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Booking Page

The booking page lets a customer choose a service and an available time without signing in. It uses the services, schedules and checkout questions configured in your dashboard.

  • A link the assistant creates during a conversation is tied to that customer and request and expires after 24 hours.
  • The permanent business booking link can be shared on a website, profile or campaign and does not expire.

Both open the same booking flow. Do not reuse a customer's 24-hour link for someone else.

Booking steps​

1. Choose Date & Time​

The customer selects a service. The calendar shows only the dates and times that are actually free. A slot can disappear if another booking takes it first. The page never asks the customer to pick a provider — even for a service with several assigned providers, the assignment happens on your side.

2. Contact​

The customer must enter name and email; phone is optional. The form does not pre-fill from the conversation — even a link the assistant sent during a chat opens to a blank contact form every time. Whatever is typed here is saved against this one appointment only: if the link recognizes an existing customer, it never overwrites their stored contact details in your dashboard. Only a customer ReadyChatAI does not already recognize, typically through the permanent link, becomes a new customer record. The form still shows what will be submitted so the customer can correct it.

3. Your questions​

Store-wide and service-specific checkout questions appear when configured. They are optional on the public booking form; use only questions you need to prepare for the appointment.

4. Review & Confirm​

The final screen summarizes service, date, time, contact details and answers. Confirmation is the step that creates the appointment. Opening a link or selecting a slot does not reserve it. If the assistant had already started collecting this same appointment in the conversation, finishing it here completes that booking instead of creating a second, competing one.

After confirmation​

The customer sees the result and receives the channel notifications configured for the appointment. If the assistant sent the link during a conversation, ReadyChatAI also posts the confirmation back into that same chat, so the customer sees it both on the page and back on WhatsApp, Instagram or wherever they were chatting. Your team sees the new record under Appointments, and any team member assigned to the service is automatically emailed a calendar invite, with accept/decline buttons — even though the customer never sees or picks who they'll get. If a slot was taken between selection and confirmation, the customer must choose a new one; ReadyChatAI does not double-book it.

Managing an existing booking​

After confirming, the customer lands on a details page with Reschedule and Cancel buttons that let them manage the appointment without contacting you. Reschedule reopens the same date/time picker; Cancel asks for confirmation first. Both are blocked once the appointment falls inside the service's Cancellation Restriction window (Service Management) — the customer sees exactly how many hours or minutes remain before they can no longer change it themselves.

The link to that page is not the 24-hour booking link. It stays valid through the appointment's date plus 7 more days, and rescheduling moves that window along with the new date. The customer gets this link right after confirming, automatically when booking through the permanent link, or inside a reminder — never inside the booking confirmation email, which carries only an unsubscribe link. A customer who closes the confirmation page before a reminder is due has no way back to that page until one arrives — though a customer who booked through a chat can still ask the assistant to move or cancel the appointment.

The confirmation screen and the management page both offer Add to calendar buttons for Google Calendar, Outlook and Apple, so the customer can save the appointment to their own calendar without waiting on an email.

How availability is calculated​

The page combines:

  • the service's duration, lead time, booking horizon and assigned providers;
  • the business and provider weekly schedules;
  • breaks, time off and existing appointments; and
  • the business timezone.

The customer sees times translated for the booking experience, while the stored appointment follows the business configuration. Keep team schedules and the business timezone current.

Zero is setting-specific​

A zero can mean no buffer, no advance notice or no capacity depending on the field. Read the label before saving; do not assume zero always means unlimited. If no slots appear, first check service availability, assigned providers, schedules, time off and existing bookings.

Language​

The page supports English and Spanish. The language shown is negotiated from the visitor's own browser, not from the conversation's language — a link the assistant sends does not carry a locale. The permanent link can be opened in either supported language.