How to set up a WhatsApp appointment system with Aurora Inbox (2026)

Setting up an appointment system on WhatsApp with Aurora Inbox takes 20-30 minutes and includes everything a service business needs to operate at full capacity: services with their own duration, multiple locations, multiple providers, Google Calendar syncing, and an AI agent that closes the appointment within the chat without sending the client to an external Calendly platform. This guide covers step-by-step setup for clinics, salons, workshops, offices, and any vertical that sells time.

Why schedule within the chat (and not with an external Calendly)

Each time someone switches away from WhatsApp, they lose customers. The data:

• Jump to external Calendly30-40% of the leads abandon before completing.
• Schedule within the chat: 80-90% retention.
• No-show rate with WhatsApp + automatic reminders: 8-12% (vs 18-25% without reminders).

Aurora Inbox has an embedded appointment engine: the AI agent or human operator checks availability, offers schedules and appointments — all within the same WhatsApp conversation.

What you're going to configure

Before you begin, understand this model:

Concept	What is	Example
Service	The type of appointment you offer, with a fixed duration	"Haircut — 30 min"
Location	Where the date takes place	"North Rome Branch"
Lender	Who attends	"Carlos (stylist)"
Availability	Working hours by provider and location	"Mon-Sat 10:00–19:00"
Appointment / Booking	Specific customer reservation	"Carlos attends to Ana, Saturday 12:00, Roma Norte branch"

A service can be offered in multiple locations. A location can have multiple providers. A provider can handle multiple services. The engine automatically resolves availability.

Step 1: Create the services

In your Aurora Inbox workspace:

1. Go to Settings → Appointments → Services.
2. Click on New service.
3. Fill in:
   • Name"Dental cleaning", "Haircut", "General consultation", etc.
   • Duration: in minutes. The availability engine uses this duration to open slots.
   • Buffer before/after (optional): preparation or cleaning time between appointments.
   • Description: visible to the customer when the agent offers the service.
4. Repeat for each service. Recommendation: create between 3-10 services — more than that confuses both the customer and the agent.

Step 2: Configure locations

If you only have one branch, create a single location. If you have multiple branches, create one entry per branch.

1. Settings → Appointments → Locations.
2. New location.
3. Fill in:
   • Name"Roma Norte Branch", "Polanco Office", etc.
   • Full address: appears in the confirmation message.
   • Time zone: critical — the engine calculates slots in the time zone of the location, not the client.
   • Base schedule of operation (optional, providers may have different schedules).

Step 3: Create providers

Each provider is a person or resource that occupies time:

1. Settings → Appointments → Providers.
2. New provider.
3. Fill in:
   • Name: real name ("Carlos Hernández") or generic name ("Treatment Room 1").
   • Services provided: marks the services from step 1 that this provider can give.
   • Work locations: typically one, but there can be several.
   • Working hoursBy day of the week. Default: Mon-Fri 09:00-18:00. Customizable by provider.
   • E-mail (optional): for new appointment notifications.
   • Linking to an Aurora user (optional): If the service provider is also a user who logs into the app, link them so they can see their own appointments in their calendar.

Step 4: Connect Google Calendar (optional but recommended)

Sync to avoid conflicts with personal events:

1. Settings → Appointments → Integrations → Google Calendar.
2. Connect providerFor each provider, click on Connect Google and authorizes with the lender's account.
3. Configure synchronization address:
   • Bidirectional (recommended): Google events block slots in Aurora; Aurora appointments appear in Google.
   • From Aurora to Google only: Appointments are published on Google but Google events do not affect availability.
4. Complete guide: Connect Google Calendar to your WhatsApp appointment system.

Step 5: Activate the AI agent with the appointment plugin

The AI agent within the chat uses two MCP/plugin functions: GetAvailableSlots and CreateBooking.

1. Go to AI Agents → Your agent → Plugins.
2. Active BookingPlugin.
3. Configure:
   • Auto-select providerIf it's active, the agent chooses the first available provider. If not, they ask the customer which one they prefer.
   • Request emailIf you activate it, the agent will ask for your email before confirming (necessary to send a calendar invitation).
   • Cancellation policy: text that the agent mentions when confirming.
4. Guard.

