This guide explains how customers experience your WhatsApp AI assistant, from first contact to completing tasks. Understanding the customer journey helps you support customers and promote WhatsApp as a convenient booking channel.
What Customers Can Do
Your WhatsApp AI assistant supports the full booking lifecycle:
- Browse services — view all bookable services with descriptions, durations, and pricing
- Check availability — see open time slots for any service on any date
- Create bookings — book appointments directly through the conversation
- Buy a session pack or something from the shop — when there's no pack or subscription to book against yet, the assistant offers to sell one, adds any shop items, and sends one payment link for the lot
- Join the waitlist for full sessions — when a class or group session is full, the assistant offers a place on the waitlist and messages the customer with a claim link if a spot opens up
- View upcoming bookings — see confirmed appointments with dates, times, and service details
- Cancel a single session — with the money outcome stated up front; individual pack sessions aren't refunded
- Cancel a whole pack — see the exact refund your policy allows before deciding, then go ahead
- Check recurring availability — find consistent weekly or biweekly time slots
- Get alternative suggestions — receive alternative times when a preferred slot is unavailable
- View account info — check profile details (name, email, phone)
- View subscription details — see plan status, pricing, renewal dates, and per-service quota usage
- Get invoice links — the three most recent invoices, or one specific invoice by number or date
- Raise a support request — create a ticket, add a follow-up, or check the status of an existing one
- Ask the team to get in touch — leave a name, email and message, which works even without an account. If there's already a conversation to go on, the assistant drafts the message from it so the customer can just confirm it, add to it, or write their own instead
- Browse help articles — access knowledge base articles for self-service support
- Ask about the business itself — locations, plans and prices, and anything else described on the business's own website, answered from its real pages rather than a guess. Works without an account, and stays current automatically: a change made to a page, service or price is reflected within a day
Customer Journey Overview
1. Discovery
Customers discover your WhatsApp number through:
- Your website (add WhatsApp contact button)
- Booking confirmation emails
- Your email signature
- Social media profiles
- Business cards or marketing materials
2. First Contact
Customer Action: Sends any message to your WhatsApp number
What Happens:
- System looks up the phone number
- Checks for existing customer accounts
- If found, detects how many profiles share that number
Single Profile Found:
AI: Your verification code is: 123456
This code expires in 10 minutes.
[Automatically greets customer after verification]
Hi! How can I help you today?
Multiple Profiles Found:
Each line names the business, the person, their email and the kind of account it is (Customer, Team Member, Business Admin or Platform Admin), so picking a number picks the account outright:
AI: I found multiple accounts for your phone number:
1. Acme Cleaning — Customer A (customer.a@example.com) — Customer
2. Acme Cleaning — Customer B (customer.b@example.com) — Customer
3. Acme Cleaning — Customer C (customer.c@example.com) — Business Admin
Which account would you like to use? Reply with the number.
No Profile Found:
AI: No account found for this phone number. Please make sure your
phone number is registered with your account.
If you'd like the team to get back to you instead, just say
*contact the team* and I'll pass your details along.
3. Authentication
Verification Code Entry
Customer Action: Enters the 6-digit code
Success Response:
AI: You're now verified! 🎉
How can I assist you today?
Failed Attempts:
Attempt 1: Invalid or expired code. Please try again or request a new code.
Attempt 2: Invalid or expired code. Please try again or request a new code.
Attempt 3: Invalid or expired code. Please request a new verification code.
Code Expired:
AI: This code has expired. Please send "verify" to request a new code.
4. Natural Conversation
Once authenticated, customers can ask questions and complete tasks naturally:
Example: Checking Services
Customer: What services do you offer?
AI: Here are our available services:
1. Base Clean (2 hours)
Compact clean for 1-2 bedroom spaces
£45
2. Standard Clean (3 hours)
Professional clean for up to 3 bedrooms
£65
3. Premium Clean (4 hours)
Deep clean for larger homes (4+ bedrooms)
£95
Which service are you interested in?
Example: Checking Availability
Customer: What's available next Wednesday?
AI: Which service would you like to check availability for?
1. Base Clean (2 hours)
2. Standard Clean (3 hours)
3. Premium Clean (4 hours)
Customer: Standard Clean
AI: Here are available times for Standard Clean on Wednesday, February 12th:
• 9:00 AM
• 11:30 AM
• 2:00 PM
Would you like to book one of these times?
Example: Booking an Appointment
Customer: Yes, book me in at 2pm
AI: Booking confirmed for Standard Clean on February 12th at 2:00 PM! ✅
📅 Wednesday, February 12, 2026
🕐 2:00 PM – 5:00 PM
🧹 Standard Clean (3 hours)
Status: Confirmed
Is there anything else I can help with?
