Phorest AI Integration: How It Works and How to Connect It
The Phorest AI integration lets MessageMind's AI agent read live Phorest data and reply across WhatsApp, SMS, Instagram, email and web chat.
The Phorest AI integration connects Phorest to MessageMind so an AI agent can read live context and reply across every channel your customers use. Connect Phorest so the AI agent can check your salon's free times and book appointments in Phorest for clients who message you. You connect it in Connections > Integrations with the API username, password and Business ID that Phorest gives you.
What is the Phorest AI integration?
Connect Phorest so the AI agent can check your salon's free times and book appointments in Phorest for clients who message you. You connect it in Connections > Integrations with the API username, password and Business ID that Phorest gives you. If your salon takes deposits in Phorest, the AI agent sends the client Phorest's deposit link with each booking it makes. Appointment changes in Phorest can also start campaigns in Workspace > Campaigns.
You can see every supported integration on the MessageMind integrations page, and the full technical reference for this one lives in the Phorest documentation. If you prefer to see it in action first, book a demo and we will walk you through the live flow.
What the Phorest integration can do
The Phorest AI integration ships with the following capabilities out of the box:
- When a client asks when they can come in, the AI agent checks your Phorest calendar at that moment and offers free times with the stylist and, when the service has one, the price.
- Clients can ask the way they normally would: a day, an exact time, part of a day such as "after 5", a range of days, or the soonest you have.
- A client who asks for a stylist by name is only offered that stylist's times.
- If your business has more than one branch, the AI agent asks which one the client wants before looking for times.
- When a request matches several services, the AI agent lists them. If there are a lot, it lists your Phorest service categories first so the client can narrow it down.
- Once the client picks a time, the AI agent books the appointment on your Phorest calendar. It first looks for the client in Phorest by mobile number or email, and creates a new client record only when nobody matches.
- Clients can book for someone else, such as a friend or their child. The appointment goes on that person's own client record, with their name and mobile number.
Data read and written
The Phorest AI integration touches a scoped set of fields. Here is exactly what moves between the two systems:
| Direction | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Read | Your branches, with name, address, time zone and currency. |
| Read | The services each branch offers online, with price, duration and category. If none are set up for online booking, every service that isn't archived. |
| Read | Staff who aren't hidden from online bookings, which services each one does, and prices that differ by staff level. |
| Read | Free appointment times for a service, for any stylist or for the one the client asked for. |
| Read | Client records, searched by mobile number or email, so the same person doesn't end up with two records. |
| Write | New client records with first name, last name, mobile number, and email if the client gave one. No marketing consent is set on them. |
| Write | New appointments on your Phorest calendar for the service and time the client chose, with the stylist named in the offer. |
| Write | A deposit payment link for each appointment the AI agent books, when your Phorest deposit settings ask for one. The link expires after 1 hour and Phorest cancels the appointment if it isn't paid. |
How to set up the Phorest AI integration
Setup takes a few minutes once your Phorest account is live. The outline:
- Find the "API access" email from Phorest. You need the username, password and Business ID in it.
- In MessageMind, open Connections > Integrations from the top bar.
- Click Bookings in the category list on the left, or type Phorest in the search box.
- Click Connect on the Phorest row. The Connect Phorest window opens.
- Paste the username into Username, with global/ at the start.
- Paste the password into Password. Click the eye button if you want to check what you pasted.
The step-by-step walkthrough, including every button and field, is in the Phorest documentation.
Use cases for the Phorest AI integration
Teams typically turn the Phorest AI integration on to:
- A client on WhatsApp asks for a cut and blow dry on Saturday morning. The AI agent offers the Saturday morning times, books the one they pick and sends the deposit link if you take deposits.
- A regular asks for Sara by name and only gets Sara's free times.
- Someone on Instagram asks how much balayage costs and how long it takes. The AI agent answers from your Phorest service list and can then look for a time.
- A parent wants to book their daughter in. The AI agent asks for the daughter's name and mobile number and books her on her own client record.
- Your business has two salons. The AI agent asks which one the client wants and offers that branch's times and prices.
For broader AI-agent patterns across every integration, see ai appointment booking system.
Limitations to know
The Phorest integration ships with a deliberately scoped surface. These are the limits worth knowing before you depend on it:
- The AI agent can't move or cancel appointments that are already booked. Make those changes in Phorest.
- Each booking is for one service.
- Stylists hidden from online bookings are never offered. Services that aren't set up for online booking aren't offered either, unless none of your services are.
- When a client asks for the soonest time, the AI agent looks 3 weeks ahead. A search over a range of days covers up to a month.
- Times are always in your salon's local time.
Pricing and plan availability
The Phorest AI integration is available on MessageMind's paid plans. The MessageMind pricing page lists which plan is required and what each tier includes. There is no extra per-integration fee; the connection is part of your account.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Phorest AI integration?
The Phorest AI integration is the native connection between Phorest and MessageMind. Once connected, the AI agent can read live Phorest context during a conversation and act on it (for example answering a stock question, booking an appointment or updating a contact) across WhatsApp, Instagram, SMS, email and web chat.
How do I connect Phorest to MessageMind?
Open the Phorest integration page inside your MessageMind dashboard and follow the connect flow. The full step-by-step with every field label and screenshot is in the Phorest documentation.
How does authentication work for the Phorest integration?
You paste the API username and password Phorest gave you, add the Business ID and pick a region. There's no Phorest sign-in page to go through. The details are checked with Phorest when you click Connect, and the connection keeps working until you disconnect or Phorest stops accepting that username and password. MessageMind stores these credentials encrypted at rest and uses them only server-side, so they never reach the browser or any third party.
What does the AI agent do once Phorest is connected?
It works with live Phorest data during the conversation. The first capability in the Phorest documentation reads: "When a client asks when they can come in, the AI agent checks your Phorest calendar at that moment and offers free times with the stylist and, when the service has one, the price." The full list, with every field the integration reads and writes, is in the documentation.
A message says the username must start with global/. What should I do?
Copy the username again from the Phorest "API access" email, including global/ at the start.
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