WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT CHAT GPT

Artificial Intelligence is the buzzword of the moment – but what is the most efficient way to integrate it into your business?

While it’s been around for a while, AI (Artificial Intelligence) has started to make big waves in recent months, thanks in part to the rise of ChatGPT, an AI language processing tool, also referred to as a chatbot. The tool can be used to compose content, respond to questions, write code and more. While much has been made of it helping children cheat on their homework, it can actually be an excellent tool in supporting your salon.

However, there’s also something else on the market that could be just the ticket to help you boost your business: salon software. While many salon software brands also utilise AI technology, they have been specifically developed to take a portion of the workload off your hands and are already programmed to help you tackle specific tasks you encounter on a daily basis. Taking a look at the two side-by-side, what can they each offer your business, and which members of the hairdressing industry are set to benefit? It’s time to find out…

The Benefits of AI Software

While ChatGPT is the AI software most hairdressers are likely to be familiar with, there are certainly other options available. Becky Nightingale, Founder of Digital Nightingale, a freelance agency which specialises in branding and marketing within the hair industry, explains: “I’ve been utilising AI within my business for about 18 months now and have tried several AI platforms including Jasper, Copy.ai, and most recently, ChatGPT.”

BECKY

So, what can you use these tools for? Some simple examples include:

• Writing captions for social media

• Writing marketing emails to clients

• Writing your salon privacy policy

• Calculating formula ratios for colour

"PERSONALLY I DON'T THINK IT'S AN EFFORTLESS TOOL TO USE WITHOUT PRIOR KNOWLEDGE...I DON'T VIEW ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AS A THREAT TO MY JOB, AI STILL REQUIRES HUMAN GUIDANCE."

As an avid user of AI, Becky expands on some of these uses, explaining: “ChatGPT has proven to be an asset for my business; it has helped me enhance social media captions, edit emails, and create compelling hooks to support my content, all while helping me to improve spelling and structure. Personally I don't think it's an effortless tool to use without prior knowledge of its potential. I don't view Artificial Intelligence as a threat to my job, AI still requires human guidance.”

ChatGPT certainly presents some limitations, for example it can be hard to identify how original the content is, which is why Becky recommends adapting the copy to match your brand’s voice. If you duplicate already existing content online, this won't help your SEO. She also notes: “Just like using hair products, its effectiveness relies on the correct usage. Try to understand the platform thoroughly before using it, for example, be aware that its knowledge is limited to information available up until 2021 (unless you have a special plug-in) and should always be checked for accuracy.”

The Superiority of Dedicated Salon Software

While ChatGPT might be great for creating content, salon software takes the upper hand when it comes to the day-to-day running of a salon.

Jack Mead, Stylist and co-owner of Jack & The Wolfe, sings the praises of salon software, sharing: “We’ve been working with Vagaro for around six months. It helps provide us with in-depth reports, so I can really see how our business is running and progressing.” Ursula Moore, Founder and Owner of Bond Shoreditch, also believes that salon software is superior in supporting her business. Having used Fresha at Bond Shoreditch since opening in 2019, she loves its tools, such as the deposits feature, automatic reminders for clients, quick release of payments into bank accounts and stock control tools. “With the deposits feature, it means we're not chasing our clients for payments – you can leave the system to do that. And it allows people to take care of payments in their own time,” she explains. “It has also reduced no-shows and late cancellations, which is great.”

JACK

Ursula also shares that the stock control feature not only allows them to keep everything neat physically, but also financially. She notes: “It reminds us when levels are low, which has allowed us to do small, regular orders of things we really need – there’s no more guessing. This has been very beneficial and as far as I’m aware, wouldn’t be possible with ChatGPT.”

URSULA

Another great system for stock control, particularly in regard to colour, is Vish. Since its launch in 2018, Vish has enabled colourists to recalibrate formulas without any input other than reweighing the bowl after a service – arguably much simpler than asking ChatGPT to carry out a range of calculations. How? Vish stores the original colour formula in the client's file and compares it with any leftover waste, refining the formula to calculate the exact quantities required at the next appointment.

"The time-consuming, tedious job of stock control is gone," shares Luke Ormsby, owner of salons in Pinner and Primrose Hill, London. "Vish has brought our stock levels down, as I only order what we've used, so cash isn't tied up in colour sitting on the shelves for weeks, and we never run short."

LUKE

The Dream Team

But what about using ChatGPT and salon software together? Chloe Start, Receptionist and Social Media Manager at Law Salons in Saffron Walden, shares her experience of combining the two. She says: “We have been using SalonIQ for four years now and haven’t looked back. The AI embedded within the software gives us the power to boost our productivity by automating a wide range of tasks, including customer communications. One feature we find most useful is the automated SMS text messages that send out appointment reminders and promotional offers to our clients.”

CHLOE

Meanwhile, Chloe notes that she has also been employing ChatGPT to help support her social media management: “If given the right set of keywords, prompts or instructions it can help draft captions and can also help when composing emails.”

As someone familiar with both tools, Chloe says: “Both salon software and ChatGPT have features that have had a positive impact on our growth, however from a business strategy point of view, salon software stands out the most as it provides us with enhanced customer engagement, improved efficiency, beneficial marketing and increased productivity.”

It’s inevitable that AI is going to continue developing, so by incorporating it into your business now, you can stay one step ahead of your competitors. It also means you’ll have a good foundation to build on when AI inevitably expands. 

AI isn’t something to be scared of, with Becky highlighting that it already features in other areas of our lives (hello, Alexa and Siri). However, if you still feel uncertain adopting this new tool, then starting off with salon software is your best bet. Not only is it specifically tailored to the industry, and therefore your specific needs, but most salon software providers also offer extensive training and customer support, guaranteeing a user-friendly experience.

That being said, the most success to be had will be found by combining all of the tools at your disposal – and with ChatGPT currently free to use, alongside software plans at a range of price points, all offering an abundance of features, there’s something for everyone.

To show you the real power of ChatGPT, we asked it to write a beginners guide on using ChatGPT to boost your hairdressing business, and here’s what it had to say.