Landbot: Build a Clinic Front Desk Chat That Answers FAQs and Takes Booking Requests

Updated November 13, 2026. Built against the tool’s current screens and checked step by step. How we check this lesson

A clinic's front desk answers the same questions all day: do I need a referral, do you take my insurance, what happens if I cancel. Each call ties up the phone while a new patient who wants to book waits on hold. Landbot (landbot.io) builds website chats, and its AI Copilot drafts one from a single message. This guide builds a front desk chat for a made-up physiotherapy clinic that answers from the clinic's own FAQ, takes a booking request and hands the chat to a person. Every screen here comes from the real app: we built and tested it in Landbot on 13 November 2026, including two things Copilot said it had done and had not. It comes with a free practice lesson. This is my own guide, not an official Landbot course. It follows the first Landbot lesson, a law firm intake chat that flags urgent deadlines.

Start here first: AI Receipt Extractor: Receipts to Google Sheets with n8n (module 1 of Business Automations)

In the course: Part 9 · n8n Automation Toolkit (Module 133 of the full course)

Part of: AI for Medical & Dental Office Admin (step 18 of 23). Next up: ChatData Sync: Track Referral-Partner Outreach for a Dental Clinic

Part of: AI Apps Worth Knowing (step 124 of 157). Next up: Paperguide: Check a Vendor's Claim Against the Research Before You Buy

Part of: Build Your Own AI Support Bot (step 10 of 10)

The two messages from the lesson

Paste the first one on Landbot's home page. Send the second to Copilot if your booking path ends in a webhook you did not set up.

The business case: three questions, all day

Picture the front desk at Cedar Lane Physiotherapy, a made-up clinic with two locations. Most calls are the same three questions: whether a doctor's referral is needed, whether the clinic bills insurance, and what a late cancellation costs. While the receptionist answers them, a new patient who wants a first appointment is on hold.

A website chat can take the repeat questions and collect the booking request, then hand the patient to a person for anything else. It only helps if it gives the clinic's real answers and every request reaches someone, so most of this guide is about checking those two things.

Step 1: describe the job and test the first draft

On Landbot's home page, under What should your agent do?, paste the brief from the box above, click Build it for me and choose Web. Copilot built a draft in about 20 seconds: a welcome with three buttons (I have a question, I want to book a first appointment, I want to speak to a person) and an AI Agent that sorts visitors into those three paths.

Test it as a patient. We clicked I have a question and asked about the cancellation policy. The draft did not answer; it repeated a fixed message about the topics it could help with. It knew the topics from the brief, but not the clinic's answers.

Step 2: give Copilot the FAQ, then check its claim

We pasted the three FAQ answers into Copilot with the rules: answer only from the FAQ, say so when the answer is not there, never give medical advice, and ask people not to share health details. Its first plan matched keywords with Formulas and sent fixed answers, which breaks when a patient words a question differently, so we asked for the FAQ as the AI Agent's knowledge instead. The second plan added a Cedar Lane FAQ Assistant, and Copilot said it answers only from your FAQ.

It did not. Asked "If I can't make it tomorrow morning, will I be charged?", the agent said it had no information about cancellation charges. In the builder (Workflow, then Edit workflow), the FAQ Assistant's instructions mentioned the FAQ, and its Knowledge base was empty.

Step 3: add the FAQ to the knowledge base yourself

Double-click the AI Agent, click Add knowledge and choose Text (Document and Website are the other options). Name it, paste the questions and answers, and click Upload. It saved straight away.

Back in the preview, the same question got the right answer: 24 hours' notice, and a $40 fee for late cancellations and missed visits. "Does my GP have to refer me first?" and "What should I bring if I'm using insurance?" matched the FAQ too. Then ask something the FAQ does not cover. Asked about parking, the agent said it had no parking information and offered to connect the front desk, which is what you want.

Step 4: follow the booking request to a person

We asked to book and gave a made-up name, an example.com email, Tuesday and late afternoon. The chat replied that the request had been sent to our front desk team, who would email. In the builder, the booking path ended in a Webhook to https://example.com/webhook, a placeholder Copilot had added on its own. Nobody would ever have seen that request.

