Glossary
The beauty + AI glossary.
The vocabulary of running a salon or spa and the vocabulary of the AI that now helps run it, defined plainly, in one place. Every term links from the guides so you never hit a word you do not know.
"Near me" search
A search that includes local intent (like "nail salon near me"), which Google answers with nearby businesses ranked by proximity and relevance.
AI Overviews
Google's AI-generated summary that appears at the top of many search results, answering the query directly before any links.
AI Receptionist
Software that answers calls and messages in natural language, books and reschedules appointments, and answers questions 24/7.
All-in-one salon software
A single platform that combines booking, POS, client records, and marketing so the whole business runs in one connected system.
Average Ticket
The average amount a client spends per visit, across services, retail, and add-ons.
Booking Window
The rules that set how far in advance and how close to an appointment a client is allowed to book online.
Booth Rental (Chair Rental)
A pay-to-work arrangement where a stylist rents a station from the salon and keeps their own service revenue instead of splitting it.
Cancellation Policy
The rule that sets how far in advance a client must cancel or reschedule to avoid a fee, and what that fee is.
Card on File
A client's saved payment card the salon is authorized to charge for a service, a late-cancellation fee, or a no-show.
Client Intake Form
The questionnaire a new client completes before a service, capturing health, history, preferences, and consent.
Client Lifetime Value (CLV)
The total revenue you can expect from one client across their entire relationship with you.
Client Retention Rate
The percentage of clients who come back for another visit over a given period.
Commission Split
The percentage of each service's price that a salon pays the stylist who performed it, with the rest kept by the business.
Consultation Notes
The record a provider keeps of what was discussed and done at a visit: formulas, products, preferences, and next steps.
Deposit
An upfront partial payment a client makes at booking that is applied to the service or forfeited if they break the cancellation policy.
Double-Booking
Two appointments assigned to the same staff member and time, either by accident or deliberately to fill processing gaps.
First-party data
The client information your business collects directly (contacts, visit history, preferences), owned by you rather than rented from a platform.
Front-Desk Conversion
The share of booking-intent contacts (calls, messages, walk-ins) that your front desk actually turns into booked appointments.
GEO (generative engine optimization)
Making your salon discoverable inside AI assistants like ChatGPT and Google's AI answers, the way SEO makes you discoverable in search results.
Gift Card Breakage
The value of sold gift cards that is never redeemed, which becomes revenue the salon keeps.
Google Business Profile
The free Google listing that shows your salon's hours, photos, reviews, and a booking link on Google Search and Maps.
Local pack
The boxed set of three map-based business results Google shows at the top of a local search, above the regular blue links.
Local SEO
The practice of getting your salon to rank in Google's local results when nearby clients search for the services you offer.
Loyalty Program
A structured reward system that gives clients a reason to keep coming back to you.
Membership
A recurring paid plan that gives clients ongoing perks in exchange for a predictable monthly fee.
Missed-Call Text-Back
An automation that instantly texts anyone whose call you could not answer, so a missed call becomes a booking instead of a lost client.
No-Show
A booked client who neither arrives nor cancels, leaving a paid-for slot empty with no chance to refill it.
No-Show Rate
The percentage of booked appointments where the client simply does not arrive and does not cancel in time to rebook the slot.
Online Booking
A self-service system that lets clients book, reschedule, or cancel appointments themselves over the web or an app, without calling.
Package
A bundle of prepaid services sold together, usually at a slight discount, to lock in future visits.
Point of sale (POS)
The system that rings up a client's payment and records what they bought, tying each sale to the client and the service.
Pre-Booking
Scheduling a client's next visit at the end of their current one, before they walk out the door.
Prime Cost
A salon's two biggest controllable costs (labor plus product) added together, the fastest gauge of whether the business can be profitable.
Product Cost / Back-Bar
The cost of the professional products consumed during services (color, developer, treatments), as opposed to retail products sold to clients.
Rebooking Rate
The share of clients who book their next appointment before they leave, usually at checkout.
Referral
A new client who comes to you because an existing client recommended you.
Reputation Management
The ongoing practice of building, monitoring, and responding to your online reviews and ratings.
Retail Attachment (Retail-to-Service Ratio)
How much retail product clients buy relative to the services they book, a key margin driver.
Retail Margin
The profit a salon keeps on the take-home products it sells, which is dramatically higher than the margin on services.
Revenue Per Stylist
The total service and retail revenue a single service provider generates over a period, a core productivity benchmark.
Review Velocity
How steadily and how often you gather new online reviews over time.
Self-Booking
When a client books their own appointment end to end, with no staff member involved in the transaction.
Service Provider Utilization
The share of a stylist's bookable hours that are actually filled with paying appointments.
SMS marketing compliance (TCPA)
The US rules (chiefly the TCPA) that require prior consent and easy opt-out before you send marketing texts to clients.
Waitlist
A queue of clients who want a sooner or fully-booked slot, automatically offered openings the moment one frees up.
Win-Back
A targeted campaign to bring back clients who have stopped visiting.
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