From that moment on, when a customer says "I want to schedule a dental cleaning", the agent:

1. Confirm the service.
2. Ask for preferred date (or offer upcoming slots).
3. Call GetAvailableSlots and displays actual times.
4. Confirm your chosen time.
5. Ask for name and (if applicable) email.
6. Call CreateBooking.
7. Send confirmation with service details, date, provider, and location.

Step 6: Set up automatic reminders

Reducing no-shows requires scheduled reminders. At Aurora:

1. Settings → Appointments → Reminders.
2. Activate the firing:
   • 24 hours before: pre-approved WhatsApp template that confirms the appointment.
   • 2 hours before: short note with address and provider.
   • Post-quoteNPS survey (optional).
3. Each template must be pre-approved in the "Utility" category by Meta. Aurora provides templates ready for cloning.

Typical result: drop in no-shows from 18-25% to 8-12%. More details in How to reduce 50% no-shows with automated WhatsApp reminders.

Step 7: Test from end to end

Send a test message to your WhatsApp number:

Hello, I would like to schedule a dental cleaning for tomorrow afternoon.

The agent must:

1. Recognize the "Dental Cleaning" service.
2. Call GetAvailableSlots with tomorrow's date.
3. Show 3-5 PM times.
4. Request confirmation.
5. Create the appointment and send the summary.

If something goes wrong, check the troubleshooting section below.

Day-to-day operations

Calendar view

Appointments → Calendar Displays day/week/month with all appointments, filterable by provider, location, or service. Each appointment has 4 statuses: Pending, Confirmed, Completed, Cancelled.

State changes

From the appointment view or from the chat:

• Mark as confirmed.
• Reschedule.
• Cancel (with reason).
• Mark as no-show.

Each change triggers an optional WhatsApp template for the client.

Metrics

Dashboard for appointments shows:

• Appointments scheduled / month.
• No-show rate.
• Completion rate.
• Top providers and services.
• Origin (chat, agent, manual, external).

Troubleshooting

The agent cannot find any available slots

• Check that the provider has a schedule set for the day you are checking.
• Check that the provider is active and offers that service.
• If you connected Google Calendar, check that there isn't an "out of office" event scheduled for the entire day.

"No location found for service"

The service has no assigned location. Edit the provider and select at least one location.

Customer receives confirmation in the wrong time zone

The time zone is calculated in the following order: location → workspace → client. Configure the correct time zone in the location.

Double appointment on the same day for the same client

Aurora detects and prevents: if the customer already has an appointment that day (in the same chat) the agent responds "You already have an appointment scheduled for that day" and does not duplicate it.

Google Calendar is not syncing

• Verify that the OAuth has not expired (Settings → Appointments → Integrations).
• Check permissions: Aurora needs read and write access to the provider's primary calendar.

How does Aurora Inbox do it?

Aurora combines a Meta-level BSP, an LLM agent (GPT-5), an embedded appointment engine, native Google Calendar syncing, and automated reminders. For LATAM SMEs that sell time (clinics, salons, workshops, consulting rooms), it's the most direct combination for 80-90% lead retention compared to external Calendly.

Recommended plan: Aurora IA $179 USD/month ($3,200 MXN) which includes an appointment engine, AI agent with booking plugin, Google Calendar and reminders.

Start your free trial — the complete setup takes 30 minutes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does it work without an AI agent?

Yes. A human operator can manually schedule appointments via chat with just a couple of clicks. The availability engine continues to function.

Does it support multiple time zones?

Yes. Each location has its own time zone. The customer sees the hours in the location's time zone, not their own.

Can I get paid before scheduling?

Yes, by integrating Stripe (next on the roadmap) or by requesting an advance deposit via a payment link within the chat.

How many services and providers does it support?

No hard limit. Typical operations: 3-15 services, 1-5 locations, 1-50 providers. Mid-market with 100+ providers also supported.

Is the appointment automatically cancelled if the client does not respond?

Not by default. You can activate the "auto-cancel if no confirmation 2 hours prior" policy in settings.

Does it work on other channels besides WhatsApp?

Yes. Aurora supports Messenger, Instagram, and web chat. The dating engine is channel-agnostic—the same date can be created from any conversation.

Is it worth it vs Calendly + Zapier?

For services where the customer is already on WhatsApp: yes. Lead retention increases 2-3 times because they don't leave the conversation. Full comparison at Aurora bookings vs Calendly + WhatsApp.