits
The AI receptionist from digalook, heydiga's product for hair salons and beauty centres, answers your salon's calls and WhatsApp in a natural voice, books into your diary and works 24/7. For the details by type of business, see the hair and beauty salons page.
- With Booksy, Treatwell or Koibox, it books straight into your diary.
- With the salon's WhatsApp and calls, the same assistant and the same information work across both channels.
- If your calls mostly come in when the salon is closed, see after-hours calls.
Nothing to install, no change of software and no touching your number. The connection to Booksy, Treatwell or Koibox comes with Diga Start: €99 a month excl. VAT, with 500 minutes and no minimum term. With conversational WhatsApp, added for €39, it comes to €138 a month excl. VAT (prices as of 2 November 2026).
Request a demo of the AI receptionist
A first step: one week of calls and messages
Before changing anything, note down over a normal week:
- How many calls you miss while you have a client in front of you, by hour and by day.
- How many WhatsApp messages go unanswered until closing time.
- Which questions keep coming up: opening hours, prices, how long things take, whether there's a slot on Saturday.
- How many appointments fall through without notice, and how many get filled afterwards.
- Which calls really need judgement and which are always the same.
With that list you'll know what the receptionist has to handle and what's down to you. If you want to see the problem in any kind of business, read how to stop missing customer calls.
Frequently asked questions
Can an AI really manage a salon's bookings?
Yes, if it works on your real diary. heydiga checks the free slots, takes into account how long each service lasts and writes the appointment into your software. If something falls outside what it knows, it says so and transfers the call to the team instead of guessing.
Does it replace Booksy, Treatwell or Koibox?
No. Your software is still your diary. The AI receptionist reads from it and writes into it, and connecting it to Booksy involves no payment to Booksy. If you ever change software, it connects to the new one and your phone number stays the same.
Do I have to change my WhatsApp number?
No. heydiga works with your business's WhatsApp, the number your clients already have saved. The same assistant answers the phone and WhatsApp, with the same diary.
What happens if a client cancels or doesn't turn up?
She's reminded of the appointment beforehand and can confirm or change it from the message. If she can't come, the slot is freed in time to give it to another client. The reminder only goes out for the appointments you choose.
What if a colleague is on holiday?
Blocked-out slots aren't offered. Holidays and days off are still managed where you already manage them, and the receptionist books according to each professional's hours.
Is it only for large salons?
No. A three-chair salon notices it sooner, because every call that comes in mid-service slows down half the team.
Sources
- Booksy, Booksy Biz pricing (opens in a new tab), accessed on 29 October 2026.
- Features, integrations and prices: digalook, hair and beauty salons, Booksy, Treatwell, Koibox, WhatsApp and calls, reminders and no-shows and pricing, accessed on 29 October 2026.
How it was written: written with the help of AI tools; reviewed and verified by the heydiga team.
