Instagram Booking Connected to Your Calendar
Instagram booking means a customer who sees your work on Instagram can ask for a time in the DM and leave with a confirmed appointment. AeroChat runs the booking against the system your diary already lives in, such as Google Calendar, Calendly, Acuity Scheduling, Phorest or Cliniko. It reads the free slots, books the one the customer picks, records it against the right client and confirms it in the same conversation.
What happens today
A customer sees a post and DMs “do you have anything this Saturday?”. The person running the account is with a client. When they check the diary and reply, the customer has moved on.
A link in bio sends people to a booking page they have to fill in from scratch. Many leave halfway. The ones who book still get typed into the client list by hand, with spelling mistakes in names and numbers.
How it runs on Instagram
- The customer asks to book in a DM, a story reply or a comment. AeroChat asks which service they want and, where it matters, which staff member.
- It reads the free slots for that service from your calendar or booking system and offers three times.
- It asks for the customer’s name and phone number or email, and searches your booking system for an existing client record.
- It writes the appointment into the booking system: a new client record if needed, then the booking with the service, time and staff member.
- It confirms the date, time, address and anything the customer should bring, in the DM.
- If the request falls outside your rules, such as a treatment that needs a consultation first, it hands the conversation to your team with the details already collected.
The recipe
Copy this into AeroChat
When someone on Instagram asks to book an appointment, follow these steps.
- Ask which service they want. If they are not sure, answer from our service list and prices.
- Ask if they have a preferred staff member or a preferred day.
- Check the free slots for that service in our booking system and offer three times, the earliest first.
- Ask for their full name and mobile number. Search for the client by that number, then by email if they give one. If they are new, create a client record.
- Check the slot is still free, then book the time they choose. Use a 60-minute slot for a first visit and a 30-minute slot for a follow-up (example values).
- Confirm the booking with the date, time, staff member and our address. Ask them to arrive 10 minutes early (example).
- If they ask for a service that needs a consultation, or want to book for more than two people at once, hand the conversation to the front desk (example rule).
Only offer times inside our opening hours, 10am to 8pm Tuesday to Sunday (example). Reply in the customer’s language.
Change the service lengths, opening hours and handover rule to your own before you paste it.
Connect the systems behind it
- Google Calendar: AeroChat reads when you or your staff are free and adds the booking to the calendar. Connect it by signing in with your Google account.
- Calendly: checks your free times and books the meeting, or sends the right booking link.
- Acuity Scheduling: reads open times for each appointment type and creates the appointment.
- Phorest: books straight into your salon or spa diary with the right stylist or therapist.
- Cliniko: reads practitioner availability, sets up new patients and creates the appointment.
Using a different system? If it has a public API, it connects to AeroChat the same way: describe what you want, paste in its key, and it runs.
Can’t find your tool? Message us in the chat on this page and we’ll tell you how it connects.
Meta’s rules on Instagram
A business can message someone on Instagram only after they message first, and automated replies must go within 24 hours of their last message. So AeroChat books and confirms the appointment while the customer is in the chat. A person on your team can reply by hand within a separate 7-day window, which is not for automated replies. After a click-to-Instagram-Direct ad, you can reply for up to 7 days from the customer’s first message. Reminders before the appointment should come from your booking system, by SMS or email, because Instagram does not allow automated messages outside the window.
Also on WhatsApp, TikTok and web chat
The same booking workflow runs on WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, TikTok (direct messages), Telegram, web chat and email, against the same calendar or booking system.
Who uses it
- Hair and beauty salons: bookings with the right stylist, straight into the salon diary.
- Spas and wellness centres: treatment bookings with a deposit taken in the chat.
- Dental clinics: check-ups and consultations booked into the clinic’s system.
Read more: Instagram chatbots for booking appointments.
Questions
Can customers book appointments through Instagram DMs?
Yes. AeroChat reads your free slots, books the one the customer picks into your calendar or booking system, and confirms it in the DM.
Do I still need a booking link in my bio?
You can keep it. Many people would rather ask in a DM than fill in a form, and AeroChat books those too.
Can AeroChat send a reminder the day before on Instagram?
No. Instagram allows automated messages only within 24 hours of the customer’s last message. Send reminders from your booking system by SMS or email, or on WhatsApp with an approved template to customers who opted in.
Which plan do I need?
Workflows via Skills are on every plan, Free included. Starter has 500 AI responses and 3 seats, Growth 2,000 and 10 seats with payment links for deposits, and Advanced 5,000 and 25 seats.
Turn your next Instagram DM into a booking
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On Shopify? Install AeroChat from the Shopify App Store.
Related: payment links in Instagram DMs and human handover.