A new automated voice assistant for beauty salons has been developed to handle client appointments without human intervention. The system integrates with Google Calendar to manage master schedules and uses a local SQLite database to store client history and booking details.
The technical stack includes Python 3.10+, Flask, SQLAlchemy, and the MTS Exolve voice platform. When a client calls, the platform triggers webhooks to the Flask backend, which manages the conversation flow, checks slot availability, and performs booking, rescheduling, or cancellation operations.
The service validates incoming calls by normalizing phone numbers and using HMAC-based secret verification for security. If the system fails to recognize a request after several attempts or encounters a calendar API error, it automatically transfers the call to a human administrator.
To ensure data integrity, the system uses partial unique indexes in SQLite. Before confirming any appointment, the backend performs a cross-check against Google Calendar to prevent scheduling conflicts, as the database index only monitors start times.
