Scheduling
How appointments, services, and availability work in Reception AI.
Reception AI includes a full scheduling system. Your receptionist uses it to book appointments over the phone, and your customers can also book directly through your public booking page.
The scheduling system connects four things:
When a customer wants to book, the receptionist checks all four to find open slots. A time slot is only offered when the business is open, at least one qualified staff member is free, required assets are available, and no conflicts exist.
Appointments arrive from three sources, all feeding into the same calendar:
If your business operates from more than one address, each location has its own hours, staff assignments, and assets. The receptionist asks callers which location they prefer, and the booking page allows customers to choose.
Assets represent physical resources required for appointments — rooms, chairs, courts, or equipment. Use them when a service needs a specific resource with limited availability.
Assets follow the same availability logic as staff: they have their own working hours, support time-off exceptions, and are only bookable when not already reserved.
For rental businesses, the asset is the service — create a rental-type service and link it to the corresponding asset.
Time-off exceptions block specific dates for the entire business, individual staff members, or specific assets. If time off overlaps with existing appointments, you’ll be warned about conflicts and can choose to cancel or keep them.
Add all known holidays at the beginning of the year so your receptionist never accidentally books during a closure.