AI agents explained
What a booking and scheduling agent does
Step through an example
Pick an example business
Example: Podiatry clinic · Bristol
Online booking requestExample - From: Eleanor Shaw · 07700 900418
- Wants: first appointment, painful ingrown toenail
- Prefers: Thursday or Friday morning
- Sent: Mon 12/10/2026, 21:40
Step 1 of 5
Picks up the request that evening, checks which podiatrists see new patients and which morning slots are free, and offers Eleanor three that fit.
Agent does this
Your booking rulesExample - New patients: 40-minute slot
- Nail surgery: only after an assessment
- Leave 10 minutes between patients
- Patients with diabetes: book with a senior podiatrist
Step 2 of 5
Follows the rules you've set for each kind of appointment, so a new patient never lands in a short follow-up slot.
Agent does this
Email replyExample - Eleanor Shaw · Tue 13/10/2026, 08:12
- Thursday at 9:20 is great. I should mention I'm diabetic, is that OK?
Step 3 of 5
Your rules say patients with diabetes see a senior podiatrist, but health details are for your team to confirm. So it holds the Thursday slot and asks reception before rebooking.
Asks a person
Confirmed by receptionExample - Moved to: Thu 15/10/2026, 10:00 · senior podiatrist
- Note added: diabetic, first appointment
- Reminder: text the day before
Step 4 of 5
Books the new time, sends Eleanor a confirmation with directions and what to bring, and texts her a reminder the day before.
Agent does this
Today's list for receptionExample - Thu 15/10/2026 · 14 appointments
- Confirmed: 12 · No reply to reminder: 1
- Missed yesterday: 1 · offered a new time
- Needs you: a request to move a nail surgery
Step 5 of 5
Reception sees the day at a glance and decides anything outside the rules, like moving a nail surgery. Whether to charge for a missed appointment is always their call.
A person decides
Example: Property manager · Perth
Rental listing messageExample - Re: 2-bedroom unit, Victoria Park · A$720 per week
- From: Priya Nair · 0491 570 157
- Can I see it this week? I work until 5:30 pm.
- Sent: Tue 06/10/2026, 7:05 pm
Step 1 of 5
Checks the viewing times you've set for that property and offers Priya the evening ones that fit around her work.
Agent does this
Viewing times for this propertyExample - Private viewings: Thu 08/10/2026, 5:45 to 6:30 pm
- Open inspection: Sat 10/10/2026, 10:00 to 10:20 am
- Current tenant: send notice before each viewing
Step 2 of 5
Books Priya in for Thursday evening and sends the current tenant notice of the viewing, in the wording and timing you've set.
Agent does this
WhatsAppExample - Priya Nair · Thu 08/10/2026, 4:10 pm
- Running late from work, can I come at 6:45 instead? Or could someone show me tomorrow?
Step 3 of 5
A 6:45 viewing is outside the time your property manager agreed to be there, so it asks them before replying.
Asks a person
Reply from your property managerExample - OK for 6:45 tonight, I'll wait
- Add her to Saturday's open inspection as a backup
Step 4 of 5
Confirms 6:45 with Priya, adds her to Saturday's open inspection as a backup, and updates the calendar.
Agent does this
After this week's viewingsExample - Victoria Park unit · 6 viewings
- Applications: 2 · Still deciding: 3 · Didn't turn up: 1
- Application link sent to everyone who attended
- Needs you: recommend 1 of 2 applications to the landlord
Step 5 of 5
The agent books viewings and sends the application link, but choosing a tenant is always a person's decision: your property manager recommends and the landlord approves.
A person decides
Example: Roofing contractor · Atlanta
Website formExample - Name: Darnell Brooks · (404) 555-0139
- Location: Decatur, GA
- Need: roof inspection, leak in back bedroom after the storm
- Submitted: 10/05/2026, 8:47 PM
Step 1 of 5
Recognizes a storm leak, which your rules treat as urgent, and checks which estimators cover Decatur and are free in the next two days.
Agent does this
Your booking rulesExample - Leaks: offer a visit within 48 hours
- Inspections: weekdays, 9 AM to 4 PM
- Allow drive time between visits
- Insurance claim jobs: book a 90-minute visit
Step 2 of 5
Offers Darnell two morning slots that leave drive time between visits, and texts him to confirm.
Agent does this
Text message replyExample - Darnell Brooks · 10/06/2026, 7:15 AM
- Tomorrow at 9 works. Water is coming through the ceiling right now though. Can someone come today?
Step 3 of 5
A same-day visit isn't something it can promise, so it tells Darnell it's checking and asks your office manager straight away.
Asks a person
Reply from your office managerExample - Crew nearby can tarp the roof at 1 PM today
- Keep the 9 AM inspection tomorrow
- Emergency tarp: I'll talk price with him by phone
Step 4 of 5
Books the 1 PM visit, keeps tomorrow's inspection, and sends Darnell both times with what to expect. The price of the emergency visit is left to your office manager.
Agent does this
Tomorrow's route for estimatorsExample - Wed 10/07/2026 · 5 inspections
- 9:00 AM Decatur · storm leak, possible insurance claim
- Drive times checked · all customers confirmed
- Needs you: a customer asking for a Saturday visit
Step 5 of 5
Your office manager sees the route and the confirmations, and decides anything outside your rules, like a Saturday visit.
A person decides
What it connects to
- Your calendar or booking system
- Website booking forms and email
- SMS and WhatsApp
- Practice, property or job management systems
- Maps, for drive times between site visits
Where a person stays in charge
- You can set the hours, slot lengths and gaps, and who can book what.
- You can choose which bookings it confirms on its own and which a person approves first.
- You can have it hand anything urgent, health-related or unusual to a person straight away.
- You can keep charges for missed appointments, and any exception to your rules, as decisions only a person makes.
What we'd need from you to build one
- Your booking rules, including the unwritten ones: who sees what, how long things take, what never gets double-booked.
- Access to the calendars or booking system you use today.
- Examples of the requests and changes you get most often.
- Who handles urgent or unusual requests, and how they want to be told.
Other jobs an agent can do
Customer inquiry agent
Answers the questions customers ask every day, gathers the details you need, and passes the real leads to you.
Follow-up and chasing agent
Sends polite reminders about unpaid invoices, missing documents and quiet leads on your schedule, and stops as soon as someone replies.
See how we build it and what it costs · All AI agents explained
Common questions
Will it double-book us?
It works from the same calendar your team uses, so a slot a person has filled shows as taken to the agent too. You can also have a person approve its bookings until you're comfortable.
Can it handle cancellations and no-shows?
Yes. It can offer a freed-up slot to people waiting for one, and follow up a missed appointment with an offer to rebook. Whether to charge for a missed appointment is up to you.
What about bookings made by phone?
You can keep taking phone bookings as you do now. As long as they go into the same calendar, the agent sees them and works around them.
Does it work with the booking software we already use?
Often, yes, if the software lets other tools read and write bookings. We check that with you before anything is built.