Universe Walker: Beauty Desk AI and the AI Receptionist Built for the Beauty Industry
She took a coding class at Princeton, built a prototype, and created the first AI receptionist designed specifically for salons by someone who actually runs one.
Corey sits down with Universe Walker (@universewalkerismyname), Bay Area hairstylist, owner of Knuckleheads and Harlots in Oakland and Scarlet Salon in Berkeley, and founder of Beauty Desk AI. The conversation covers how she built Eve, what Eve actually does, and what the future of AI in the beauty industry looks like.
Why She Built It
After COVID, Universe was running two salons bicoastal without front desk. New clients were calling and she was missing them. She knew she was leaving money on the table every day. When AI voice technology started to emerge she saw exactly what the industry needed. She took a coding class at Princeton, built a crude chatbot prototype, and knew she was onto something. It took years to build it properly but Beauty Desk AI is now out of beta with real customers and real results.
What Eve Does
Eve is an AI receptionist that answers incoming voice calls and texts from clients. Clients call your salon number like they always would. Eve answers, handles the full conversation, checks availability, describes services and pricing by stylist, books the appointment, sends a confirmation text, and manages the cancellation policy. Everything lives in one dashboard where you can see every interaction, turn Eve off and take over yourself, and track revenue in real time. Eve also works alongside existing front desk, stepping in after hours, on snow days, or when reception is busy with someone in the salon.
Eve vs. Eve Plus
Eve handles all incoming voice and text communication without integrating into a booking platform. Eve Plus connects directly with Square for real-time availability and booking. More booking platform integrations are in progress. Head to beautydeskai.com to find out which option fits your business.
The Live Demo
Corey called Eve live on the podcast. Eve picked up on the first ring, walked him through service options for Scarlet Salon, described Ryan and Sierra's specialties, confirmed a Friday four PM appointment with Sierra, and texted a booking link before the call ended. It is in the episode. Worth listening to.
Built for Everyone
Eve works for solo suite owners, small salons, large salons, barbershops, and spas. Multi-location operators are on the roadmap. Universe built the architecture to use fewer AI tokens than most competitors, which keeps costs down and reduces environmental impact.
Find Beauty Desk AI at beautydeskai.com
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beautydeskai
🎵 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@beautydeskai
Follow Universe personally at @universewalkerismyname on Instagram and TikTok.
🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2lLnEgr3UFY7lFDixapkrZ?si=36231da1a5264815
🍎 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/your-day-off-hairdustry-a-podcast-about-the-hair-industry/id1327156219
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hairdustry
▶️ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@hairdustry