Example: Viewing Bookings
Customer: Show my bookings
AI: Here are your upcoming bookings:
1. Standard Clean
📅 Monday, 09 February 2026
🕐 10:00 – 13:00
Status: Confirmed
2. Premium Clean
📅 Thursday, 20 February 2026
🕐 14:00 – 18:00
Status: Confirmed
Need to make changes? Let me know!
Example: Cancelling a Single Booking
Before anything is cancelled, the assistant states what happens to the money. A session that came out of a pack is not refunded:
Customer: Cancel my booking on the 9th
AI: Are you sure you want to cancel Standard Clean on Monday,
09 February at 10:00?
Individual pack sessions aren't refunded. Cancelling the whole
pack instead may qualify for a refund — just ask.
Reply 'yes' to confirm or 'no' to keep it.
Customer: Yes, cancel it
AI: Booking on 2026-02-09 has been cancelled. Individual pack
sessions aren't refunded.
If the business has set that plan up to hand the session back rather than refund it, the wording changes — no money moves either way:
AI: Are you sure you want to cancel Standard Clean on Monday,
09 February at 10:00?
The session will be returned to your pack to rebook — no money refund.
Reply 'yes' to confirm or 'no' to keep it.
Example: Cancelling a Whole Pack
Cancelling the whole pack is the only route that can return money, and it always happens in two steps. First the assistant reads out a quote — how many remaining sessions would go, and the exact refund under the business's cancellation policy. Nothing is cancelled by asking:
Customer: What would I get back if I cancelled my Standard Clean pack?
AI: Cancelling this pack cancels its 4 remaining sessions and refunds
£180.00 to your original payment method.
Reply 'yes' to confirm or 'no' to keep it.
Customer: Yes
AI: ✅ Cancelled 4 sessions. A refund of £180.00 is on its way to your
original payment method.
If the policy allows no refund — or only refunds some of the remaining sessions — the quote says so before the customer decides:
AI: Cancelling this pack cancels its 3 remaining sessions.
Under the club's policy, no refund is due.
Reply 'yes' to confirm or 'no' to keep it.
When a customer cancels what turns out to be the last session of a pack, the assistant switches to this path automatically and tells them why:
AI: That's the last session of your pack, so cancelling it cancels the
whole purchase.
Cancelling this pack cancels its 1 remaining session and refunds
£45.00 to your original payment method.
Reply 'yes' to confirm or 'no' to keep it.
Season subscriptions work differently. Their sessions can be cancelled one at a time, but the subscription itself is managed from the customer's account page — the assistant will say so rather than quote a refund.
5. Advanced Features
Checking Recurring Availability:
Customer: I want to book every Monday at 2pm
AI: Let me check if 2:00 PM is available on the next 4 Mondays for Standard Clean...
✅ Monday, February 16 at 2:00 PM — Available
✅ Monday, February 23 at 2:00 PM — Available
❌ Monday, March 2 at 2:00 PM — Not available
✅ Monday, March 9 at 2:00 PM — Available
3 of 4 weekly slots are available. Would you like me to book the available ones?
Customer: Yes please
AI: [Creates bookings for each available date]
✅ Booked: Monday, February 16 at 2:00 PM
✅ Booked: Monday, February 23 at 2:00 PM
✅ Booked: Monday, March 9 at 2:00 PM
March 2nd wasn't available — would you like me to suggest alternative times for that week?
Getting Alternative Suggestions:
Customer: What other times are available that week?
AI: Here are alternative times for Standard Clean near March 2nd:
1. Monday, March 2 at 9:00 AM
2. Monday, March 2 at 4:00 PM
3. Tuesday, March 3 at 10:00 AM
4. Tuesday, March 3 at 2:00 PM
5. Wednesday, March 4 at 11:00 AM
Would you like to book one of these?
Joining the Waitlist for a Full Session:
When a customer tries to book a class or group session that's already full, the assistant offers a place on the waitlist instead of failing the booking. If a spot later frees up, the customer gets a message with a link to claim it.
Customer: Book me into Saturday's 9am Beginner Swim
AI: That Beginner Swim session is full, so I've added you to the
waitlist. You're number 2 in the queue. I'll message you with a
claim link if a spot frees up.
Active waitlist places show up when the customer asks for their bookings, in a short ⏳ Waitlist section. If a spot has opened, the entry tells them to check their messages for the claim link:
Customer: Show my bookings
AI: Here are your upcoming bookings:
1. Standard Clean
📅 Monday, 09 February 2026
🕐 10:00 – 13:00
Status: Confirmed
⏳ Waitlist:
• Beginner Swim — Saturday, 14 February — a spot is available!
