Beauty clinics on Instagram: answer every DM, keep medical questions with practitioners

Why clients DM before they book

Aesthetic treatments are personal and often expensive, so people want to talk before they book. They look at your results, check who does the treatments and then message with questions they might feel awkward asking on the phone.

Most of those first questions are about price, time, downtime and availability, which your note can answer. Some are about health: pregnancy, medication, a skin condition, or a reaction after a treatment elsewhere. Those need a practitioner, and the agent's job is to recognise them and hand them over.

The line between clinic admin and medical questions

The agent handles admin: prices, durations, availability, deposits, aftercare leaflets you have written, and who does which treatment. It never decides whether a treatment is suitable for someone, never comments on a photo of their skin, and never says a reaction is normal.

Every treatment that needs a consultation should be booked as a consultation first. The practitioner decides what is suitable, takes the medical history and gets consent. The agent can make that step feel easy and welcoming, which is often what turns an enquiry into a client.

What customers ask on Instagram

• How much is a chemical peel, and how long is the downtime?
• Do you do lip filler, and who does it?
• Can I have this while I'm breastfeeding?
• Does microneedling hurt?
• Do I need a consultation first, and is it free?
• Do you take a deposit, and can I pay in instalments?
• I had a treatment last week and it's still swollen, is that normal?

An example conversation

This illustration shows an enquiry about a peel that includes a medical question. Names and details are examples.

What the agent answers

• Prices, session lengths and typical downtime, from your price list.
• Booking consultations, and holding treatment slots for a practitioner to confirm.
• Deposits, cancellation rules and payment options, in your words.
• Which practitioner does which treatment, and their qualifications as you describe them.
• Sending your written aftercare guide for a treatment the client has already had.

What it always hands to you

• Any reaction or problem after a treatment: the agent sends your urgent wording and hands over at once.
• Questions about pregnancy, breastfeeding, medication, allergies or medical conditions.
• Whether a treatment is suitable for someone, and any photo of their skin or face.
• Prescription-only treatments, which need a consultation with a prescriber.
• Requests to fix or reverse work done elsewhere.
• Complaints, refund requests and anyone who seems anxious or unhappy.

Write the reaction wording with your medical lead

The most important lines in your note are what the agent says when someone mentions a problem after a treatment. Your medical lead should write them, with your clinic number, what to do out of hours and when to call emergency services. Tell the agent to send those words exactly and hand over at once. It should never say a reaction is normal, suggest a remedy or tell someone to wait and see.

The Instagram limits that matter here

Instagram only lets you message someone who has not replied inside its messaging window, so replies in existing chats work best.

Set it up in an afternoon

1. Write a clinic note: treatments, prices, downtime, consultation rules, deposits, and the urgent wording for reactions. There is an example below.
2. Ask your medical lead to approve the urgent wording and the list of questions that always go to a practitioner.
3. Connect your clinic's Instagram account in Spaces. You sign in to Instagram through a secure link and approve the connection. The account then shows as connected in your dashboard.
4. Connect your AI agent, such as Claude or ChatGPT, using the steps for your client on our agents page, and give it the note.
5. Tell it to book consultations and hold treatment slots, and leave the final confirmation to a practitioner for the first few weeks.
6. Decide when it answers. If you only want replies while the clinic is open, tell it in its notes, or pause sending when you close. Scheduled reminders and routines can carry working hours of their own.
7. Read every handed-over chat for the first month, and add anything the agent hesitated over to the note.

The clinic note your agent works from

Keep the note short, specific and current, and write it the way you would brief a new receptionist. Here is an example you can copy and change. Your medical lead decides the urgent wording.

CLINIC NOTE (example)

Treatments and prices
- Consultation: £30, 20 minutes, taken off the treatment price
- Medium-depth peel: £120, 45 minutes, 5 to 7 days of flaking
- Microneedling: £180, 1 hour, 1 to 3 days of redness
- LED facial: £60, 30 minutes, no downtime

Every new client books a consultation first.
Deposit: £50 to hold a treatment, taken when the practitioner confirms.
Cancellations: 48 hours' notice, or the deposit is kept.
Practitioners: Dr Ahmed (peels, prescription treatments), Lara (facials).

Always hand to a practitioner: pregnancy, breastfeeding, medication,
allergies, skin conditions, photos of skin, work done elsewhere,
complaints.

