Updated October 2026. CallPad publishes this guide and is one of the 11 options in it. Vendor facts come from each vendor’s own website, checked on the dates shown, or from our existing guides that cite them.
Which AI receptionists work for UK aesthetics clinics and spas?
We compared 11 options. Start with whether a tool answers the phone and books into the system you already use. This is not a ranking.
| Option | Type | Answers phone calls? | Books during the call? | Source |
|---|
| Fresha AI Concierge | Built into Fresha (optional add-on) | Yes, 24/7 | Yes: books, reschedules and cancels in your Fresha calendar | Fresha, checked 23 Oct 2026 |
| Pabau AI receptionist | Built into Pabau (Engage Plus) | Yes: answers calls your team misses | Yes: books appointments and sends confirmations | Pabau help centre, checked 23 Oct 2026 |
| Phorest Front Desk AI | Built into Phorest (messages) | No: handles SMS and WhatsApp | By message, not on a call | Phorest, checked 23 Oct 2026 |
| Treatwell AI Receptionist | Built into Treatwell | Yes, day or night | Yes, in your Treatwell calendar; can't take payments over the phone yet | Treatwell, checked 23 Oct 2026 |
| Cliniko | Practice software | No AI phone receptionist of its own; AI receptionists connect from outside | Through connected apps, including CallPad | Cliniko guide |
| Timely | Booking software | No built-in AI phone receptionist found (checked 19 Oct 2026) | Not on the phone | Timely guide |
| CallPad | Independent, built for clinics, salons and spas (publisher of this guide) | Yes, 24/7, plus SMS, WhatsApp and email | Yes, live with a named practitioner in Phorest, Cliniko, SalonIQ, Salon Manager, Shortcuts and Google Calendar and other systems | CallPad integrations |
| Lummy | Independent | Yes, phone | Texts the caller a booking link during the call | UK aesthetics clinic guide, checked 18 Oct 2026 |
| Remi | Independent | Yes, phone and WhatsApp | Books into Google Calendar, Cliniko or Acuity; on other systems it texts your booking link | UK aesthetics clinic guide, checked 18 Oct 2026 |
| Ringmere | Independent | Yes, phone; WhatsApp and text on its Growth and Pro plans | Books into your diary (see its integrations page) | UK aesthetics clinic guide, checked 18 Oct 2026 |
| Moneypenny | Answering service (people and AI) | Yes: people answering or AI answering | Ask Moneypenny how it connects to your booking system | Moneypenny, checked 23 Oct 2026 |
“Ask” means the vendor’s page didn’t say. We leave prices out because they change often; check each vendor’s site. SalonIQ, Salon Manager and Shortcuts also have AI receptionists, and they’re powered by CallPad.
What do the built-in AI receptionists do?
- Fresha AI Concierge: Fresha describes it as an AI-powered phone receptionist built into Fresha that answers inbound calls for salons, spas, barbershops and clinics. It’s available 24/7 and books and reschedules appointments in your Fresha calendar (Fresha, checked 23 Oct 2026). See Does Fresha have an AI receptionist? No CallPad Fresha integration yet; contact us and join the waitlist.
- Pabau AI receptionist: part of Pabau Engage. Pabau says it can answer calls your team misses, book appointments and send confirmations, and everything it does appears in the Engage inbox (Pabau help centre, checked 23 Oct 2026). Pabau says the AI agents come with Engage Plus, its paid Engage subscription (Pabau). See Does Pabau have an AI receptionist? No CallPad Pabau integration yet; contact us and join the waitlist.
- Phorest Front Desk AI handles inbound SMS and WhatsApp around the clock and actions booking, rescheduling and rebooking requests (Phorest, checked 23 Oct 2026). We found no Phorest AI that answers phone calls. CallPad works on any Phorest plan: you request an API key from Phorest, and CallPad connects with it. See Phorest AI receptionist.
- Treatwell AI Receptionist answers calls day or night and handles bookings, reschedules and cancellations directly in your Treatwell calendar. Treatwell says it can’t take payments over the phone yet, and that WhatsApp answering is coming soon (Treatwell, checked 23 Oct 2026). See Treatwell AI receptionist No CallPad Treatwell integration yet; contact us and join the waitlist.
What about Cliniko and Timely?
- Cliniko has no AI phone receptionist of its own; AI receptionists connect to it from outside. CallPad books, moves and cancels in Cliniko in real time with a named practitioner, including consultation appointment types. See Cliniko AI receptionist.
- Timely: we found no built-in AI phone receptionist when we checked on 19 October 2026. Its AI, Textie Bestie, writes client texts. No CallPad Timely integration yet; contact us and join the waitlist. See Does Timely have an AI receptionist?
Which independent options are there?
- CallPad answers every call 24/7 and books, moves and cancels live with a named practitioner in Phorest, Cliniko, SalonIQ, Salon Manager, Shortcuts and Google Calendar, among other systems. It sends clinical and aftercare calls to your practitioner, and takes deposits and sells gift cards on the call. CallPad powers the AI receptionists inside SalonIQ (IQ Connect), Salon Manager and Shortcuts.
- Lummy texts the caller a booking link during the call, and clinical questions go to your team (from our UK aesthetics clinic guide, checked 18 October 2026).
- Remi answers on the phone and WhatsApp, and books into Google Calendar, Cliniko or Acuity; on other systems it texts your booking link (from our UK aesthetics clinic guide).