Check your messages for the claim link.
Waitlists are only offered for fixed-time sessions with limited capacity (group sessions), and only when the business has turned the waitlist on for that service. See Managing Bookings for how it's enabled.
Checking Subscription & Quota:
Customer: How many bookings do I have left?
AI: Your Subscription Details:
Plan: Standard Clean - Fortnightly
Status: Active
Price: £70.00/month
Next Renewal: March 1, 2026
Quota Breakdown:
• Standard Clean: 1 of 2 sessions remaining
• Premium Clean (shared pool): 0 of 1 sessions remaining
Would you like to book your remaining Standard Clean session?
Browsing Help Articles:
Customer: How do I set up my calendar?
AI: I found some help articles that might be useful:
📖 Booking Calendar Setup
Learn how to configure your booking calendar, set availability,
and manage time slots.
Would you like me to share the full article, or can I help with
something specific?
6. Session Management
Session Duration: 24 hours
Re-authentication: Not required if returning within 24 hours
Logout: Customers can say "log out" to end the session early
Customer: log out
AI: You've been logged out. Send a message anytime to start a new session.
Common Customer Scenarios
Scenario 1: First-Time User Booking
Goal: Discover services, check availability, and book
Customer: Hi
AI: [Sends verification code]
Customer: 123456
AI: You're now verified! How can I help you today?
Customer: What do you offer?
AI: [Lists services with pricing and descriptions]
Customer: Show me times for a standard clean next Wednesday
AI: Here are available times for Standard Clean on Wednesday, February 12th:
• 9:00 AM
• 11:30 AM
• 2:00 PM
Would you like to book one of these?
Customer: 2pm please
AI: Booking confirmed for Standard Clean on February 12th at 2:00 PM! ✅
Scenario 2: Existing Customer Checking Bookings
Goal: Quick view of upcoming appointments
Customer: My bookings
AI: Here are your upcoming bookings:
1. Standard Clean
📅 Monday, 09 February 2026
🕐 10:00 – 13:00
Status: Confirmed
2. Premium Clean
📅 Thursday, 20 February 2026
🕐 14:00 – 18:00
Status: Confirmed
Scenario 3: Last-Minute Cancellation
Goal: Cancel appointment due to emergency
Customer: I need to cancel tomorrow's appointment
AI: Are you sure you want to cancel Standard Clean tomorrow
(09 February) at 10:00?
Individual pack sessions aren't refunded. Cancelling the whole
pack instead may qualify for a refund — just ask.
Reply 'yes' to confirm or 'no' to keep it.
Customer: Yes, cancel it
AI: Booking on 2026-02-09 has been cancelled. Individual pack
sessions aren't refunded.
This is the single most common customer misunderstanding, so it's worth repeating to your team: cancelling one session out of a pack does not put money back and does not hand the session back, unless the plan is set up to reissue it. Only cancelling the whole pack can produce a refund, and only as far as your cancellation policy allows.
Scenario 4: Account & Subscription Information
Goal: Check subscription status and per-service quota
Customer: What's my subscription status?
AI: Your Subscription Details:
Plan: Standard Clean - Fortnightly
Status: Active
Price: £70.00/month
Next Renewal: March 1, 2026
Quota Breakdown:
• Standard Clean: 1 of 2 sessions remaining
• Premium Clean (shared pool): 0 of 1 sessions remaining
Your next booking is Standard Clean on Monday, February 9th at 10:00 AM.
Scenario 5: Multi-Profile Family
Goal: Parents and children share a phone, need to select correct profile
Customer: Hi
AI: I found multiple accounts for your phone number:
1. Acme Cleaning — Customer A (customer.a@example.com) — Customer
2. Acme Cleaning — Customer B (customer.b@example.com) — Customer
Which account would you like to use? Reply with the number.
Customer: 1
AI: [Sends verification code for selected account]
Customer: 123456
AI: You're now verified! How can I help you today?
Scenario 6: Recurring Booking Setup
Goal: Set up a weekly recurring appointment
Customer: I want to book Standard Clean every Wednesday at 10am
AI: Let me check availability for the next 4 Wednesdays at 10:00 AM...
✅ Wed, February 12 — Available
✅ Wed, February 19 — Available
✅ Wed, February 26 — Available
✅ Wed, March 5 — Available
All 4 weekly slots are available! Shall I book them all?