URGENT WORDING (say exactly this, then hand over at once):
'Thank you for telling us. I have passed this to Dr Ahmed now and she
will contact you as soon as possible. If the pain or swelling is
getting worse, your skin changes colour, or you notice any change to
your eyesight or breathing, call us now on 01234 567890. Out of hours
or in an emergency, call 999.'

Never: say a reaction is normal, suggest a remedy, judge a photo,
or promise a result.
Tone: warm and calm, first names, no emojis on medical topics.

What counts as a medical question

Clients rarely say "I have a medical question". They say "is it OK if…" or "I'm a bit worried about…". Give the agent a broad list, and tell it that any doubt means handing over.

• Pregnancy, trying to conceive or breastfeeding.
• Any medicine, supplement or recent course of treatment.
• Allergies, cold sores, skin conditions, or an active breakout or infection.
• Medical conditions such as diabetes, autoimmune conditions or bleeding problems.
• Pain, swelling, bruising, lumps or colour changes after any treatment, here or elsewhere.
• Photos of their face or skin, and questions about whether a treatment will suit them.

A second example: a reaction after treatment

This is the message the whole setup exists for. The agent's reply should be fast, calm and exactly the wording your medical lead wrote. Names and details are examples.

The agent did not say "some swelling is normal", did not suggest ice or painkillers and did not ask for a photo to judge. It sent the approved words and handed over, so the practitioner could take charge within minutes.

Comments on your posts

People often ask "price?" under a post. The agent can reply briefly and send the person a direct message, where it can share the price and free consultation slots. Instagram allows that private reply from a comment only in some cases, and Spaces keeps comment replies to their own, stricter caps, so the agent never floods your posts.

Keep anything medical out of the comments entirely. If someone comments about a reaction or a health question, the agent should reply with a short line inviting them to message the clinic, then handle it privately with the urgent wording if needed.

Promises and results

Aesthetic results vary from person to person, so the agent should never promise one. It can describe what a treatment is for and point to your own before and after posts, but it should not say "you will look ten years younger" or that a result is guaranteed.

In many countries there are also rules about how some treatments, especially prescription-only ones, can be promoted to the public. Check the guidance from your own regulator and professional body, and keep the agent's wording for those treatments to booking a consultation with a prescriber.

What if...?

Common mistakes clinics make

• Letting the agent reassure people about reactions. "That's normal" can delay the care someone needs.
• Booking treatments straight away for new clients. Book a consultation first, so a practitioner sees them.
• Answering medical questions in comments, where everyone can see them.
• Using the agent to message followers who never contacted you. That is the kind of activity Instagram restricts, and it rarely books anyone.

Who you message

In short

For an aesthetics or skin clinic, an AI agent on Instagram answers every DM quickly with real prices, downtime and free consultation times. Medical questions, contraindications and reactions always go to a practitioner, with urgent wording your medical lead approved.

Write the note, connect the account and read every handed-over chat for the first month. Spaces paces every message and keeps the account inside its limits, at most 80 messages a day, but no tool can promise Instagram will never restrict an account, so keep the agent to replies and genuine enquiries.

Pricing

Plans from $19 a month

Is it safe for an aesthetics clinic to use an AI agent?

For admin, yes, as long as it never gives medical advice. Keep suitability, medical history and reactions with your practitioners, and have your medical lead approve the urgent wording. Check your own regulator's guidance on client communication too.

Can the agent see photos clients send?

It can receive them, but it should never judge them. Tell it to thank the client, say a practitioner will look, and hand over. A practitioner then decides what to do.

What if someone messages about a reaction at night?

If the agent is answering, it sends your urgent wording, including your out-of-hours advice, and flags the chat. If you pause sending at night or tell it to answer only during opening hours, make sure the urgent advice is also in your aftercare guide, on your website and in your Instagram bio.

Can it book treatments directly?

For new clients, it should book a consultation first. For returning clients having the same treatment again, many clinics let it hold a slot for a practitioner to confirm. Decide which treatments can be booked this way and list them in the note.

Will it reply to comments on my posts?

It can, for simple questions like price, and invite the person to the DMs. Spaces keeps comment replies to their own, stricter caps. Anything medical in a comment should move to a private message straight away.

Can it take deposits?

Only if your AI agent connects to your payment tool and you allow it. Many clinics have the agent explain the deposit and leave the payment link to the practitioner who confirms the booking.

Should the agent say it is an AI?

That is your choice, and many clinics say so in the first reply. A short line such as "I am the clinic's AI agent, a practitioner will confirm" sets expectations and makes the handover feel natural.