The right AI tools can help you run your nail salon more efficiently and build stronger relationships with your clients

Delighting clients is only the start of running a successful nail salon. You also need to get your finances in order, create an effective marketing plan, and keep track of a thousand little clerical details. The right tools for the job can make the whole process much easier — and that includes artificial intelligence (AI).

While AI can’t give a manicure or create beautiful nail art — that’s the magic only talented nail techs can deliver — it can handle some pretty important work behind the scenes. AI tools can help you optimize your schedule, manage your inventory, and build relationships with your clients. With a little creativity, AI can even be a partner in analyzing complex reports or bouncing around new ideas. You don’t need to be a tech wizard to make AI a meaningful part of your business plan. All you need are a few simple definitions and guidelines.

AI as a business tool

Ever since ChatGPT went public in 2022, AI has been a huge buzzword in the business world. And, like any buzzword, the definition has gotten fuzzy to the point that it means almost anything you want it to. Let’s cut through some of the noise.

AI, or artificial intelligence, is any computer function that mimics human behavior. Computer scientists coined the term in the 1950s and created the first chatbot in the ‘60s. Since then, AI has evolved and become part of the programs we use every day. Sorting columns in a spreadsheet is an example of AI. So are robotic vacuum cleaners, smartphone voice assistants, and machines that play chess.

Today, a lot of the discussion focuses on generative AI. This refers to when an AI tool creates original text, images, or other multimedia based on a massive set of training data. These tools often run on Large Language Models (LLMs), which allow users to ask questions and give commands in plain English. ChatGPT and similar tools run on LLMs.

Now, think about how you could use some of these tools in a nail salon. The most obvious place to start is with nail salon management software that incorporates some of these features. Some platforms can automatically track your inventory, message your clients, provide detailed insights on your financial reports, and optimize your appointment booking. You’d be using AI to make smart, data-driven decisions while reducing day-to-day busywork.

Both clients and salons are starting to embrace AI’s role in the self-care sphere. Clients can use AI tools to create their own nail art and preview how it would look on their hands. Salons, meanwhile, are creating customer service chatbots and personalizing client recommendations more efficiently than before.

What can AI do for your nail salon?

Analyze market trends

If you’ve been running a nail salon for a while, you already know that you’re going to have some big revenue spikes throughout the year — you can expect more clients around proms, graduations, and winter holidays. Now, imagine if you could find similar big opportunities. 

AI is great at picking up patterns that might be too subtle for humans to spot. If you can feed a year (or a few years) of financial reports into an AI tool, it can help you find smaller sales trends that you might have missed. That way, you can ramp up (or scale down) your marketing and staffing to match demand. 

Pinpoint client preferences

Believe it or not, your clients may not be the best source of information about what they like and how they’re feeling. If you ask them directly, they may say everything’s fine and leave it at that. If you send them surveys, they may ignore you. This is another case where AI analysis can come in handy. You already have data about which services clients book, how often they come, and how much they spend on each visit. An AI tool can give you a clear picture of which services clients love, which ones they don’t, and how much they’re willing to spend per visit.

Brainstorm new ideas

If you’ve played with ChatGPT, you probably noticed that it can give you detailed, easy-to-understand information in response to almost any question. Does that mean you could use generative AI to create a business plan for your nail salon? The short answer is “no,” but the longer answer is worth exploring.

You can’t trust an LLM to build a business plan for three reasons:

• Any data you upload to it might become publicly available

• Generative AIs often “hallucinate,” where they give bad information with complete confidence

• You’ll get the same answers as everyone else who asks a similar question

However, that doesn’t mean you should write off generative AI entirely. You can ask an AI chatbot any question you like or pitch it any number of ideas. AIs aren’t judgmental, they can’t get tired, and they “know” what other businesses have (and haven’t) tried. If you need to brainstorm or bounce around some ideas, generative AI can be a great sounding board. 

Optimize operations

Working with clients is only one part of running a nail salon. You also need to manage bookings, schedule your staff, track your inventory, pay your bills, produce financial reports — the list goes on. AI excels at this kind of simple, repetitive work. A good nail salon management platform can help you optimize your staffing schedule, rebook client appointments, reorder supplies, automate vendor payments, and find valuable insights in your data. That means less time wrangling with clerical work and more time serving your clients.

Communicate with clients

Building relationships with clients is what will help your nail salon succeed in the long run. AI tools make it easier to do this with automated marketing. Each client needs booking confirmations, appointment reminders, and follow-up messages. You might also want to send out the occasional marketing email or text promotion. It’s a time-consuming task that just gets harder the more clients you have.

An AI can do the whole thing automatically with minimal oversight. AI messaging tools can address clients by name and give them exact details about their appointments. Some tools even let you customize automatic responses for after-hours messages. You get valuable time back and your clients feel very well attended to — everyone wins!

From streamlining everyday work to planning out long-term strategies, AI can be a valuable tool to help your business grow. If it doesn’t require human imagination or creativity, try automating it with AI!