Product update · Booking
Booking cards show meeting length and location
Slot cards show how long a meeting is and where it happens, Calendly bookings fail less often, and Studio warns you when in-chat booking can't work.
· 4 min read
- Shipped
- Area
- Booking
- Available on
- Pro and Max
When a customer picks a time in the chat, they want to know two things: how long it is, and where it happens. And when they've picked, the booking should just go through. This update makes booking clearer for your visitors and more dependable with Calendly, and tells you in Studio when something on the Calendly side will stop a booking from completing in the chat.
What's new
Meeting length and location on the slot card. The time picker in your website chat now shows a line under the meeting name, such as "30 min · Google Meet" or the address of your office. The test chat in Studio shows the same line, so you see exactly what visitors see. Meeting length shows for both Calendly and Cal.com. Location shows for Calendly meetings.
More days to choose from. The slot card now shows every day in your availability window, up to 14 days, instead of only the first three.
Fewer failed Calendly bookings. Some Calendly meetings need a location, or have required questions you added to the event type. Your chatbot now sends the meeting's location with the booking, and asks any required questions in the conversation before it books. Previously, these bookings could fail and the visitor was told the time was taken, then offered new times again and again. Now the chatbot offers new times only when the chosen time is no longer open. If Calendly refuses a booking for another reason, the visitor is sent to Calendly's page for that time to finish, instead of going round in circles.
One picker per choice. After a visitor picks a time, the chatbot books it. It no longer shows a second slot card asking them to pick again.
A warning when Calendly won't allow booking in the chat. If you've chosen Book in chat (paid Calendly plans), Studio now checks with Calendly whether your connected account can create bookings. If it can't, a note under the setting explains why. Until it's fixed, visitors are sent to Calendly to confirm, as with Finish on Calendly.
Help creating a Calendly token. The Calendly connection dialog now links to the right page in Calendly (Integrations → API & Webhooks) and lists the permissions to tick when you create your token.
How to use it
- Open your chatbot in Studio, go to the Integrations tab and open Booking.
- Open your Calendly meeting. Under How visitors complete a booking, choose Book in chat (paid Calendly plans).
- If a warning appears, check that your Calendly plan is Standard or higher and that your token includes the
scheduled_events:writepermission. Reconnect with a new token if needed. - Save your draft, test a booking in the test chat, and publish.
There's nothing to set up for the slot card details. They appear on their own.
Good to know
- Pro and Max. Native booking with Calendly and Cal.com is available on Pro and Max. On Plus, your chatbot shares your booking link instead.
- In-chat booking needs Calendly Standard or higher. On Calendly Free, or with Finish on Calendly, the chatbot still offers real open times, but the visitor confirms on Calendly's own page.
- Some locations need the visitor's input. If your Calendly meeting asks the invitee for a location or phone number to call, the chatbot sends the visitor to that time's Calendly page to finish.
- Cards on your website, text elsewhere. WhatsApp, Instagram DM and Messenger don't have cards, so the chatbot lists times and confirms the booking in its reply.
- New bookings only. The chatbot can't cancel or reschedule. Customers use the links in their confirmation email.
New to booking? Start with in-chat booking with Calendly and Cal.com.