Documentation

Introduction

Niia is an AI receptionist that runs on your salon's WhatsApp number. She understands natural conversation, books appointments, answers service questions, and sends reminders — automatically, 24/7.

This documentation covers how Niia works under the hood, how to configure her for your salon, and how to integrate with external tools via webhooks and the REST API.

Architecture

Niia is built on three core layers:

• WhatsApp Layer — receives and sends messages via WhatsApp Business API. Messages are delivered to Niia's inference layer in real time.
• AI Inference Layer — a large language model trained on your salon's data. It classifies intent (booking, inquiry, complaint), extracts entities (service name, date, time), and generates a natural-language reply.
• Booking Engine — manages availability, staff schedules, and slot allocation. Connected to your dashboard and synced in real time.

All three layers run in Niia's cloud. You interact with them through the dashboard and (optionally) via webhooks or the REST API.

Quickstart

Step 1 — Create your account

Sign up at app.niia.ai. Enter your salon name and choose a plan. Your 14-day free trial starts immediately.

Step 2 — Add your services

Go to Manage → Services. Add each service with a name, duration, and price. Niia reads this list when customers ask questions or request bookings.

Example services:
  - Haircut (45 min) — $35
  - Balayage (180 min) — $180
  - Blow-dry (30 min) — $25
  - Manicure (45 min) — $40

Step 3 — Add your staff

Go to Manage → Staff. For each team member, add their name, the services they offer, and their working hours.

Step 4 — Connect WhatsApp

Go to Settings → WhatsApp and scan the QR code with your salon phone. Niia is live within 60 seconds.

Step 5 — Test it

Send a WhatsApp message to your salon number: "Hi, do you have anything available this Saturday for a haircut?" Niia should reply within a few seconds.

Dashboard Overview

The dashboard is your command centre. The home screen shows today's booking count, after-hours activity, resolution rate, and customer sentiment. It updates in real time.

Navigation

• Dashboard — daily summary and live status
• AI Analytics — conversation trends, intent breakdown, sentiment over time
• Bookings — full booking list with filters by date, staff, service, status
• Services — add, edit, or remove services
• Customers — customer profiles built automatically from conversations
• Staff — manage team members and schedules
• Workflows — automated message sequences (Growth and Pro plans)
• Settings — WhatsApp connection, salon hours, reminders, billing

Conversations

Every WhatsApp thread appears in Manage → Conversations. Each conversation shows the customer's name, the most recent message, sentiment, and whether Niia or a staff member is handling it.

Taking over a conversation

Click any conversation and toggle Human mode in the top-right. Niia pauses immediately and the thread becomes yours. Toggle back to re-enable Niia.

Flagged conversations

Niia flags conversations when she is uncertain about a customer's request — for example, a complaint or an unusual service question. Flagged threads appear with a yellow indicator. You'll also receive a push notification if you have the mobile app.

Bookings

Bookings are created automatically by Niia and listed under Manage → Bookings. Each booking contains:

• Customer name and WhatsApp number
• Service, duration, and price
• Assigned staff member
• Date and time
• Status: confirmed, pending, cancelled, completed, no-show

Manual bookings

Click Add Booking to create one manually. Useful for walk-ins or phone calls.

Analytics

Available on Growth and Pro plans. The Analytics page shows:

• Conversations — volume by day, peak hours, resolution rate
• Intent breakdown — what percentage of messages are bookings, inquiries, complaints, or general chat
• Sentiment trend — happy / neutral / unhappy over time
• Top services — most-requested services by booking count
• No-show rate — before and after reminders

Services Configuration

Each service has the following fields:

• Name — what customers call it (e.g. "balayage", "gel nails")
• Duration — in minutes. Used to block off the correct slot.
• Price — shown to customers who ask. Use a range if pricing varies (e.g. "from $80").
• Staff — which team members offer this service
• Active — toggle off to hide a service temporarily without deleting it

Workflows

Workflows are automated message sequences triggered by events. Available on Growth and Pro plans.

Built-in triggers

• booking.confirmed — fires when a booking is created
• booking.reminder — fires N hours before an appointment
• booking.completed — fires when a booking is marked complete
• customer.new — fires when a new customer is detected

Example: post-appointment follow-up

Trigger: booking.completed
Delay: 2 hours
Message:
  "Hi {customer_name}! Hope you loved your
   {service_name} today 💜 If you'd like to
   book again, just message us here."

Languages

Niia auto-detects the language each customer writes in and replies in the same language. No configuration needed.

Supported languages out of the box:

• English
• Arabic (Modern Standard + Gulf dialect)
• Hindi
• Tagalog (Filipino)

Additional languages are available on request for Pro plan customers. Contact [email protected].

WhatsApp Business Integration

Niia supports two WhatsApp connection modes:

QR Code (standard)

Link your existing WhatsApp Business number by scanning a QR code. Suitable for most salons. Requires the phone to remain connected and charged.

WhatsApp Business API (high-volume)

For salons receiving 500+ messages per month. Niia connects directly to Meta's Cloud API — no phone required. Setup is handled by Niia's team as part of onboarding. Requires a Facebook Business Manager account.

Webhooks

Send real-time events from Niia to your own systems. Configure webhooks at Settings → Integrations → Webhooks.

Payload format

{
  "event": "booking.confirmed",
  "timestamp": "2026-05-14T14:23:00Z",
  "data": {
    "booking_id": "bk_abc123",
    "customer_name": "Aisha M.",
    "customer_phone": "+971501234567",
    "service": "Balayage",
    "staff": "Maya",
    "date": "2026-05-17",
    "time": "14:00",
    "duration_minutes": 180
  }
}

Niia expects a 200 OK response within 5 seconds. Failed deliveries are retried 3 times with exponential backoff.

REST API

The Niia REST API lets you read and write data programmatically. Authenticate with a Bearer token from Settings → API Keys.

Base URL

https://api.niia.ai/v1

List bookings

GET /bookings?date=2026-05-14
Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY

Response:
{
  "bookings": [
    {
      "id": "bk_abc123",
      "service": "Haircut",
      "customer": "Priya S.",
      "staff": "Layla",
      "start": "2026-05-14T10:00:00Z",
      "status": "confirmed"
    }
  ]
}

Create a booking

POST /bookings
Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "service_id": "svc_haircut",
  "staff_id": "staff_layla",
  "customer_phone": "+971501234567",
  "customer_name": "Sara K.",
  "start": "2026-05-15T11:00:00Z"
}