Feature guide: WhatsApp Bot booking
WhatsApp booking bot: clients book, move and cancel without leaving the chat
Adly's WhatsApp booking bot runs on your own WhatsApp Business number and lets clients of salons, spas, barbers and clinics pick a service, a team member and a real free time, then handles reminders, changes and a waitlist in the same chat.
Can a WhatsApp bot take my bookings without my staff in the loop?
Yes, for routine appointments. Adly's WhatsApp Bot books inside the chat: the client picks a service, a team member and one of the real free times, then gets a confirmation. It sends reminders 24 and 2 hours before, lets clients reschedule or cancel with a tap, and keeps a waitlist. Your staff step in only when the bot escalates a chat, such as a complaint or a custom request. It is included from the Adly Solo plan at $49 a month, as of October 2026.
Booking is one job of Adly's customer-facing WhatsApp bot platform for automated messaging, which also answers questions from your brand facts and saves new leads into Adly's CRM. This guide stays on the booking side: what the client sees, what happens after they book, when a person steps in, and what it costs.
One WhatsApp appointment booking, message by message
The salon below is a made-up example: Cedar Hair Studio, two stylists, open 10:00 to 20:00. Names, dates and times are illustrative. The flow follows what Adly's bot does with your real services, team members and opening hours.
Client, Monday 26 OctoberHi, do you have anything Thursday for a cut and blow dry?
Cedar Hair Studio botHello, welcome to Cedar Hair Studio. Which service would you like?HaircutCut and blow dryColorPrice list
Services come first
Clients write in their own words. The bot replies with your service list as buttons. If they ask about prices, it can send the price list photo you approved.
Client tapsCut and blow dry
Cedar Hair Studio botGreat choice. Who would you like to see?RanaMayaFirst available
Staff choice, per person
Regulars often want the same stylist. The bot books each team member separately, so Maya's day and Rana's day stay apart. First available suits clients who just want the earliest slot.
Client tapsMaya
Cedar Hair Studio botMaya's free times on Thursday 29 October:11:0013:3017:15
ClientAnything around 19:00?
Cedar Hair Studio botMaya is booked at 19:00 and we close at 20:00, so 17:15 is her last free time on Thursday. On Friday 30 October she has 10:00 and 12:30. I can also add you to the Thursday waitlist.Thursday 17:15Friday 10:00Join the waitlist
Only real free times, inside opening hours
The bot shows only times that are actually free for that person, inside your hours. A full evening turns into three useful options: the last free time, the next day, or the waitlist. The client never hears a flat no.
Client tapsThursday 17:15
Cedar Hair Studio botBooked. Cut and blow dry with Maya, Thursday 29 October at 17:15, Cedar Hair Studio. I will remind you the day before.
Confirmation in the same thread
The client gets one message with service, person, date and time. You see the booking on your calendar in Adly. Nobody copies details from a chat into a paper diary.
The flow in one paragraph
How booking works in Adly's WhatsApp Bot: a client messages your WhatsApp Business number in their own words. The bot replies with your services, then asks which team member they want or offers the first available. It shows only times that are truly free for that person inside your opening hours, and the client taps one to confirm in the same thread. The booking then looks after itself. A reminder goes out 24 hours before and another 2 hours before, each with Confirm, Reschedule and Cancel buttons. Rescheduling shows fresh free times. Cancelling frees the slot, and clients on the waitlist are ready to take it. After the visit, the bot can ask for a review and later invite the client to book again. Anything outside its brand facts, such as a group booking or a complaint, goes to a person on your team through the inbox in Adly.
After the booking: reminders, changes and the waitlist
A booking made on Monday can still go wrong by Thursday. Plans change and people forget. The bot keeps working on the appointment until the client walks in.
Two reminders, three buttons
24 hours before: Wednesday 17:15
Cedar Hair Studio botReminder: your cut and blow dry with Maya is tomorrow at 17:15.ConfirmRescheduleCancel
2 hours before: Thursday 15:15
Cedar Hair Studio botSee you today at 17:15 with Maya.ConfirmRescheduleCancel
The 24 hour reminder lands while you still have a day to refill the slot. The 2 hour reminder catches anyone who lost track of the day. Both turn a change of plans into one tap instead of a silent empty chair.
Reminders like these are meant to cut no-shows. How many they prevent depends on your clients, so compare a month with reminders against the month before.
Moving or cancelling without a phone call
Client tapsReschedule
Cedar Hair Studio botMaya's next free times:Fri 30 Oct, 10:00Fri 30 Oct, 12:30Sat 31 Oct, 11:00
Client tapsFri 30 Oct, 10:00
Cedar Hair Studio botDone. Your appointment with Maya is now Friday 30 October at 10:00.
Cancelling works the same way: one tap, a confirmation, and the time is free again. The client can book a new time in that same chat whenever they are ready. Your front desk does not touch either change.
What the waitlist is for
When a client cannot find a time that suits them, the bot can add them to the waitlist instead of letting the chat end. When another client cancels, that freed time can go to people on the waitlist, so a late cancellation has someone ready to fill it.
After the visit: a review request and an invitation to book again
Once the appointment is done, the bot can ask the client for a review. Later it can invite them to book again, which suits services that repeat on a cycle, such as haircuts, beard trims or follow-up visits at a clinic.
