Chatbot checklist
Appointment booking chatbot launch checklist
A practical checklist for service teams building an appointment booking chatbot on WhatsApp or Instagram. Use it to confirm qualification questions, calendar rules, handoff moments, booking confirmations, and QA before customers rely on the workflow.
Visible template
Copy the structure, then adapt it to your policy and customer intent.
The template is intentionally visible on the page. It is not a gated download, and it avoids unsupported promises about conversion, revenue, or reply rates.
Workbench blocks
4 blocks01
Scope
Define the booking job
Appointment type: {{service_name}} Booking goal: {{new_booking | reschedule | cancellation | qualification_only}} Required customer details: {{name}}, {{preferred_day}}, {{preferred_time}}, {{service_notes}} Staff review needed when: {{handoff_condition}}
Do not start with copy. Start with the operational job the chatbot should complete.
02
Questions
Qualification questions
Ask only what the team needs to book or route the appointment: 1. What service do you need? 2. What day and time window works best? 3. Is there anything the team should know before confirming? 4. Do you want the next available time or a specific provider?
Keep qualification short. Long intake forms increase drop-off and make handoff harder.
03
Calendar
Availability and confirmation
Calendar checks: - Business hours are configured. - Blocked days and exceptions are configured. - Appointment duration is clear. - The chatbot can explain when no matching time is available. - Confirmation copy does not promise a time before the booking is actually created or approved.
For Interlinked, connect the workflow to Google Calendar and validate the calendar rules in setup.
04
Handoff
Manual review
Route to the team when: - The customer asks for an unavailable time. - The request contains medical, legal, financial, or sensitive context. - The service requires staff approval. - The customer is angry, confused, or asking for an exception. - The chatbot is unsure which service or duration applies.
Manual review should preserve the conversation context, preferred time, and customer notes.
Implementation notes
How to turn the template into an Interlinked workflow
01
Set the appointment boundaries
Document service duration, business hours, blocked days, staff exceptions, cancellation or reschedule rules, and the exact point where the booking becomes confirmed. The chatbot should not infer these details from vague copy.
02
Connect Google Calendar before launch
Interlinked booking workflows rely on calendar availability and configured scheduling rules. Connect the calendar, test blocked days, and confirm that the created event matches the service duration and customer context.
03
Write short qualification paths
A booking chatbot should collect enough information to find the right appointment path, not interrogate the customer. Keep the core path short and move edge cases into handoff.
04
Design the no-availability answer
The most important failure state is not finding a matching time. Give the customer clear options: choose another window, ask for a person, or leave notes for staff review.
Common mistakes
Confirming an appointment before checking the calendar.
Use wording that says the chatbot is checking availability until the booking is actually created or staff-approved.
Asking too many intake questions.
Ask only the questions needed to match the service, time, and review requirement. Extra information can be collected after handoff.
Ignoring blocked days and exceptions.
Test weekends, holidays, staff absences, lunch gaps, and same-day booking rules before launch.
Letting the chatbot handle sensitive exceptions alone.
Route unclear, sensitive, high-risk, or upset-customer cases to manual review with context attached.
QA checklist
- 01 Every service has a duration, business hours rule, and booking owner.
- 02 Google Calendar is connected and tested with available, unavailable, and blocked-day examples.
- 03 The chatbot can handle new booking, reschedule, cancellation, and no-availability paths.
- 04 The confirmation message only appears after the booking is created or staff approval is clear.
- 05 Manual handoff keeps preferred day, preferred time, service, and customer notes visible.
- 06 The workflow has been tested from WhatsApp or Instagram through CRM review.
Product context
Where this template connects inside Interlinked
Template FAQ
Questions before you adapt it
Can an appointment booking chatbot create calendar events?
In Interlinked scheduling workflows, booking behavior depends on the configured calendar connection, business hours, availability, and workflow rules. Test the full path before customers rely on it.
Should the chatbot confirm every appointment automatically?
No. Some services should require staff review, especially when duration, eligibility, provider availability, payment, sensitive context, or exceptions are involved.
What channels can use this checklist?
The checklist is written for WhatsApp and Instagram booking workflows, but the same operating checks apply to any connected messaging channel that routes into Interlinked CRM and scheduling logic.
What is the most important QA test?
Test no-availability and handoff. A good booking workflow should explain what happens when a requested time is unavailable and should route uncertain cases to a person with context attached.
Launch path
Put the template into a real conversation workflow.
Use the product docs for setup truth, then test the script or checklist with a small set of internal examples before you use it with customers.