We sent Copilot the second message from the box above. It removed the webhook and the two unused boxes, added the message "I'll pass this to our front desk now. They'll email you at your address to confirm a time," and then handed the chat to Human takeover. In Human takeover you choose which team members get the conversation; if nobody is online, the flow carries on to a message asking the patient to leave their details.

Step 5: test the handoff, and know what a preview does not show

The booking path now ends with the honest message. I want to speak to a person goes straight to the handoff, and the patient saw nothing while it waited, because Copilot skipped the message we asked for before that handoff. Add a Messages box before Human takeover yourself.

The Inbox showed No chats available, and the agent list showed 0 conversations started, after several full tests. Preview chats are not recorded. Before the clinic relies on it, publish it under Launch (Webchat, Full page, Embed or Share with a link), run one test on the real site and confirm it lands in the Inbox. We did not publish, because the clinic is made up.

Where to go next

For a chat that asks about deadlines and alerts a firm, see the first Landbot lesson, a law firm intake chat. For the same answer-from-your-docs idea built in n8n, see a support agent that answers from your own docs.

Who this is for

Practice managers, front desk leads and office managers at clinics, dental practices and other appointment-based offices, and anyone who answers the same customer questions by phone every day. The practice lesson needs no account. To do it for real you need a Landbot account; check the current plans for AI Agent answers and Human takeover.

A note on the screens: every image on this page is a screenshot of the real Landbot web app, taken on 13 November 2026 while this chat was built and tested. Copilot's drafts and plans will differ for you, which is why each step ends with a check.

Mistakes to avoid

• Trusting Copilot's Done without opening the AI Agent and looking at the Knowledge base.
• Testing only with the exact wording of your FAQ, instead of the way patients really ask.
• Skipping a question the FAQ does not cover, so you never see whether it guesses.
• Leaving a webhook you did not set up at the end of the booking path.
• Letting the chat say a request was sent or booked before a person has it.
• Asking about symptoms or health details in a front desk chat.
• Treating preview tests as proof: they do not reach the Inbox.

Links

• Landbot: the product site: web and WhatsApp chatbots, AI Agents and plans.
• Landbot pricing: the trial and plans. Check which plan includes AI Agent answers and Human takeover.

Step by step: Landbot: Build a Clinic Front Desk Chat That Answers FAQs and Takes Booking Requests

All 58 steps of the interactive module, in order. In the module you watch each one, then do it yourself in a practice copy that checks your work.

1. Describe the front desk

1. Describe the front desk. You run the front desk at Cedar Lane Physiotherapy, a made-up clinic with two locations. The phones ring all day with the same three questions, and the person who wants to book waits on hold. Landbot's home page asks What should your agent do? Describe the job in one message: the greeting, the FAQ topics, what to collect for a booking, and when to hand over to a person.

   Your front desk answers the same three questions all day, while the person who wants to book waits on hold. Describe the job to Landbot in one message.

   A front desk assistant for Cedar Lane Physiotherapy, a two-location physio clinic. Greet website visitors, answer common questions from our clinic FAQ (referrals, insurance, cancellations), and help new patients request a first appointment by collecting their name, email and preferred day and time. If they ask for a person, hand the chat to our front desk team.

2. Build it. Click Build it for me.
3. Choose where it lives. Landbot asks where the agent will run: Web, WhatsApp, Messenger or API Agent. The clinic wants a chat on its website, so click Web. The first draft took about 20 seconds in our test.

   The clinic wants a chat on its website.

2. Test the first draft

4. Look at the flow. The preview on the right greets visitors with three buttons: I have a question, I want to book a first appointment and I want to speak to a person. Click Workflow to see the boxes behind it.

   The welcome has three buttons.

5. Go back to the chat. Copilot added an AI Agent box that sorts each visitor into a human request, an appointment request or an FAQ request. Nothing here holds the clinic's actual answers yet. Click Live chat.

