Aesthetic practices don’t suffer from a lack of software. They suffer from too much of it.

EMRs for records. Separate tools for marketing. Another system for patient communication. Yet another for lead management. The result is fragmented workflows, missed revenue opportunities, and staff spending hours toggling between dashboards instead of engaging patients.

Podium wants to change that equation.

The AI-powered customer communications company has launched its AI Operating System (OS) for Aesthetics, positioning it as the first unified platform built specifically for medspas and aesthetic clinics. At the center of the system is Avery, Podium’s AI Employee—an always-on agent designed to handle patient engagement, scheduling, and follow-ups autonomously.

The pitch is clear: stop managing software, and let software manage the work.

Beyond EMR: From System of Record to System of Growth

Traditional EMRs are built to document what already happened. Podium’s AI Operating System is designed to influence what happens next.

The platform integrates EMR functionality with patient communications, marketing automation, and lead management—bringing what are typically three or more disconnected systems into a single operating layer. Podium estimates that practices waste an average of eight hours per week switching between platforms, time that could otherwise be spent on patient care or business development.

More importantly, disconnected systems mean disconnected data—making it harder to respond quickly to leads, personalize outreach, or track the true revenue impact of marketing efforts.

Podium’s approach reflects a broader MarTech trend: vertical-specific operating systems that prioritize growth, not just compliance or record-keeping.

The AI Shift: Software That Does the Job

What Podium is really selling isn’t consolidation—it’s automation at a new level.

“The AI Operating System performs the job itself,” said Jason Brand, Director of Product, MedSpa at Podium. Instead of staff using tools to respond to patients, book appointments, or chase leads, Avery does it autonomously.

This marks a shift from what Brand calls “static systems of record” to active systems of agents—software that doesn’t wait for human input but acts continuously on behalf of the business.

That framing aligns closely with where AI-powered MarTech is heading. As generative AI matures, vendors are moving beyond copilots toward fully delegated workflows, especially in high-volume, time-sensitive customer interactions.

Avery: An AI Employee With Full Practice Visibility

The core differentiator of Podium’s AI OS is the depth of Avery’s system access.

Rather than operating as a narrow chatbot, Avery has complete visibility into calendars, patient histories, services, inventory, provider schedules, and communication channels. That context allows it to act less like an assistant—and more like a trained front-desk employee.

Avery can autonomously:

• Respond to inbound leads from web forms, texts, calls, and social channels in under two minutes, compared to an industry average of two hours

• Book appointments directly onto provider calendars, accounting for room availability, equipment, and staff schedules

• Manage the patient journey end-to-end, including nurturing unbooked leads, sending intake forms and reminders, requesting reviews, and delivering post-care instructions

With Avery 2.0, practices can also customize and coach the AI to reflect their clinic’s tone, workflows, and playbooks—addressing one of the biggest concerns around AI adoption in patient-facing environments: brand and voice consistency.

Why Speed Matters More Than Ever in Aesthetics

In aesthetics, speed isn’t a nice-to-have—it’s a revenue driver.

Leads often come from high-intent channels like paid social or local search, and response time directly impacts conversion. If a practice takes hours to respond, patients simply move on to the next provider.

By responding within minutes, Avery turns inbound interest into booked appointments before intent fades. That capability mirrors what high-performing revenue teams aim for in B2B—but applied to a consumer-facing, appointment-driven vertical.

It’s also a reminder that AI’s biggest near-term value isn’t creativity—it’s responsiveness at scale.

Measurable Impact, Not Just Automation Theater

Podium is backing its claims with early performance data.

According to a recently released OpenAI case study, customers using Podium’s AI agents saw, on average:

• A 45% increase in lead conversion

• A 30% increase in annual revenue

Those numbers won’t apply uniformly across every practice, but they highlight why AI-driven operating systems are gaining traction: they connect faster responses directly to revenue outcomes.

For clinics struggling to hire and retain front-office staff—or simply looking to do more with lean teams—the ROI argument is hard to ignore.

As Victoria Murillo of ZO Skin Centre Dallas put it, Podium’s AI has improved response times while freeing staff to focus on “the people in the room,” not the inbox.

The Bigger Picture: Vertical AI Platforms Are the Next MarTech Wave

Podium’s AI Operating System fits into a larger shift across MarTech and vertical SaaS: horizontal tools are giving way to industry-specific AI platforms.

Rather than bolting AI onto generic software, vendors are embedding agents directly into workflows where speed, context, and automation matter most. In healthcare-adjacent verticals like aesthetics—where compliance, personalization, and customer experience intersect—that approach may prove especially powerful.

If successful, Podium’s model could set expectations for what “modern practice management” looks like: not a dashboard, but a digital employee that never clocks out.

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