Beauty retailer Hello Sugar deploys voice AI agents

A fast-growing franchise beauty chain is automating customer service using artificial intelligence-based voice technology.

Hello Sugar, which currently operates more than 160 stores across the U.S. with plans to expand to 500 locations, is rolling out PolyAI voice agents to automate 100% of front-end service calls and help customers with FAQs, hours and locations, creating and rescheduling appointments, and making payments. 

Before going live with PolyAI, Hello Sugar answered about 20% of the tens of thousands of calls it receives each month, sending the remainder into chat experiences. Partnering with PolyAI enabled the retailer to create a turnkey franchise model, giving franchisees the ability to get up and running with always-on voice AI that answers 100% of calls.

Within three weeks, Hello Sugar rolled out PolyAI voice agents to dozens of locations and achieved results including answering 100% of calls in its home state of Arizona; 56% containment, with complex calls transferred to human agents; and 50% of customers booking appointments through PolyAI agents in less than three minutes.

"At Hello Sugar, we’re all about creating an amazing experience for our clients — not just in the salon, but at every step of the journey," said Austin Towers, CTO of Hello Sugar. "Whether they’re calling in, booking through the app, or chatting with a voice agent, it should always feel quick, easy, and personal. We picked PolyAI because its tech actually feels human and aligned with the level of care we aim to give every single customer. It lets us scale without losing what makes Hello Sugar special."