What is the AI Booking Assistant?
Important: this is a beta version
Where does your customer find the chatbot?
What can the chatbot do and not do?
How does a booking via chat proceed?
What happens after the appointment?
AI Provider & AI Model
Which provider do we recommend?
Which model should you choose?
How are AI costs calculated?
Our recommendation
How do you communicate this to customers?
Important things to note
How to optimally configure your online booking for the AI chatbot?
14.1 Problems with chatbot recognition
14.2 Structure your menu logically
14.3 Always make “first time” explicit
14.4 Use consistent naming
14.5 Split complex services
14.6 Avoid abbreviations, brands and internal codes
14.7 Think like a customer
1. What is the AI Booking Assistant?
The AI Booking Assistant is a digital assistant on your online booking page.
Via a chat icon, customers can:
Make an appointment
Choose a service
View available times
Ask questions about services (limited)
The chatbot guides the customer step by step until the appointment is fully confirmed.
It uses exactly the same data as your existing online booking (services, calendar, staff, opening hours).
2. Important: this is a beta version
This is currently an early version.
That means:
The chatbot can sometimes interpret things slightly incorrectly.
Complex or unclear questions can fail.
The phrasing can sometimes feel less natural.
We recommend:
Testing internally first.
Clearly informing customers that this is a test phase.
Collecting structured feedback — note all remarks to send them via email to our development team. Grouping everything makes work easier than sending one remark at a time.
3. Where does your customer find the chatbot?
On the online booking page there is a chat icon in the bottom right (speech bubble).
Clicking opens a chat window over the page.
4. What can the chatbot do and not do?
What it can do? ✅
Understand that someone wants to make an appointment
Help determine the right service
Suggest available dates and times
Respect opening hours
Respect availability and staff knowledge
Take into account last-minute slots and workshops
Record the appointment in the system (with optional note)
Register workshop bookings for multiple people at once
What it can't do? ❌
Create appointments outside opening hours ❌
Create appointments on fully booked times ❌
Book non-existent services ❌
Make exceptions to your rules ❌
Reschedule or cancel existing appointments ❌
Process deposit-required appointments (currently) ❌
⚠️
If you use deposits for all services or treatments, the chatbot unfortunately cannot book anything for your customers (for now).
5. How does a booking via chat proceed?
The customer indicates they want to make an appointment.
The chatbot asks which service.
Available dates and times are suggested.
The customer chooses an option.
The appointment is confirmed as soon as all information is filled in correctly.
The customer receives a confirmation email just like with online booking.
6. What happens after the appointment?
After a completed booking, the chatbot may ask for a rating:
Score from 1 to 5 stars
Optional text field for feedback
Important:
A review can only be submitted once.
It cannot be edited.
Feedback is only visible to the Optios development team.
Salons currently do not have access to it.
This helps us improve the beta version.
7. AI Provider & AI Model
When activating, you must choose 2 things:
AI Provider (who provides the technology)
AI Model (how powerful the chatbot thinks)
These settings only influence how responses are formulated — not your booking rules.
8. Which provider do we recommend?
You can choose between:
OpenAI (GPT)
Anthropic (Claude)
For standard appointments we recommend: OpenAI (GPT) ✅
This is the most tested and stable within our booking context.
9. Which model should you choose?
For standard appointments, an extremely powerful model is not necessary.
Within OpenAI:
GPT-4o
GPT-4o Mini (Recommended)
GPT-4 Turbo
For standard appointments we recommend GPT-4o Mini:
Faster
Cheaper
Perfect for structured appointment conversations
For most salons this is more than sufficient.
10. How are AI costs calculated?
The price is calculated based on “tokens” (pieces of text).
You pay for:
The customer’s text (input)
The chatbot’s text (output)
More computational power = higher cost per conversation.
There is currently a limit per conversation to limit costs.
⚠️
At the moment, Optios will still cover the costs itself,
as the chatbot is still in beta.
11. Our recommendation
For most salons:
AI Provider: OpenAI (GPT)
AI Model: GPT-4o Mini (Recommended)
12. How do you communicate this to customers?
Transparency prevents frustration.
Set a clear welcome message on your online booking.
Announce the same on all your social media channels and website!
Example welcome message:
Welcome! We are currently testing our new chatbot. It is still in a test phase, so mistakes may occur. If something is not correct, please let us know or contact us directly.
Example social media post:
✨ New at our place: our AI Booking Assistant!
Our online booking now has an AI chatbot (beta) that helps you make appointments. What does it do?
✔️ Helps choose services
✔️ Suggests available times
✔️ Secures your appointment immediately
If you see something that isn’t quite right, book as before and let us know so we can make the experience even better together.
Thank you for helping us test!
This ensures that customers:
Have more understanding in case of errors
Less likely give negative feedback
Know they can still contact you directly
13. Important things to note
The chatbot operates within the same rules as your online booking.
The chatbot does not understand all professional jargon like a hairdresser does.
This is a first version.
Further optimizations will follow later.
Always test internally before going live.
14. How to optimally configure your online booking for the AI chatbot?
A clear and logical service structure is essential.
A chatbot does not understand professional jargon like a hairdresser does. It recognizes clear, descriptive terms such as:
“new extensions placement”
“hair coloring”
“consultation”
“haircut”
14.1 Problems with chatbot recognition
Many service names are:
Too technical
Internal jargon
Unclear for new customers
Unclear for AI parsing
Example: “Glazing + thickening”
The AI does not automatically recognize that this means: a new set of extensions (volume) + glazing type color.
Use instead:
Coloring ‘glazing’ + New Extensions (more volume)
Coloring ‘glazing’ + New Extensions (more length)
✅ AI recognizes words such as:
new set
placement
first time
extensions
coloring
❌ Not:
glazing
thickening
lengthening
Professional jargon works poorly for parsing.
14.2 Structure your menu logically
Work with clear categories.
Advice
Consultation extensions
Color advice
New placement
New extensions placement (volume)
New extensions placement (length)
Coloring + new extensions
Maintenance
Extensions update
Extensions removal
Reinstall wet/tapes
Each service must be clear on its own.
14.3 Always make “first time” explicit
✅ Use:
New extensions placement (first time)
First appointment extensions
❌ Avoid:
Full set
New set
Thickening
14.4 Use consistent naming
✅ Keep the same structure everywhere:
New extensions placement (volume)
New extensions placement (length)
New extensions placement + coloring
❌ Not:
New set
Full install
Thickening
14.5 Split complex services
❌ Do not use collective terms such as:
Extensions premium
All-in package
Luxury package
✅ Use separate, clear services:
New extensions placement (volume)
New extensions placement (length)
New extensions placement + coloring
Extensions update
Extensions removal
The more concrete the service, the better for:
AI recognition
Correct time estimation
Fewer incorrect bookings
14.6 Avoid abbreviations, brands and internal codes
❌ Don’t use:
WEFT PRO
GLZ EXT
V-SET
✅ Use descriptive language.
14.7 Think like a customer
Ask yourself for each service:
“If a new customer reads this, do they understand exactly what this is?”
If not → rename it.
Conclusion
The AI Booking Assistant works optimally when:
Expectations are set correctly
The correct AI settings are chosen
The online booking is logically and clearly structured
The clearer your structure, the higher the AI accuracy and the fewer incorrect bookings.
Activate?
Contact us, as you cannot set this up yourself.
You must contact support to activate the chatbot.
This can be done via email or the chat button function in your Optios account.
