The WhatsApp AI assistant: turning it on and setting it up
The assistant answers clients on WhatsApp on your behalf — prices, hours and free slots, with a booking link — only from your business details and the knowledge you add.
The AI assistant answers clients who write on WhatsApp, in your business’s name and at any hour: prices, treatment length, hours, address, parking and anything you wrote. It suggests free times and sends a booking link — clients book themselves, and the assistant doesn’t book or cancel appointments. It introduces itself as your business’s automated assistant, always offers to talk to someone from the business, and replies in the language it’s written to in.
The assistant answers only from your business details in Bookly and the knowledge you added. For a question it has no answer to, it tells the client you’ll get back to them, the question waits for you in “Open questions”, and you get a notification.
The assistant is included in Pro; on Basic it comes with the “Communication & AI” bundle.
Open the screen
MessagingAI assistantTurn on “Turn on the smart bot (AI)”. The switch saves right away.
Add questions and answers under “Extra knowledge”, and under “Style and instructions” pick a “Tone” — “Warm and friendly” or “Formal and polite” — and “Additional instructions (optional)”.
Click “Save”.
Opened “Messaging” and see an invitation instead of chats? Click “Turn on the smart assistant” there — it switches the assistant on and opens its screen.
How clients reach the assistant
Your business’s clients write to Bookly’s number — and so do those who reply to a reminder or a confirmation. New clients come through the “Ask on WhatsApp” button on your business page (and the QR and business card that lead to it), which opens a chat with the first message and your business code already written. Someone who writes “I want to book with” and your business name reaches the assistant too. On the assistant’s screen, under “How clients reach the assistant”, there’s a chat link and a QR to share.
How many replies a month
Pro includes 300 AI replies a month; the trial gets a share of them, and the “Communication & AI” bundle adds more. Every reply to a client also counts toward your business’s WhatsApp message quota, and your own tests don’t count. When the month’s replies run out, until next month clients get a fixed message pointing to your business’s WhatsApp. When the WhatsApp message quota runs out, the assistant doesn’t answer until next month either.
Try it as a clientCan the assistant book or cancel an appointment?
No. It suggests free times and sends a booking link, and clients book themselves. Cancelling and rescheduling happen with the bot’s buttons or the appointment’s manage link.
What happens when the assistant is off?
Clients who write on WhatsApp get the bot’s regular menu, and the “Ask on WhatsApp” button doesn’t show on your business page.
It says the assistant is paused by Bookly. What does that mean?
Bookly has stopped the assistant for a while. Your settings are kept, and meanwhile clients who write get a fixed message that points them to you.
What is the “AI quota”?
A usage window of a few hours and a weekly one, shared by your business’s AI tools. When they fill up, your own tools — like the test chat and the AI shift schedule — pause for a while, but the assistant keeps answering clients.
Updated: 10 October 2026
Related guides
- Teaching the assistant: knowledge, open questions and testingProThe assistant knows your business details from Bookly; add the rest under “Extra knowledge”. Answer “Open questions” once — it’s sent and remembered — and test it as a client.
- Client chats, the message log and emails“Chats” shows everything the bot and assistant sent each client and their replies, like WhatsApp, with delivery status. The app also has a message log; the website, client emails.
- The monthly message quota and what happens when it runs outEvery plan includes WhatsApp and SMS messages a month: 500 on Basic, 2,000 on Pro. What counts, where to see what’s left, and what stops when it runs out.
- Add-on packs: marketing, communication and teamA monthly add-on to your plan, without changing plans: Marketing & Social, Communication & AI, and Team & Attendance. Stack packs of one kind to raise its quotas.
- Business details: address, phone and “About”The name, description, phone, social links and address shown on your business page and in search — and how to write “About” with AI on the website.
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