What it actually does
When a customer opens your booking page, they can either pick a slot from your calendar (classic) or chat with the AI. The AI reads your real availability, your services, your pricing, your deposit rules, and your cancellation policy. When it offers a time, that slot is held in real time. When it confirms a booking, it's already on your calendar.
It's not a chatbot bolted onto a help page. It's the same booking flow, in a different shape — better suited to people who'd rather describe what they want than scan a grid.
Run both, not one or the other
There's no reason to pick. Classic and AI both run on the same page and the customer chooses. Most regulars stay on classic — they know what they want and the soonest slot they can get. First-time customers and anyone unsure which service they need tend to drift to the chat.
The two modes share one calendar, so a slot booked in chat disappears from the grid immediately. You don't have to manage anything.
Name your services like a customer would
The AI is only as good as your service list. Use names a normal person would say out loud. "Balayage" is fine. "Color Service Tier 2 — Premium" is not. "Deep tissue 60" works. "DT-60-PRM" doesn't.
If a service has prerequisites — a consultation before a first-time color, an intake form before a massage, a 48-hour patch test — write it into the service description. The AI will pick it up and ask the customer about it before confirming.
When to turn it off
If your business runs on a tightly controlled menu and every booking needs human judgment (custom tattoo consults, certain medical-adjacent services), it's fair to leave AI off and stick with classic. You can disable it in settings without losing anything else.
Otherwise, leave it on. Customers who don't want to use it ignore it.