What it is
Aria books visits, test drives, service appointments and pickups in QualiFlow's own calendar (Visits). She reads real free times from your booking resources, offers them, and books only a time the customer clearly agrees to. She can also move or cancel an appointment the same way.
You don't need a connected Google or Outlook calendar. Calendars only receive copies.
How to use it
- An Owner checks the opening hours (Settings → Opening hours) and Settings → Booking. With the simple setup (the default) each location and every active team member is bookable on those hours; a workspace with its own resources checks Settings → Booking → Advanced.
- In Aria Lab, Aria's Permitted tools include Availability check and Book appointments, and her published version has them.
- The location's approved live rules tick Book appointments.
- The Aria switch is Autopilot or Ask first.
- A customer asks, for example, "Can I come in Saturday?". Aria offers exact free times.
- The customer confirms one: "Yes, the 10 am one". Or they write a day, a time and a booking word: "Please book me Saturday at 10 am".
- On Autopilot the booking is made at once and Aria says "Your appointment is booked for …". It shows in Visits → Appointments.
- On Ask first Aria says "Your appointment request is awaiting staff approval. It is not confirmed yet." An approver (an Owner, or anyone with Approve Aria replies) approves it in Visits → Action review or My Work → Needs your decision. Each request expires after 30 minutes; it is never approved by itself.
What the data means
How far ahead she looks. Each time Aria checks free times she reads up to 7 days and gets up to 8 free times. If there are more, she reads the next part of the range, and she checks any later week the customer asks for. So she can offer and book across the whole next week and beyond. Times start on the quarter hour and always come from the hours saved on your booking resources, in the location's time zone.
What counts as a clear yes. A "yes" to a time Aria offered in her last message (within 7 days, with no team reply in between), or the customer's own message with book, schedule, reserve or confirm, a day and a time. "Tomorrow at 3pm" alone isn't enough, so Aria first offers that exact time and waits for the yes. "Maybe" or "not yet" never counts.
Awaiting staff doesn't stop her. When Aria passes something to your team, the chat becomes Awaiting staff, and she still answers and books there. An open case never blocks a new booking. Only Taken over and Paused stop her; then select Hand back to Aria.
A phone number or an email is needed to book. Aria asks for the phone first (confirmation and reminders by text), once more if they say no, then for an email instead. If they give neither, nothing is booked: she says a team member will help them finish and hands the chat to your team with the visit details, "Customer didn't want to share a phone number or email" and an Aria team note. Other bookings she can't make also go to your team ("I've passed your test drive request to the team; they'll confirm the time with you"). She closes honestly: the car's real photo, details and price, 2 free times, never invented offers.
Possible issues and fixes
Aria says she can't book
Symptom: Aria says "I can't book that here right now, so nothing has been booked yet." or "I can't book or change appointments here…", and nothing shows in Visits.
Why: Usually no booking resources exist. Otherwise her tools are off, the live rules don't allow booking, or the person isn't a contact.
Fix: Work through "Why can't Aria book appointments?". Start with the opening hours and Settings → Booking.
How to check: In + Book appointment, Find available times shows free slots.
The booking waits for approval
Symptom: The customer was told "awaiting staff approval".
Why: Aria is on Ask first, so every booking needs an approver. The customer isn't told automatically when you approve.
Fix: Approve it in Visits → Action review within 30 minutes, then tell the customer.
How to check: The appointment shows as Confirmed in Visits → Appointments.
Aria won't book in one customer's chat
Symptom: Bookings work elsewhere, but not in this conversation.
Why: The badge says Taken over or Paused, so Aria isn't running the chat.
Fix: Select Hand back to Aria, then ask the customer to send the request again. Aria answers only messages that arrive after the hand-back.
How to check: The badge reads Automation active or Awaiting staff, and Aria offers a time.
A test in Aria Lab books, but real customers can't
Symptom: Aria books in a Lab test but not for real customers.
Why: The Lab doesn't check live rules, linked contacts or the conversation's state.
Fix: Check the real setup and test from a channel you control. See "Test Aria safely in Aria Lab".
How to check: The booking shows in Visits, not only in the Lab.