   An AI Agent box sorts each visitor, but nothing here holds the clinic's answers yet.

6. Ask a question as a patient. Test it the way a patient would. Click I have a question.

   Test it the way a patient would.

7. Ask about cancellations. Ask one of the three questions the front desk hears most. Press Enter to send.

   Ask one of the questions the front desk hears most.

8. Read the reply. It does not answer. It repeats a fixed message: I can help with referrals, insurance, and cancellation questions, and asks you to send your question. The draft knows the topics from your brief, but not the clinic's answers. Click the reply.

   It does not answer. The draft knows the topics from your brief, but not the clinic's answers.

3. Give it the clinic FAQ

9. Give Copilot the FAQ. Paste the clinic FAQ into Copilot on the left, with the rules: answer only from the FAQ, say so when the answer is not there, never give medical advice, and ask people not to share health details. A physio clinic's chat is not the place for symptoms.

   Answer only from it, never give medical advice, and ask people not to share health details.

   The question path can't answer anything yet. Add this clinic FAQ as the agent's knowledge and answer questions only from it. If the answer isn't in the FAQ, say so and offer to connect the front desk team. Never give medical advice, and ask people not to share health details in the chat. FAQ: 1) Do I need a doctor's referral? No. You can book with us directly. Some insurance plans ask for a referral, so check your plan before your first visit. 2) Do you take insurance? We bill most major insurance plans directly. Bring your insurance card and a photo ID to your first visit. 3) What is your cancellation policy? Please give at least 24 hours' notice to cancel or move an appointment. Late cancellations and missed visits are charged a $40 fee.

10. Send it. Click the arrow.
11. Push back on the plan. Copilot proposes a plan and asks you to confirm. Read it: it would detect the topic with Formulas and send three fixed answers. That breaks as soon as a patient words a question differently. Ask for the FAQ as the AI Agent's knowledge instead.

    Read the plan. It matches key words and sends fixed answers, which breaks when a patient words it differently. Ask for the F A Q as the agent's knowledge instead.

    Keyword rules will miss questions worded differently. Can the AI Agent use the FAQ as its knowledge instead, so it answers however people ask? Keep the guardrails and the offer to connect the front desk.

12. Send it. Click the arrow.
13. Confirm the new plan. The new plan adds an AI Agent that "answers naturally based on the FAQ, regardless of how the user words their question," keeps the guardrails, and hands over to the front desk when it does not know. Confirm it.

    The new plan adds an AI Agent that answers from the F A Q however people ask. Confirm it.

4. Check what Copilot claims

14. Try it again. Copilot says Done: the new agent "answers only from your FAQ (referral, insurance, cancellation)." The preview restarted. Click I have a question.

    Copilot says done. Try it again.

15. Ask in different words. This time, word it the way a patient really would, without the word "cancellation".

    This time, word it the way a patient really would.

16. Send it. Click the send arrow.
17. Read the answer. It says I don't have information in the FAQ about cancellation charges. The FAQ you pasted says $40. So either the agent cannot see the FAQ, or it cannot connect "can't make it" to cancelling. Click the answer.

    It says it has no information about cancellation charges. The F A Q you pasted says forty dollars. So something is wrong.

18. Open the builder. Click Workflow, then Edit workflow, then the fit to screen button in the bottom toolbar. You see the whole flow in the builder.
19. Open the FAQ agent. Copilot added a second AI Agent, Cedar Lane FAQ Assistant, at the bottom. Double-click it.

    Copilot added a second AI Agent at the bottom. Double click it.

5. Add the FAQ yourself

20. Find the missing FAQ. The instructions on the left say "answer strictly from the clinic FAQ," but the FAQ itself is not there, and Knowledge base on the right is empty. Copilot said it was done, and it never added the answers. Click Add knowledge.

    The instructions mention the F A Q, but the knowledge base is empty. Copilot never added the answers.

21. Choose Text. You can add a Document, Text or a Website. A real clinic could point it at its FAQ page. Click Text.

    You can add a document, text or a website.

