WhatsApp Appointment Reminders With Replies Handled
A WhatsApp appointment reminder works when the reply gets handled. The reminder itself goes out from your booking or calendar system, or as a WhatsApp broadcast to customers who opted in. AeroChat handles what comes back: it confirms the appointment, moves it or cancels it in Phorest, Open Dental or Google Calendar, and answers questions about the visit, all in the same chat.
What happens today
The reminder goes out the day before. Then the replies arrive: “confirmed”, “can I come at 4 instead?”, “sorry, need to cancel”, “where do I park?”. Someone has to read each one, open the diary, make the change and reply.
On a busy morning those replies sit unread. A customer who asked to move their appointment hears nothing, assumes it’s done and doesn’t come. The slot stays booked and empty.
How it runs on WhatsApp
- Your booking or calendar system sends the reminder the day before, as an approved WhatsApp template, to customers who opted in. On Growth and above you can also send it as a WhatsApp broadcast from AeroChat to opted-in customers.
- The customer replies. The reply opens the 24-hour window, and AeroChat picks up the conversation.
- AeroChat finds the appointment by the customer’s phone number. If no number is available, it asks for their booking reference or email.
- If they confirm, it marks the appointment confirmed in your booking system.
- If they want to move it, it reads the free slots, offers three times and moves the appointment to the one they pick.
- If they cancel, it cancels the appointment so the slot opens up, and offers to book a new time.
- It answers questions about the visit from your knowledge base, and hands anything clinical, a complaint or a fee dispute to your front desk.
The recipe
Copy this into AeroChat
When a customer replies to an appointment reminder, follow these steps.
- Find their next appointment in our booking system by phone number. If there is no phone number, ask for their booking reference or email.
- Read back the appointment: service, date, time and staff member.
- If they confirm, mark the appointment as confirmed and thank them.
- If they want to change it, offer three free slots within the next 7 days (example) and move the appointment to the one they choose.
- If they cancel, cancel the appointment and ask if they would like a new time. If they cancel less than 24 hours before (example), tell them our late cancellation policy.
- If they ask about parking, what to bring or how long it takes, answer from our knowledge base.
- If they mention pain, a medical issue or a complaint, hand the conversation to the front desk with the appointment details.
Never change an appointment without reading it back first. Reply in the customer’s language.
Put your own cancellation policy and rebooking window in before you paste it.
Connect the systems behind it
- Phorest: finds the client’s appointment, moves it or cancels it in your salon or spa diary.
- Open Dental: reads the patient’s appointment, marks it confirmed, and moves it to an open slot when asked.
- Google Calendar: finds the event, moves or cancels it, and checks free times. Connect it by signing in with your Google account.
Send the reminders from the same WhatsApp number you connect to AeroChat, so the replies come to AeroChat.
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.
What it costs on WhatsApp
The reminder is a utility template, charged per message, because it starts the conversation. The customer’s reply is free, and AeroChat’s replies after it are service messages, free up to 1,000 a month per business phone number and charged per message after that. Confirming or moving the appointment in one or two replies keeps the count down, which now saves money. Rates vary by country and are set in Meta’s rate cards. AeroChat passes Meta’s WhatsApp fees through at cost.
Also on Instagram, Messenger, TikTok and web chat
The same reply handling runs on Instagram, Facebook Messenger, TikTok (direct messages and TikTok Shop buyer chat), Telegram, the chat on your website and email, with the same booking system connections. A customer who asks on Instagram to move their appointment gets it moved in the same diary.
Who uses it
Clinics and spas, where an unconfirmed appointment often means an empty chair. See dental clinics (appointment reminder replies) and spa and wellness businesses (no-show reduction).
Questions
Does AeroChat send the reminders itself?
AeroChat handles the replies. The reminder goes out from your booking or calendar system, or as a WhatsApp broadcast from AeroChat to customers who opted in, on Growth and above. Reminders sent outside the 24-hour window need an approved template and the customer’s opt-in.
How much does a WhatsApp appointment reminder cost?
Each reminder is a utility template, charged per message at Meta’s rate for the customer’s country. Since 1 October 2026 that applies inside an open window too. The customer’s reply is free, and your replies are free up to 1,000 a month per business phone number.
Can the customer reschedule by replying to the reminder?
Yes. AeroChat reads the free slots in your booking system, offers three times and moves the appointment to the one they pick, then confirms the new time in the chat.
Which AeroChat plan do I need?
Workflows via Skills are on every plan, Free included. Starter has 500 AI responses and 3 seats. Growth has 2,000 AI responses and 10 seats, and adds broadcasts and payment links. Advanced has 5,000 AI responses and 25 seats.
Turn reminder replies into confirmed appointments
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On Shopify? Install AeroChat from the Shopify App Store.
Related: appointment booking on WhatsApp and rescheduling and cancelling in chat.