What should a WhatsApp booking assistant hand to a person?

The recommended boundary

Routine service information comes from approved business facts. Availability comes from the record that owns the appointment. Offering a slot and confirming a booking are different states; a message alone cannot close that gap.

Diagnosis, clinical advice, sensitive disclosures and disputed payments go to the appropriate authorised person. The booking process should collect only the details it needs.

How handover should work

• A plain request for a person transfers the conversation to the responsible team.
• The handover carries permitted context so the customer does not have to repeat the request.
• Competing automated replies pause while the person owns the exception.
• An interrupted or failed booking remains pending rather than appearing confirmed.
• The person records the resolution before the normal process resumes.

The conclusion

Human ownership is part of the booking process. The completed example gives reception, booking, payments and exception handling distinct responsibilities, with a recorded outcome at each stage.

WhatsApp's policy permits automated responses within its customer-service window while requiring clear, direct escalation routes. Current policy governs the actual configuration. This guide authorises no outreach and claims no tested Pebble integration.