22. Name it. Give it a name your team will recognise.
23. Paste the FAQ. Paste the FAQ as questions and answers. Use your clinic's real wording and fees; ours are made up.

    Use your clinic's real wording.

    Cedar Lane Physiotherapy: clinic FAQ
    
    Do I need a doctor's referral?
    No. You can book with us directly. Some insurance plans ask for a referral, so check your plan before your first visit.
    
    Do you take insurance?
    We bill most major insurance plans directly. Bring your insurance card and a photo ID to your first visit.
    
    What is your cancellation policy?
    Please give at least 24 hours' notice to cancel or move an appointment. Late cancellations and missed visits are charged a $40 fee.

24. Upload it. Click Upload.
25. Go back to the chat. Cedar Lane clinic FAQ now sits under Knowledge base. It saved on its own. Click the red arrow at the top left. It takes you back to Copilot, and the preview restarts.

    The F A Q is in the knowledge base now.

26. Ask the same question again. Click I have a question, then send the same question again: "If I can't make it tomorrow morning, will I be charged?" This time it answers: 24 hours' notice, and a $40 fee for late cancellations. It also opens with the privacy note.

    Ask the same question again. This time it gives the twenty four hour rule and the forty dollar fee.

27. Ask about referrals. Now the second FAQ, again in a patient's words.

    Now the referral question, in a patient's words.

28. Ask about insurance. It says you can book directly, and that some insurance plans require a referral. That matches the FAQ. Now the third one.

    That matches the F A Q. Now the insurance question.

29. Ask something that is not in the FAQ. Insurance card and a photo ID: right. Now ask something the FAQ does not cover. This is the test that matters most, because a guessed answer is worse than no answer.

    Right again. Now ask something the F A Q does not cover. A guessed answer is worse than no answer.

6. Take a booking request

30. Ask to book. It says it has no parking information and offers to connect you with the front desk. It did not make anything up. Decline, and ask to book instead.

    It did not make anything up, and it offered the front desk. Decline, and ask to book.

31. Enter a made-up name. It switches to the booking questions. Use a made-up name when you test, never a real patient.

    Use a made-up name when you test, never a real patient.

32. Enter a made-up email. Use an example.com address.

    Use an example dot com address.

33. Pick a day. Enter a preferred day.
34. Pick a time of day. Enter a time of day.
35. Read the promise. It says your appointment request has been sent to our front desk team. They'll email you. You never told it where to send anything. Before a patient waits for that email, find out where it went. Click the message.

    It says the request was sent to the front desk. You never told it where to send anything. Find out where it went.

36. Open the builder again. Click Workflow, then Edit workflow, then fit to screen.
37. Find where it went. After the time question there is a Webhook box pointing at https://example.com/webhook, a placeholder address. Copilot added it on its own. The request went nowhere, and the chat still told the patient it was sent. Click the Webhook box.

    After the time question, a webhook sends the request to a placeholder address. It went nowhere, and the chat still said it was sent.

38. Go back to Copilot. Click the red arrow at the top left.

7. Hand it to the front desk

39. Ask for a real handoff. Tell Copilot what is wrong and what you want instead: no webhook, and a Human takeover so the front desk team sees the request in Landbot's Inbox. Also ask for an honest message before the handoff.

    Tell Copilot what is wrong, and ask for a human takeover so the front desk sees the request in the inbox.

    The appointment request goes to a webhook at example.com, so nobody at the clinic gets it, but the chat tells the patient it was sent. Remove that webhook. After the preferred time, hand the chat to the front desk team with Human takeover, so they see the request in the Inbox. Before any handoff, tell the patient you're passing them to the front desk and that they'll get an email to confirm a time.

40. Send it. Click the arrow.
41. Confirm, and clean up. The plan removes the webhook, adds the message "I'll pass this to our front desk now. They'll email you to confirm a time," and then hands over. It offers to delete the two boxes that are no longer used. Say yes to both.

    The plan removes the webhook, adds an honest message and hands over. Say yes, and let it remove the unused boxes.

