Appointment reminders and confirmations

A reminder tells a client when their dog is due. A confirmation asks them to say yes. They sound alike, but they do different jobs, and booking tools often treat them as separate features.

Reminder versus confirmation

A reminder is one-way. "Biscuit's groom is tomorrow at ten." A confirmation wants an answer. "Reply YES to keep tomorrow's booking."

The second one is more useful when you've been burnt by empty chairs, because silence tells you something. If a client doesn't answer, you have time to call and ask before the slot is wasted.

What one booking tool offers

Booking software does most of this without any AI at all. Take Square's Australian page for its appointments product. It lists automated email and text reminders on every plan¹. A reminder can go out anywhere from one hour to three days before the visit¹.

Confirmations are a step up. The page puts them on the Plus and Premium plans, sent from two hours to one week ahead¹. In the calendar, confirmed bookings get a tick and unconfirmed ones get a question mark¹. That's the view you'd glance at on a busy morning.

Changing the wording of a text is a separate matter. The page lists text customisation on Plus and Premium only¹.

These details come from the Australian page, checked on 25 October 2026¹. Plans and prices may differ by country and change often, so look at the maker's page for your own country before you pick anything. Other booking tools may have similar features under different names.

Where AI fits

The tool sends the message. AI helps you write it. That's a small job but a real one: a reminder has to be short, clear and kind.

Ask a chat tool for a few versions of a reminder. Tell it what each must hold: a blank for the dog's name, the day and time, the address, and how to cancel. Pick one and save it as the template inside your booking software.

Add what a client needs on the day, because you've watched what they get wrong:

• Arrive a few minutes early so the dog can settle
• Tell us if anything about the dog has changed since last time
• Bring a lead if your shop asks for one
• Pick-up time, if it's different from the booking time

Keep those lines yours, not the tool's. It doesn't know your pick-up rules.

Check what the draft says

Drafting tools can get facts wrong, and Australia's privacy regulator agrees². In a reminder, the usual slip is a made-up detail: a late fee you don't charge, or an address that's nearly right. Read every word once, then send a test to your own phone. If something looks odd on a small screen, it'll look odd to a client.

Marketing and reminders are different

A reminder about a booked visit is one thing. A message that promotes something is another. In Australia, the communications regulator says marketing messages need the recipient's consent first. It also says each one must make unsubscribing easy³.

Only the regulator can say where a given message falls on that line. Other countries have their own rules, so look for your local authority's page on text and email messages.

If you're also wording policies for late arrivals, handling no-shows and late cancellations covers that.