In the latest episode of the Aesthetics Business Cast, hosts Vicky Eldridge and Eddie Hooker are joined by Ron Myers, aesthetic business coach, mentor, and one of the most experienced figures in the UK aesthetics industry.
Ron's career spans some of the most pivotal moments in the sector. From working with Allergan on the UK launch of botulinum toxin in 1994 (originally for strabismus, before its cosmetic uses became known), to co-founding The Consulting Room with Martin Rowe, building Wigmore Medical's specialist distribution model, launching the UK's first international aesthetics conference in 2003, and co-owning MediZen for 15 years, Ron has watched the industry grow from a niche corner of medicine into the multi-billion-pound sector it is today.
Now, with the launch of Aesthetics AI, Ron is focused on what he believes is the next major shift: how artificial intelligence will reshape every part of running an aesthetic clinic.
Ron opens with a candid reflection on the earliest days of aesthetics, when none of the founding figures had any idea how big the sector would become. He recalls meeting Eddie around 1996, and the days when Botox was viewed almost as "a weapon of mass destruction" being injected into people's faces. He talks about now-forgotten products like Macrolane (injectable filler for breasts and buttocks) and Isolagen's Velta, an early regenerative treatment using fibroblasts cultivated from neonatal foreskin, products that pre-dated today's regenerative boom by decades.
The biggest social shift, Ron argues, has been the move away from stigma. Aesthetics is now recognised as a subspecialty of medicine by the Royal Society of Medicine, and the old turf wars between nurses, doctors and dentists have largely dissolved. But the next major shift, he says, will dwarf anything we've seen so far, and it's already underway.
A central theme of the conversation is that AI is far more than a tool for writing blog posts or generating Instagram captions. Ron outlines his five-part framework for how clinic owners can think about AI:
Thinking — using AI as a strategic partner or even a personal coach to help clinic owners step back and reflect on direction, something most are too busy to do.
Creating — the area most people already understand, but Ron's point is about consistency. AI can make sure of a unified message across website, social media, newsletters and promotions, rather than ad-hoc "what shall I post today?" content.
Communicating — across consultations, consent processes and documentation. Consistency here protects both patient and practitioner.
Analysing — most clinics struggle to understand which treatments and rooms are actually profitable. AI can interrogate margins, patient acquisition costs and ROI on equipment in minutes.
Automating — the most powerful and most dangerous category. Useful, but only with proper oversight.
One of the most striking parts of the discussion centres on AI agents, essentially digital staff members that can take action across multiple systems autonomously. Ron walks through a vivid example: a prospective patient messages a clinic at 10:30pm saying she's interested in lip filler but is nervous because she bruises easily. An AI agent can reply instantly, ask qualifying questions, check practitioner availability, recommend an appropriate consultation, offer a booking slot, take a deposit, update the CRM and even tag the patient as "high anxiety, first timer", all before the clinic owner has had their morning coffee.
It's a glimpse of what's already possible, and a reminder of why getting the setup right is so important.
Ron shared a fascinating experiment. He asked an AI tool to recommend the best clinic for Botox in Bristol, expecting familiar names to come up. Instead, the AI surfaced clinics he didn't immediately recognise as the obvious experts. When he asked why it hadn't recommended a major national chain, the AI explained that, based on its analysis, the chain appeared more focused on laser treatments and acne, and that its practitioners were employees rather than business owners (meaning they could come and go).
The lesson? AI doesn't reward marketing speak, and it actively dislikes promotional offers, viewing them as a sign of desperation rather than expertise. What it does reward is depth of content, evidence of genuine specialism, and authority. Clinics that want to be found in the AI era need to focus on demonstrating real expertise in their content, not just running ads.
Eddie tested the same principle on Hamilton Fraser, and the AI described it as "the broker of expertise rather than cheap prices", noting it doesn't do non-medics or discounts. As Ron put it, you can't fiddle the algorithm. It reads what's actually there.
Eddie raised a growing concern at Hamilton Fraser: a sharp rise in AI-generated complaints. Where practitioners once received a phone call or an irate message, they're now receiving lawyer-style letters that have clearly been crafted with AI assistance. Patients are arriving at consultations with AI-generated images of how they want to look, fuelling expectations that no practitioner can realistically meet.
Ron acknowledged that morphing software (like Vectra 3D) has been around for years, but the bar has shifted. Practitioners using imaging tools must include clear disclaimers, and the entire industry needs to think hard about where responsibility sits. As Ron put it, "AI doesn't have indemnity, the clinic does." If AI-generated content goes out under a practitioner's name with hallucinated references or unsupported claims, the practitioner is the one who is accountable.
One of the most practical applications Ron highlighted is AI-powered consultation recording. Done properly, it can serve three purposes: keeping an accurate record of what was discussed, generating personalised treatment recommendations and aftercare for the patient, and providing a coaching tool to help practitioners improve how they handle consultations. Vicky added that several nurse practitioners have told her these tools have become a valuable addition alongside physical chaperones and documented safeguarding.
Looking ahead five to ten years, Ron predicts AI will be so integrated into clinic systems, especially CRMs, that we'll stop thinking of it as "AI" at all. The future he describes includes AI agents that scan databases to identify lapsed patients, craft personalised reactivation campaigns based on their treatment history, and quietly handle the marketing tasks that clinic owners never get round to.
His advice for clinic owners who feel unsure is refreshingly simple: don't be afraid of it. Open ChatGPT or Claude, tell it you're a clinic owner, describe your situation, and ask how it can help. From documentation and staff training to marketing and profitability, the conversation will start to go places you didn't expect.
Ron's combination of deep industry history and forward-looking thinking makes this episode essential listening for anyone serious about building a future-ready aesthetic business. As he and Eddie both noted, this time next year the conversation will already look very different.
Listen to the full episode here: AI in your clinic: Hype, hidden risks and real applications with Ron Myers
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