Book WhatsApp consultations and sync contacts with Airtable and Google Calendar

WhatsApp Booking Flow | Consultation Scheduling

This n8n template automates appointment booking via WhatsApp Flows with real-time calendar availability, AI-powered intent classification, and CRM synchronization. It transforms manual booking conversations into a seamless self-service experience directly within WhatsApp.

Who is this for?

Service businesses wanting WhatsApp-based appointment booking Consultants and agencies offering scheduled calls or consultations Teams using Airtable for CRM and Google Calendar for scheduling Businesses looking to reduce booking friction with conversational commerce

What problem does this workflow solve?

Appointment booking typically involves back-and-forth messaging to find available times, collect customer details, and confirm bookings. This workflow eliminates that friction by providing an interactive booking flow within WhatsApp that checks real-time calendar availability, collects customer information, and automatically syncs bookings to your CRM and calendar.

How it works

Webhook Entry Point: A single webhook handles both GET (Meta verification) and POST (messages/flows) requests - required due to Meta's single-webhook-per-app restriction.

Message Routing: Incoming requests are classified as either regular WhatsApp messages or encrypted Flow requests, then routed accordingly.

WhatsApp Flow Handling: Flow requests are decrypted using RSA/AES-GCM encryption. The workflow handles multiple Flow actions:

• INIT: Returns consultation types and date constraints
• SERVICE_SELECTION: Processes service and customer details
• DATE_TIME_SELECTION: Queries calendar availability for selected date
• CONFIRMATION: Displays booking summary
• COMPLETE_BOOKING: Finalizes the booking

AI Agent: For regular text messages, an OpenAI-powered agent classifies user intent. When booking intent is detected, it triggers the consultation template with the WhatsApp Flow.

Booking Process: On completion, the workflow:

1. Creates or updates customer in Airtable
2. Creates booking record with event details
3. Creates Google Calendar event
4. Sends WhatsApp confirmation message

Good to Know

Verify Token: The WHATSAPP_VERIFY_TOKEN environment variable is required for Meta webhook verification. Set this to any secure string and use the same value in Meta Developer Portal.

Cloud vs Self-hosted: Cloud n8n instances are easier to configure as they have public URLs. Self-hosted instances require additional setup for public accessibility.

Hostinger/Docker Setup: For self-hosted instances, configure public webhook access in your docker-compose.yml or reverse proxy configuration.

Meta Prerequisites: You'll need:

• Facebook Account
• Meta Developer App
• WhatsApp Business Account (linked to Developer App)
• WhatsApp Business Phone Number

Health Checks: Meta sends periodic ping requests to verify webhook availability. The workflow handles these automatically with a 200 response.

Single Webhook Restriction: Meta only allows one webhook URL per WhatsApp app, which is why all message types flow through a single endpoint with routing logic.

Encryption: WhatsApp Flows use end-to-end encryption. The workflow handles RSA decryption (for AES key exchange) and AES-128-GCM encryption/decryption for Flow data.

Requirements

• Meta Business Account with WhatsApp Business API access
• WhatsApp Business App in Meta Developer Portal
• n8n instance (cloud or self-hosted with public URL)
• OpenAI API key (for intent classification with GPT-4o)
• Airtable account with base containing: Customers, Services, Bookings tables
• Google Calendar with OAuth credentials

Environment Variables

Variable	Description
WHATSAPP_VERIFY_TOKEN	Webhook verification token (match in Meta Developer Portal)
WHATSAPP_PRIVATE_KEY	RSA private key for Flow encryption (PEM format)
WHATSAPP_PRIVATE_KEY_PASSPHRASE	Passphrase for the RSA private key
GOOGLE_CALENDAR_ID	Calendar ID for availability checks and event creation

Setup

1. Meta Business Setup

• Create a Meta Developer App at developers.facebook.com
• Add WhatsApp product to your app
• Set up a WhatsApp Business Account
• Generate a permanent access token

1. Import Workflow

• Import personal-booking-whatsapp-flow.json into n8n
• Replace placeholder credential IDs with your actual credentials

1. Configure Credentials

• WhatsApp: HTTP Bearer Auth with your access token
• OpenAI: API key for GPT-4o
• Airtable: OAuth2 authentication
• Google Calendar: OAuth2 authentication

1. Set Environment Variables

• Configure all variables listed above in n8n settings

1. Configure Webhook in Meta

• Navigate to WhatsApp > Configuration in Developer Portal
• Set webhook URL to your n8n webhook endpoint
• Enter your verify token
• Subscribe to messages webhook field

1. Create WhatsApp Flow

• In WhatsApp Manager, create a new Flow
• Use the JSON from whatsapp-flow.json as your Flow definition
• Publish the Flow and note the Flow ID

1. Create Message Template

• Create a template with a Flow button component
• Link it to your published Flow
• Submit for approval

Airtable Schema

Customers Table:

• customer_name (text)
• customer_email (email)
• phone_number (text)
• created_at (date)

Services Table:

• service_name (text)
• service_key (text) - e.g., "30_min", "60_min"
• duration_minutes (number)

Bookings Table:

• customer_email (text)
• service_type (linked to Services)
• event_date (date)
• event_time (text)
• booking_status (select: Pending, Confirmed, Cancelled)
• calendar_event_id (text)
• created_at (date)

Customizing this workflow

Consultation Types: Modify the INIT handler code node to add/change consultation options and durations.

Business Hours: Adjust the calendar availability logic in the date refresh handler to match your working hours.

AI Agent Prompts: Customize the system prompt in the AI Agent node to match your business context and available services.

Messaging Templates: Create additional WhatsApp templates for different services (quotes, information requests) and add corresponding tools to the AI agent.

CRM Fields: Extend the Airtable schema and update the booking creation nodes to capture additional customer data.

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