42. Check it in the builder. Copilot says Done and lists what it removed. After the empty knowledge base, you check. Click Workflow, then Edit workflow, then fit to screen.

    Copilot says done. After the empty knowledge base, you check.

43. Find the new message. The Webhook box is gone. The last box is now a Messages box with the handoff message, and its line runs back to Human takeover. Also note that Copilot did not add a message before the I want to speak to a person handoff, which you asked for. Click the Messages box.

    The webhook is gone, and the last box is the handoff message. Copilot skipped the message you asked for before the speak to a person handoff.

44. Open Human takeover. Double-click Human takeover.
45. See who gets the chat. Here you choose which team members get the conversation. With no one ticked, it goes to any available team member. If no one is online, the chat goes on through the flow, to the message that asks the patient to leave their name and email. Tick your front desk staff once they have Landbot seats. Then click Launch.

    Here you choose which team members get the chat. If no one is online, the flow goes on without them.

46. Look, then go back. This is where the clinic would put the chat on its website: a Webchat bubble, a Full page or an Embed, or Share with a link. We did not click Publish, because this clinic is made up. Click Build.

    This is where the clinic would put it on its website. We did not publish, because the clinic is made up.

47. Test the booking again. Click Preview. It opens the Copilot page with a fresh chat.
48. Start a booking. This time, click I want to book a first appointment.
49. Enter the name. Use the same made-up details.
50. Enter the email. Enter the email.
51. Enter the day. Enter the day.
52. Enter the time. Enter the time.
53. Read the new ending. I'll pass this to our front desk now. They'll email you to confirm a time. That is true now: the chat goes to a person, who books the slot. Nothing says it is booked. Click the message.

    Now it says it will pass this to the front desk, who will email to confirm. That is true, and nothing says it is booked.

54. Restart the preview. Now test the other handoff. Click the restart arrow at the top right.

    Now test the other handoff.

55. Ask for a person. Click I want to speak to a person.
56. Check the Inbox. The chat goes quiet. It is waiting for a team member, and the patient sees nothing, because Copilot skipped that message. Ask for it again, or add a Messages box before Human takeover yourself. Now look where the front desk would see the chat. Click Inbox in the left bar.

    The chat goes quiet, and the patient sees nothing. Now look where the front desk would see it.

57. Read the Inbox. No chats available. Neither handoff from the preview reached the Inbox, and neither did the booking request. Preview chats are not recorded. Click the Landbot logo at the top left to go home, then scroll down to Active agents.

    No chats. Preview chats are not recorded, so neither handoff reached the inbox.

58. See what a preview does not count. Your agent shows 0 conversations started and 0 leads captured, after several full tests. So before the clinic relies on it: publish it, run one test on the real website, and confirm the chat lands in the Inbox where the front desk works. We did not do that part. Click the 0 to finish.

    Zero conversations, after several tests. Publish it, run one real test, and confirm the chat reaches the front desk inbox before you rely on it.

Screenshots

Frequently asked questions

Is this an official Landbot course?

No. This is my own guide and practice lesson. Landbot is a separate product from landbot.io. The screenshots are of the real app, taken on 13 November 2026.

How does the Landbot AI Agent answer from my FAQ?

Open the AI Agent block, click Add knowledge under Knowledge base and add a Document, Text or Website. In our test, Copilot wrote instructions that mentioned the FAQ but left the Knowledge base empty, so check it yourself.

Does the chat book the appointment?

No. It collects the name, email, preferred day and time, tells the patient the front desk will email to confirm, and hands the chat to the team. A person books the slot.

Why didn't my test chats show up in the Landbot Inbox?

In our test, chats in the Live chat preview were not recorded: the Inbox was empty and the agent showed 0 conversations. Publish the agent and run one real test to see a chat arrive.

What happens when no one is online for Human takeover?

Landbot's Human takeover block says that if no team member is online, the conversation follows the agent flow. In this flow, that leads to a message asking the patient to leave their name and email.

Can the chat give medical advice?

It should not. The agent's rules say never give medical advice and ask patients not to share health details. Have the practice manager check every answer before publishing.

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