AI Receptionist for Gyms and Fitness Studios: What It Can Handle in Quebec and Ontario

An AI receptionist for gyms picks up the calls, texts and chats your front desk can't get to. Mostly that's the after-hours stuff. It can answer the usual questions, book trial classes into the scheduler you already have, and offer open spots to people on a waitlist (when someone cancels, say). Injuries, health questions, a member who wants out of their contract? Those still go to a real person on your team.

I'd start with one thing. Probably after-hours questions, or trial bookings. (This is mostly for gym and studio owners in Montreal, Laval, Longueuil and Ontario.)

Check your gym software first

Honestly I'd do this before looking at any outside tool. The big gym platforms all have their own AI front desk products now.

Mindbody has one called AI Concierge. Their AI Concierge page says it can book classes, and reschedule or cancel bookings, right inside Mindbody. It's included in their Ultimate plan.

Glofox is part of ABC Fitness now. They sell ABC AI Agents for calls, texts and chats, with handoff to staff.

And WellnessLiving has one called CAASI. It's listed as an add-on you can put on any plan.

So log in and check your plan first.

But maybe you'd rather use an outside tool, or build something custom with AI agents for gyms. Then you need your software's API. All three have developer docs (Mindbody, Glofox, WellnessLiving), and some of that access costs extra.

Either way, start with one workflow and give it a month before adding more. That's how I'd do AI automation for gyms in general, same as with AI receptionists for clinics.

The front desk problem

You've probably lived this. The 6 p.m. class is checking in. Somebody at the counter wants to freeze their membership. And then the phone rings, and whoever is on the desk has to pick one. Usually it's the phone that gets ignored.

Most of those calls are the same handful of questions, too. Are you open on the holiday Monday. Do I need my own mat. It's not hard stuff. There's just a lot of it.

Late at night is its own thing. Somebody decides at 10:30 p.m. that this is the week they finally start going to the gym. They call, nobody answers until the morning, and by then maybe they've booked a trial somewhere else. Or talked themselves out of it, which I think most of us have done.

WellnessLiving says in its July 2026 announcement that up to 30 percent of calls to fitness and wellness businesses go unanswered. That's a vendor's number, and they sell an AI phone agent, so grain of salt. I doubt many owners would call it crazy, though.

And late cancels. A spot opens up in a full class and nobody on the waitlist hears about it in time.

What it can and can't do

Most of the useful AI for gyms is pretty boring front desk work. It follows a script you approved. And it only touches the systems you connect it to.

The easy part is questions. Hours, parking, what to bring, how the first class works. You write the answers once. At 2 a.m. it gives the same answer.

Trial bookings are where I think most of the value is. Someone asks about trying a class. The agent checks the real schedule, books them in, and sends the waiver. That's basically fitness studio booking automation. Waitlists are about the same. Someone cancels, and the agent texts the next person and offers them the spot.

Billing questions are okay too, if you've written the policy down. But a real dispute, or a refund, I'd have it take the details and pass it to staff.

Then the stuff I wouldn't let it touch. Medical or injury advice, at all. Say someone's knee hurts after squats, or they ask about training while pregnant. That goes to a coach or a health professional.

Cancellations too, for now. There are consumer rules on that (more below), so I'd leave it to staff. The agent can take the request and send your form.

So all of it needs a clean handoff. The agent isn't sure, or the person wants a human? It transfers the call or leaves your staff a note. Name, number, what they wanted.

How the work usually splits between the AI receptionist and your staff.

What it costs

Prices are all over the place, and every vendor counts something different. Smith.ai goes by calls. Rosie goes by minutes. Goodcall goes by unique callers. The chart below has the numbers from their public pricing pages, in US dollars, as I checked them on October 19, 2026.

Published monthly list prices, lowest to highest plan with a price, checked October 19, 2026.

The built-in tools are harder to price. The Mindbody plan with the AI front desk is quote only, going by Mindbody's pricing page. And I couldn't find a CAASI price on WellnessLiving's pricing page.

But the bigger cost is usually setup, I think. Somebody has to write the scripts in French and English, hook the agent up to your scheduler, and test the handoffs (more than once, ideally). For agents past the front desk, there's more in AI agents for small business.

A few Quebec and Ontario notes

General info here, not legal advice.

If you're looking at an AI receptionist in Montreal, French comes first. The Office québécois de la langue française says customers have the right to be informed and served in French, voice messaging included. So it should open in French. And handle English properly too. Actually call it and test both.

Privacy is the other one. In Quebec that's Law 25. By default the person with the highest authority at your business is in charge of protecting personal information, according to the Commission d'accès à l'information. The same page says you need a privacy impact assessment for things like AI systems, and before personal information goes outside Quebec.

Ontario is a bit different. Private businesses there generally fall under PIPEDA, the federal law, as the Office of the Privacy Commissioner explains.

Either way I'd keep the agent's access narrow. It needs a name, a phone number and a class time. Not anyone's health questionnaire.

On memberships, Quebec's Office de la protection du consommateur has a page on cancelling, and Ontario has one on joining a gym with a cooling-off period. Worth a read.

FAQ

Is an AI receptionist for gyms the same as an answering service?

Kind of. An answering service mostly takes messages. An AI receptionist can also book people into your scheduler.

Will it work with Mindbody, Glofox or WellnessLiving?

Usually, yeah. Through the platform's own AI add-on or its API.

Do I need to worry about Law 25?

If it handles member info in Quebec, probably. You'll likely need a privacy impact assessment. Ask your lawyer.

Next step

If you're wondering whether after-hours booking or waitlist texts would actually help your gym or studio, book a free 30-minute call with Tom. Bring a rough idea of how many calls you miss. We'll pick one workflow worth testing first.