Let clients book an appointment by chatting on WhatsApp

Booking over WhatsApp lets a client write to your shop's WhatsApp number in their own words, for example "corte mañana 4pm", and get back times they can confirm with one tap. They never have to open the booking page.

Zelun reads the message for a service, a day and a start time. It does not use an AI model and it does not guess. If the message names two services, or a time that could be morning or afternoon, it asks the client to choose with buttons. If everything is clear, it replies with open times for that service.

Every time offered comes from the same openings the booking page uses, so your opening hours, time off, rooms and equipment, and appointments already in the book are all respected. When the client taps a time, Zelun checks again that it is still free before booking it.

This is turned on per company, and it is off until someone switches it on. It also needs your WhatsApp number to be connected first.

1. A connected WhatsApp number for your company. Without it there is nowhere for clients to write.
2. At least one service in your list, because clients choose from it.
3. A company with a single location. Booking from free text works today only when the company has exactly one branch, because Zelun cannot yet tell from a message which location a client means.
4. The client's phone number must match exactly one company in Zelun. If the same number belongs to clients of more than one company, free text is not used for booking.
5. Access to the WhatsApp page, in the Setup group of the sidebar. If you are sent to a Forbidden page, ask the account owner.

1. Open WhatsApp in the side menu.
2. Under the sender, find the panel Book over WhatsApp.
3. Tick Let clients book by texting the WhatsApp number. It saves as soon as you tick it. Untick it to turn it off again.
4. Check it works by sending a message such as a service name with a day and a time from a phone that is saved as a client. Reply to the offered times with a tap.
5. Afterwards, open the Appointment book. Appointments booked this way appear in the diary like any other and carry a WhatsApp tag on the appointment.

• If they write a clear request, they receive open times as buttons, up to three at a time plus an option to see more. On phones or senders that do not support buttons they receive a numbered list and reply with the number.
• If they ask for a time that is taken, the reply says that time is unavailable and offers the nearest open times.
• If the message could mean more than one service, they are asked which one with a button for each. If the time could be morning or afternoon, they are asked which.
• When they tap a time that is still free, the appointment is booked and they receive a confirmation with a link to manage it.
• If the time was taken in the meantime, or the offer is old, nothing is booked and fresh times are offered.
• If your shop asks for a deposit, tapping a time does not book. The client receives a link to the booking page with the service, staff and time already filled in, and pays the deposit there.
• If they reply to an appointment reminder asking to change it, they are offered open times for that same appointment. Tapping one moves it, following your late-cancel rules. If the new time is no longer free, the appointment stays where it was.
• Messages that do not match anything fall back to the usual reply for unrecognised messages.

• Expecting it to work without switching it on. Until the setting is ticked, free text is treated like any other unrecognised message.
• Turning it on with several locations. Free-text booking does not work yet for companies with more than one branch.
• Expecting it to book the first time a client says a time. Clients always confirm by tapping an offered time. Zelun never books from the free text alone.
• Expecting a deposit to be taken in the chat. Deposits are paid on the booking page, so the chat sends a link instead of booking.
• Forgetting the 24-hour window. Zelun can reply in free form for 24 hours after the client's last message. Beyond that, a message needs an approved template, and if none exists for your sender it is skipped and logged rather than sent.
• Forgetting that messages have a cost. Each message Zelun sends uses your messaging, as described in the article about what is included and what uses credits.

Connect your number first, then manage conversations in the inbox, and see how these bookings sit in your diary.