- Ringmere books into your diary and explains your deposit policy, but doesn’t take payment on the phone. Clinical calls are never answered; they’re passed to your practitioner (from our UK aesthetics clinic guide).
- Moneypenny is a UK answering service that offers people answering and an AI receptionist, and says it is 100% UK-based (Moneypenny, checked 23 Oct 2026). Ask how it connects to your booking system.
General-purpose voice AI tools and answering services can answer the phone, but check whether they book into your clinic software during the call or only take a message or text a link. Ask any vendor for a test booking in your own diary before you sign up.
Which option fits your clinic or spa?
- On Pabau, Fresha or Treatwell: try the built-in AI receptionist first, because it already knows your menu and diary.
- On Phorest or Cliniko: neither has its own AI phone receptionist, and CallPad books live into both with a named practitioner.
- On SalonIQ, Salon Manager or Shortcuts (for example, a spa or salon with an aesthetics room): your system’s AI receptionist is powered by CallPad. To switch it on, contact CallPad.
- On Timely: No CallPad Timely integration yet; contact us and join the waitlist.
What should a UK clinic check before an AI receptionist answers its phone?
- Consultation-first wording. The CAP Code says prescription-only medicines may not be advertised to the public (CAP Code, rule 12.12), and ASA guidance says clinics should promote the consultation, not the medicine (ASA guidance). The receptionist should use your approved, consultation-led wording and leave suitability to the prescriber. See advertising rules for UK aesthetics clinics.
- Clinical hand-off. Reaction, complication and aftercare calls should go to your practitioner, not the AI. You can tell CallPad to direct anyone describing an emergency to ring 999, or NHS 111 for urgent advice.
- UK GDPR and health data. Health details a caller mentions can be special category data (ICO). Ask for a data processing agreement and check that treatment details stay out of texts. See UK GDPR and AI receptionists for clinics.
- Under-18 enquiries. In England, certain cosmetic injections can’t be given to under-18s. CallPad can check a caller’s age before booking these consultations; you decide which treatments it applies to.
- Live diary booking and deposits. Check it books the consultation with the right practitioner and appointment length, and follows your deposit policy on the call.
This is general information, not legal or medical advice. Check your wording and data protection arrangements with a qualified adviser.
How we compared
Updated October 2026. We looked at the booking systems UK aesthetics clinics and spas use and the AI receptionists that come up for these searches. We checked Fresha, Pabau, Phorest, Treatwell and Moneypenny on their own websites on 23 October 2026, and took the other facts from our existing guides, which cite each vendor’s own pages and the dates they were checked. We compared them on:
- whether it answers phone calls, and when
- whether it books, moves and cancels in your diary during the call, or texts a link
- what happens to clinical and aftercare calls
- deposits on the call
- channels beyond the phone
We quote what each vendor says about itself. We leave out prices, ratings and customer numbers.
Disclosure: CallPad publishes this guide and is one of the options in it. We haven’t ranked the options. They’re grouped by type and listed alphabetically within each group.
How CallPad helps UK clinics and spas
If you choose CallPad, on the booking systems it works with, CallPad:
- answers every call 24/7, including while you treat, after hours and at weekends, and handles several calls at once
- books, moves and cancels consultations and appointments in real time with the practitioner the client asks for
- takes deposits on the call, by texting a payment link or using a card on file in your booking system, and sells gift cards
- answers phone calls, SMS, WhatsApp and email; Instagram, Messenger and TikTok are coming soon
- handles rescheduling, follow-ups, personalised reminders and reporting in every plan
- transfers the call to a team member or takes a message, and you get an email saying what the caller wanted
- keeps treatment details out of reminder and confirmation texts, and operates under UK GDPR with a data processing agreement
Every plan is a flat rate with all minutes included. Setup takes about 10 minutes. CallPad books in real time in Mindbody, Booker, Zenoti, Square Appointments, GlossGenius, Setmore, Zoho Bookings, Phorest, SalonIQ, Salon Manager, Shortcuts, Simple Salon, Cliniko and Google Calendar; see the booking systems CallPad works with.
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
What is the best AI receptionist for a UK aesthetics clinic?
The one that books consultations into the diary you already use, during the call and with the right practitioner, and passes clinical and aftercare calls to your team. If your software has a built-in AI phone receptionist (Pabau, Fresha or Treatwell), start there. On Phorest or Cliniko, CallPad books live with a named practitioner.
Which UK clinic and spa booking systems have a built-in AI phone receptionist?
Pabau (with Engage Plus), Fresha (AI Concierge) and Treatwell (AI Receptionist) all answer calls. Phorest’s Front Desk AI handles SMS and WhatsApp rather than calls. Cliniko has no AI phone receptionist of its own, and we found none in Timely.
Does CallPad work with Pabau, Fresha, Treatwell or Timely?
No CallPad Pabau, Fresha, Treatwell or Timely integration yet; contact us and join the waitlist. CallPad books live in Phorest, Cliniko, SalonIQ, Salon Manager, Shortcuts and Google Calendar.
What happens when a client calls about a reaction or aftercare?
The call goes to your practitioner. CallPad doesn’t give medical or aftercare advice. It can transfer the call to a team member or take a message, and you can tell it to direct emergencies to 999, or NHS 111 for urgent advice.
How does CallPad handle UK GDPR?
CallPad operates under UK GDPR and has a data processing agreement, and it keeps treatment details out of reminder and confirmation texts. Our security overview explains how we protect client data. This is general information, not legal advice.
Try CallPad
Talk to us, or hear CallPad answer a booking call.
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