Convert SMS inquiries into booked appointments and keep unresponsive leads warm with friendly follow ups. Great for service teams and repair shops that want more bookings without extra manual texting.

Incoming texts land in Twilio and are checked for command words like STOP. A record in Airtable stores the chat session and booking details. An AI agent powered by OpenAI holds the conversation and uses the Cal dot com API to check availability, create bookings, reschedule, or cancel. Structured output parsing keeps the data clean. Replies go back through Twilio. A daily schedule scans Airtable for people who did not book, have not asked to stop, and have not been followed up in three days, with a cap of three follow ups. The AI writes a short follow up message, Twilio sends it, and Airtable updates the count and date.

You will need a Twilio number, an Airtable base with session and follow up fields, an OpenAI key, and a Cal dot com API token. Expect faster response times, fewer no shows, and more confirmed slots. Common uses include device repair, salons, clinics, and any team that books time with customers.

• Twilio trigger listens for inbound SMS and sends replies back through Twilio.
• Command word check detects STOP, updates Airtable to stop future messages, and sends a confirmation.
• Airtable search and update store chat sessions, appointment status, follow up count, and last follow up date.
• AI appointment agent uses OpenAI with Cal dot com API to check availability, create bookings, reschedule, and cancel.
• Structured output parsing keeps AI responses in a clean format for reliable field updates.
• Daily scheduler finds follow up candidates using Airtable rules for no booking, not STOP, three day gap, and less than three attempts.
• AI writes a friendly follow up SMS, Twilio sends it, and the workflow increments follow up count and timestamp.

• Reduce manual texting from 2 hours per day to 10 minutes
• Automate about 80 percent of appointment replies
• Improve data quality by 90 percent with one Airtable record of chats and bookings
• Handle up to 5 times more SMS inquiries without extra staff
• Connect Twilio, Airtable, OpenAI, and Cal dot com in one flow

1. Import the template into n8n: Create a new workflow in n8n > Click the three dots menu > Select 'Import from File' > Choose the downloaded JSON file.
2. You'll need accounts with Twilio, Airtable, OpenAI and Cal.com. See the Tools Required section above for links to create accounts with these services.
3. In the n8n credentials manager, create a Twilio credential using your Account SID and Auth Token. Open the Twilio Trigger node, copy the webhook URL, then in the Twilio console go to Phone Numbers > your number > Messaging and paste the URL into the A MESSAGE COMES IN field. Save.
4. Create an Airtable Personal Access Token. In n8n, open each Airtable node and create a new Airtable credential using the token. Point the nodes to your base and table that include fields session_id, status, appointment_id, followup_count, and last_followup_at.
5. Add your OpenAI API key. In n8n, open each OpenAI Chat Model node, choose Create new credential, then paste the API key from the OpenAI API page.
6. Get a Cal dot com API token. In n8n, open the Cal dot com HTTP nodes and set the Authorization header with Bearer and your token. Confirm the base URL matches your Cal dot com API version.
7. Review the Switch node for command words. Add other words like CANCEL if needed. Make sure the STOP path updates Airtable and sends a confirmation via Twilio.
8. Check field mappings in Airtable nodes. Ensure session_id uses the sender phone, and that followup_count and last_followup_at update after each follow up.
9. Verify Twilio send nodes. Set the From number to your Twilio number and test a reply from your phone. You should see a new row in Airtable and a response SMS.
10. Test booking actions. Send a message asking to book. Confirm the agent replies, checks availability, and writes booking data to Airtable.
11. Test STOP. Text STOP from your phone. Confirm the Airtable status changes and you receive a confirmation SMS.
12. Validate the follow up cycle. Temporarily change the schedule to run every minute and set an Airtable row that meets the follow up rules. Check that a follow up SMS is sent and the counters update, then return the schedule to every 24 hours.
13. If you see Twilio callback errors, confirm the webhook URL is reachable from the internet. If follow ups do not send, recheck the Airtable filter formula and field names. If bookings fail, verify the Cal dot com token and event settings.