When does the bot hand a chat to a person?
Adly's WhatsApp Bot answers from the brand facts you teach it and escalates to a human when a conversation needs one. Your team then picks it up from the WhatsApp inbox inside Adly, with the whole conversation in view, so the client does not have to repeat themselves.
Here is the kind of message that should reach a person:
ClientI need a bridal booking for 6 people on Saturday morning. Can you do a group price?
Cedar Hair Studio botThat one needs the team, so I have passed your message to them. Someone from Cedar Hair Studio will reply here.
| Situation | Why a person should answer |
|---|---|
| Group or event booking | Price, staff and timing need a human decision. |
| Complaint or refund request | An upset client wants to hear from a real person. |
| Health question at a clinic | Only qualified staff should give that answer. |
| A question your brand facts do not cover | A short wait beats a guessed answer. |
| The client asks for a person | Respect it and step in. |
Every fact you add, such as parking, deposits or what to bring, is one more question the bot can answer on its own. For the wider picture of routing chats and following up with leads, read our guide to WhatsApp AI automations and workflows.
Setting up booking: what you give the bot
No code and no developer. Setup happens inside Adly on the Solo plan or higher, and most of it is typing facts you already know by heart.
- Connect your WhatsApp Business number
From WhatsApp Bot in Adly, connect your business number through Meta. Clients keep messaging the number they already have saved.
- Add services, team members and opening hours
This is what the bot uses to show only real free times, per person, inside your hours.
- Teach your brand facts
Address, parking, payment options, what to bring, your cancellation policy. Add more over time as new questions come in.
- Approve the photos it may send
Your price list or a service menu. The bot sends photos you have approved.
- Check your message templates
Manage your WhatsApp templates and the bot inbox from inside Adly.
- Test it as a client
Message your number from another phone. Book, reschedule, cancel, then ask something unusual to watch the handoff.
If you also want to plan offers and follow-ups on WhatsApp beyond appointments, our WhatsApp Business marketing automation guide covers the wider marketing side.
What does a WhatsApp booking bot cost on Adly?
WhatsApp Bot, including in-chat booking, reminders, the waitlist and human handoff, comes with the Adly Solo plan at $49 a month, as of October 2026. Solo also includes a monthly usage limit for creating images, text, video and landing pages.
Growth, at $119 a month as of October 2026, adds multi-brand mode, higher limits and VIP support, which suits owners running several brands. Pro serves larger teams with higher limits and dedicated success support.
One cost outside Adly: Meta may charge for some WhatsApp Business messages, separately from your Adly plan. Check Meta's current WhatsApp Business pricing for your country before you plan reminder volume.
Solo plan
$49 a month
| WhatsApp Bot with in-chat booking | Included |
|---|---|
| Reminders 24 and 2 hours before | Included |
| Reschedule and cancel in the chat | Included |
| Waitlist, reviews, book again | Included |
| Human handoff from the Adly inbox | Included |
| Adly in WhatsApp and Adly in Telegram | Included |
| Priority support | Included |
Prices as of October 2026. Usage limits renew monthly on an active subscription.
Getting more clients into the chat
A booking bot can only book people who message you. The most direct route is a Meta campaign with WhatsApp as the destination, launched from approved creative inside Adly. If you would rather run those ads from your phone, see our walkthrough on creating Meta ads from a WhatsApp chatbot.
Regular posts keep regulars coming back too. On the owner side, Adly in WhatsApp works as an AI social media manager on WhatsApp: your private chat with Adly for making, approving and publishing posts. It is a separate product from the booking bot, which talks to your clients on your business number.
0 days
Median time for services brands on Adly to reach their first published post, meaning the same day (Adly platform data, Mar to Oct 2026, 271 services brands).
Those services brands published a median of 2.1 posts per active month over the same period. Across all 1,125 brands in the sample, 95% of posts were scheduled ahead (Adly platform data, Mar to Oct 2026).
The short version
If your clients already message you to book, put the booking inside that chat. Add your services, team members and opening hours, then book, move and cancel a test appointment from your own phone before you switch it on.
Give it a few weeks and compare no-shows and empty slots with the month before. Start on the Solo plan and set up the bot from WhatsApp Bot inside Adly.
Start with Adly on the Solo planQuestions owners ask before switching it on
Does my client need an app or a booking link to book?
No. The whole booking happens in the WhatsApp chat with your business. Clients type or tap buttons, and the confirmation arrives in the same thread.
Can it work as a WhatsApp reservation bot?
It is built for appointment businesses such as salons, spas, barbers and clinics. If your reservations work like appointments, with a set time, a service and opening hours, the same flow covers them.
Can clients choose a specific staff member?
Yes. The bot asks which team member they want, or offers the first available, and then shows that person's free times only.
What happens when the time a client wants is taken?
The bot offers only real free times, so a taken time does not appear. It suggests the nearest free times and can add the client to the waitlist.
Is the booking bot the same as Adly in WhatsApp?
No. The WhatsApp Bot talks to your clients on your own business number. Adly in WhatsApp is your private chat with Adly for creating and publishing marketing. Both come with the Solo plan.
Which Adly plan includes the WhatsApp booking bot?
Solo, at $49 a month as of October 2026, and every plan above it. Meta may charge separately for some WhatsApp Business messages.