Customer: Yes
AI: All 4 bookings confirmed! ✅
📅 Wed, February 12 at 10:00 AM
📅 Wed, February 19 at 10:00 AM
📅 Wed, February 26 at 10:00 AM
📅 Wed, March 5 at 10:00 AM
Scenario 7: Preferred Time Unavailable
Goal: Find an alternative when the requested time is booked
Customer: Book me a Premium Clean next Monday at 3pm
AI: Unfortunately, 3:00 PM isn't available on Monday, February 16th.
Here are some alternative times:
1. Monday, Feb 16 at 9:00 AM
2. Monday, Feb 16 at 1:00 PM
3. Tuesday, Feb 17 at 3:00 PM
4. Wednesday, Feb 18 at 10:00 AM
Would any of these work for you?
Customer: Tuesday at 3pm
AI: Booking confirmed for Premium Clean on Tuesday, February 17th at 3:00 PM! ✅
Customer Communication Style
AI Personality
The assistant is designed to be:
- Friendly but professional
- Clear and concise
- Helpful and solution-oriented
- Brand-neutral (adapts to any business type)
Tone Examples
Warm Greeting:
Hi! How can I help you today?
Booking Confirmation:
Booking confirmed for Standard Clean on February 12th at 2:00 PM! ✅
Clear Cancellation:
Booking on 2026-02-09 has been cancelled. Individual pack sessions aren't refunded.
Helpful Alternatives:
That time isn't available, but I found 5 alternative slots nearby. Would you like to see them?
Polite Limitations:
I can't change your plan or take a payment here, but I can send you your recent
invoices, show your subscription and quota, or raise a support request for you.
Which would help?
How Customers Should Phrase Requests
The AI understands natural language, so customers don't need to use specific commands:
✅ Natural Phrasing (Recommended):
- "What times are available next week?"
- "Book me in for a Standard Clean on Wednesday at 2pm"
- "Show me my bookings"
- "I need to cancel my appointment on Friday"
- "What services do you offer?"
- "How many bookings do I have left?"
- "Book me every Monday at 10am"
✅ Simple Commands (Also Works):
- "availability next week"
- "book Wednesday 2pm"
- "my bookings"
- "cancel Friday"
- "services"
- "subscription"
❌ Overly Complex (AI May Misunderstand):
- "I was wondering if perhaps you might be able to show me possibly available times for next week if that's okay?"
- Better: "Show available times next week"
Handling Errors & Edge Cases
Customer Sends a Message the Assistant Can't Place
When a message doesn't clearly match anything the assistant knows how to do, it doesn't jump straight to a fixed menu — it still writes a one-off natural reply: acknowledging what was actually said, answering from your help articles when something genuinely matches, and otherwise saying plainly that it can't help with that and offering the one next step that fits best (usually passing the details to your team). This still applies to a message that's genuinely off-topic for your business — the reply just has nothing relevant to draw on:
Customer: "Do you do anything for hen parties?"
AI Response:
I don't have anything for hen parties, I'm afraid — we're a cleaning
business. Want me to pass your details to the team? They can let you
know if there's something we can help with.
Only when that reply itself comes back empty, or something goes wrong while writing it, does the assistant fall back to a fixed list of what it can help with:
I can help you with:
• Make a new booking
• View your bookings
• Cancel a booking
• Check your account
• View or raise a support ticket
• Ask the team to get in touch
• Ask about pricing & plans
• Search our help centre
What would you like to do?
Request Outside Capabilities
Customer: "Upgrade my subscription"
AI Response:
I can't change a plan from here — that happens on the website, where you
can pay securely. I can show you your current subscription and quota, or
send you your recent invoices. Would either help?
Ambiguous Date References
Customer: "Next week" (could mean Sunday, could mean Monday)
AI Response:
Let me show you availability for next week:
Monday, February 17:
• 9:00 AM
• 2:00 PM
Tuesday, February 18:
• 10:00 AM
• 4:00 PM
...
Which day works best for you?
No Availability
Customer: "Show me times for tomorrow"
AI Response:
I don't see any available slots for tomorrow (Feb 13th).
Would you like me to suggest alternative times later this week or next week?
Session Expired
Customer: (Returns after 24+ hours) "My bookings"
AI Response:
Your session has expired. For security, please verify your identity again.
[Sends new verification code]
Booking Without Enough Quota
Customer: Tries to book but has used all sessions in their plan
AI Response:
Your booking could not be completed. You've used all your sessions for this billing period.
Your current quota:
• Standard Clean: 0 of 2 remaining
Your plan renews on March 1, 2026. Would you like to see your subscription details?
Customer Support Questions
"How do I use this?"
AI Response:
I'm here to help you manage your bookings via WhatsApp!
