Why it matters
The easiest time to book someone is right after you've answered them
Most booking tools wait for the customer to know what they want. Most customers arrive with a question first: do you do this, how much is it, when can you come.
Answering that question and offering a time in the same conversation turns interest into a booking before the customer drifts off to compare. That's the difference between a booking page and a booking assistant.
How it works for your business
Different businesses, same simple flow
Dentists and salons
New patients and clients ask about services, insurance or prices, then pick a time. Dental chats never collect health details.
Tutors and driving schools
Parents and learners check subjects, levels or areas, then book a lesson. For a child under 13, tutoring chats take no details and ask a parent to get in touch.
Home services
Homeowners describe the job and book a visit. In home services, emergencies skip the calendar and go straight to you.
What you get
Scheduling that fits how you already work
Your calendar or your booking page
Connect Google Calendar to offer real free times, or paste your Calendly, Cal.com, Acuity, Setmore or YouCanBookMe link and customers book on your booking page inside the chat. Square Appointments and any other booking page open from a button.
Details on every booking
Times are only offered after the customer gives a name and a phone number or email.
Inside your hours, at your lengths
Offered times fall within the opening hours you set, never on a day you've marked as closed. You set the appointment length, the notice you need (two hours unless you change it), how far ahead customers can book and the gap between appointments. Name your services and each can have its own length.
An alert for each booking
A Google Calendar booking sends you an alert with who, what for and when, and shows on your Leads page. A booking made on your Calendly or Cal.com page inside the chat sends an alert too. Other platforms notify you themselves.
A reminder the day before
Customers who book into your Google Calendar and give an email get a confirmation with a calendar file and a link to cancel or change, then a reminder about a day ahead.
No double booking
Each booking is checked against your calendar again before it's written.
Answers first
It answers questions about the service before asking anyone to book, so customers book knowing what they're getting.
What it won't do
What it doesn't replace
It's a way for customers to book from your website, not a full scheduling system.
- It emails a confirmation with a cancel or change link, and a reminder the day before, only for bookings in your Google Calendar. Bookings through your own booking tool are confirmed and reminded by that tool. There are no text reminders.
- The length, notice, booking window and services you set apply to Google Calendar bookings. A booking platform keeps its own settings.
- It connects directly to Google Calendar only, one calendar per website. Other calendars work through a booking link.
- It doesn't book across several staff members' calendars.
- It doesn't take deposits or payments.
- It books from website chat, not phone calls.
Questions
AI appointment scheduling questions
What is AI appointment scheduling?
Letting an AI assistant book appointments for you. Ours does it in your website chat: it answers the customer's questions, takes their details and books them into your calendar or opens your booking page in the chat.
Is this appointment scheduling software?
Not a full one. It's a front desk for your website that books appointments, and it works alongside the Google Calendar or booking tool you already use.
What's the best AI scheduling assistant for a small business?
It depends where your customers come from. Voice assistants suit businesses that live on the phone, and calendar apps suit people managing their own time. If your customers find you online, a website assistant that answers and books in one conversation is the closest fit.
Is there a free AI scheduling assistant?
Every account starts with a free trial and then a Free plan with 100 customer messages a month. Booking comes with every plan today, the Free plan included. Compare the plans.
Can customers book at night or on weekends?
Yes, the chat takes bookings at any hour, but the times it offers stay within the opening hours you set.
Keep exploring
Related use cases and features
- After-hours answeringAnswer questions and take leads while you're closed.
- Lead generationTurn website visitors into leads you can call.
- Lead alertsNew leads emailed to you in seconds, with where they came from.
- BookingsYour booking page or Google Calendar, right in the chat.
- Chat widget and pageA chat bubble for your site and a link to share anywhere.