You can ask me to:
• View services and check availability
• Book appointments
• View your upcoming bookings
• Cancel appointments
• Check your subscription and quota
• Browse help articles
Just ask in plain English—I'll understand! What would you like help with?
"Can I book through WhatsApp?"
AI Response:
Yes! I can create bookings for you right here in the chat.
Just tell me which service you'd like and your preferred date/time.
I'll check availability and confirm your booking. Would you like
to see available services?
"Why do I need to verify?"
AI Response:
Verification protects your account information. The 6-digit code confirms you're the account owner before I share any booking or subscription details.
Your session stays active for 24 hours, so you won't need to verify again today.
"Can I use this for my family?"
AI Response:
Yes! If multiple family members have accounts with us using this phone number, I'll let you choose which profile to use when you first message.
Each family member can log in separately using their profile.
Admin Features via WhatsApp
Business owners and admins have additional tools available after verification:
- Booking statistics — view total bookings, upcoming count, and recent activity for a given period
- List all bookings — see bookings across all customers, filtered by status
- Customer lookup — search for a customer by name, email, or phone and view their recent bookings
Admin: Show me booking stats for the last 7 days
AI: Booking Statistics (Last 7 days):
Total Bookings: 23
...
Admin: Look up customer John Smith
AI: Customer Found:
Name: John Smith
Email: john@example.com
Phone: +44 7700 900000
Recent Bookings:
1. Standard Clean — Feb 9, 2026 — Confirmed
2. Premium Clean — Feb 3, 2026 — Confirmed
Promoting WhatsApp to Customers
Website Integration
Add WhatsApp contact options:
- Floating button on every page
- Contact page with WhatsApp link
- Footer with WhatsApp number
- Booking confirmation pages
Example Copy:
Book and manage appointments on WhatsApp!
📱 [Your WhatsApp Number]
Our AI assistant can help you:
✓ Book appointments 24/7
✓ Check availability instantly
✓ View and cancel bookings
✓ Check your subscription & quota
Email Signatures
Include WhatsApp in email signatures:
—
Your Business Name
📧 info@yourbusiness.com
📱 WhatsApp: [Your Number]
💬 Book and manage appointments anytime!
Marketing Materials
Promote WhatsApp on:
- Business cards
- Flyers
- Social media bios
- Google Business Profile
- Booking confirmation emails
Example Social Media Post:
🎉 Book instantly on WhatsApp!
Message us anytime to:
✓ Browse services and availability
✓ Book appointments in seconds
✓ Manage your bookings
✓ Check your subscription
No app download needed—just WhatsApp!
📱 [Your WhatsApp Number]
Customer Privacy
What Customers Should Know
Data Collected:
- Phone number
- Message content
- Booking actions
- Authentication attempts
Data Usage:
- Provide WhatsApp service
- Improve AI responses
- Customer support
- Security auditing
How Long It's Kept:
- A session stays active for 24 hours, after which the customer verifies again
- Conversations and their messages are retained for a maximum of 90 days (see our Privacy Policy)
Customer Rights:
- Request data deletion
- Opt out of WhatsApp (email/web still available)
- View interaction history
Privacy Best Practices
For Business Owners:
- Don't ask for sensitive payment information via WhatsApp
- Don't share customer data externally
- Respect customer preferences — if someone would rather not use WhatsApp, point them to the website and email
For Customers:
- Don't share verification codes with anyone
- Log out on shared devices
- Report suspicious messages
- Use verified business numbers only
Troubleshooting: Customer Perspective
"I'm not receiving the verification code"
Causes:
- WhatsApp not connected to internet
- Phone number entered incorrectly
- Code already sent and expired
Tell Customer:
1. Check your internet connection
2. Verify you're messaging the correct business number
3. Wait 30 seconds, then send "verify" to request a new code
4. If still not working, contact support via website
"The AI doesn't understand me"
Causes:
- Unusual phrasing
- Typos
- Request outside capabilities
Tell Customer:
Try simpler phrasing:
• Instead of "I'm wondering if there might be times next week", try "show times next week"
• Be specific with dates: "next Wednesday" instead of "soon"
• Use clearer commands: "my bookings" instead of "what do I have scheduled"
"My booking failed"
Causes:
- No remaining quota on subscription
- Slot became unavailable between checking and booking
- Service or calendar misconfiguration
Tell Customer:
If your booking didn't go through:
1. Check your subscription quota — you may have used all your sessions
2. The time slot may have just been taken — try checking availability again
3. If the problem persists, contact support via the website
"I want to stop using WhatsApp"
Tell Customer:
You can still use the website and email for bookings and account management —
nothing is WhatsApp-only. Simply stop messaging and say "log out" to end your
current session. If you'd like your message history removed, just ask us.