Most booking forms ask you to work out what they want and in what order. Our AI booking assistant flips that: you tell it about your journey the way you would tell a person, and it asks for anything missing, shows you the priced vehicle options, and books it when you confirm.
This guide explains what the assistant does, how a booking runs from start to finish, what you can customise, and what happens if something goes wrong. It works for airport transfers and other minicab journeys.
What is the AI booking assistant?
It is a chat window on our website. Look for the amber chat button above the WhatsApp button and tap it. You type (or tap) your answers, and the assistant builds your booking step by step.
It is the same booking system as our standard booking form. The prices come from the same fare calculation, and a chat booking goes through the same checks and confirmation as a form booking. The chat is a different way in, not a different service. You still get a normal confirmation, and we still provide the journey directly with our licensed drivers.
How does booking a minicab in chat work?
- Start with your contact details. You give a phone number and email first. This lets us follow up if you drop out halfway through, or if anything needs to be checked with you.
- Say where you are going. Type a postcode or address for pickup and destination. You can write it in one message — "Heathrow T5 to Oxford" works — and the assistant reads it.
- Choose one way or return, and your date and time. Type "tomorrow 10am" or "next Tuesday 7:30pm", or use the date picker. If you want a return, it asks for that date and time as well.
- Give passengers and luggage. Something like "3 people, 2 bags" is enough. This is how it makes sure the vehicles it shows can actually take you and your luggage.
- Pick a vehicle. You see priced vehicle cards and choose one.
- Check the summary and confirm. You see the whole journey laid out. Nothing is booked until you confirm it.
For airport pickups it also asks for your flight number (optional but recommended) and offers meet and greet. If you are unsure why these matter, our guides on airport pickup timing and delayed or cancelled flights explain them.
How do quotes work in the chat?
The assistant shows a price for each vehicle it offers before you confirm anything, so you can compare options rather than commit first and find out later.
Those prices are not written by the AI. They come from the same fare calculation as the booking form, and they are recalculated on our side when you confirm. Two things follow from that:
- Some airport journeys have a fixed airport fare. Where your journey is between a listed airport and a covered London postcode district, you see one price. See our fixed-price airport transfer guide for exactly how that works and what is included.
- Other journeys are estimates. Everything else is priced from the route, and any price shown is an estimate that may vary — we confirm the final price when we accept your booking. For more on why long runs are priced the way they are, see long-distance minicab costs.
What can I customise?
You are not stuck with a preset. In the chat you can set:
- Vehicle size. Saloon through to larger vehicles for groups. If you are unsure, our luggage capacity guide and passenger numbers guide help you choose.
- One way or return, with separate times for each leg.
- Meet and greet for airport pickups. It is an optional extra of £10, added on top of the fare.
- Flight number, so an airport pickup follows your actual landing time.
- Notes for the driver. Requests such as a child seat can be added as notes. Availability varies, so it is worth checking with us for anything specific — our child seat guide covers the details.
Can I change something after I've entered it?
Yes. At the summary you can type a change in plain words — "change passengers to 2", "change the time to 9am", "change the pickup to SW8 1AE" — and the assistant updates the booking and shows the new summary and price. Nothing is booked until you press confirm.
Is it safe to let an AI book my journey?
The assistant does not make up prices or bypass checks. Its job is to collect your details and show you the options. Behind it:
- Addresses have to be recognised and have a driving route, or you are asked again.
- Dates in the past, invalid flight numbers and vehicles too small for your group are rejected.
- The price is recalculated from a fresh route when you confirm, so it cannot be changed from your browser.
- You see the full summary before anything is submitted.
You also receive the same confirmation as any other booking, so you have a written record of what was agreed.
It is worth being clear about what it is: an AI can misread a message, and it is not a replacement for checking the summary. Read it before you confirm, just as you would read a form.
What if the assistant can't understand me?
If it doesn't catch something, it asks you again and shows an example of the answer it is looking for. If it can't read two messages in a row, it stops and hands over: you are told that we have your number and email, our team will contact you, and you are offered WhatsApp and the booking form as alternatives. Because we take your contact details at the start, we can call you back with your journey already partly filled in.
When should I use the assistant, and when the form?
The assistant suits people who would rather describe a trip than fill in boxes, and it is handy on a phone. The form suits people who already know exactly what they want. Either way you end up at the same place.
Long airport transfers from outside London are a good fit for the chat, because you can mention flight details and luggage naturally. See our guides for Ipswich and Felixstowe, Norwich, Peterborough, Chelmsford and Colchester and Bristol and Canterbury, and our checklist for booking an airport transfer in advance.
Frequently asked questions
Q: How do I book a minicab using the AI assistant? A: Open the amber chat button on our website, enter your phone number and email, then tell it your pickup, destination, date and time. Choose a vehicle from the priced options, check the summary and confirm.
Q: Does the AI booking assistant show a price before I book? A: Yes. You see a price for each vehicle option before you confirm. Some airport journeys have a fixed airport fare; others are estimates that we confirm when we accept your booking.
Q: Can I add meet and greet or a flight number in the chat? A: Yes, for airport pickups it asks for your flight number and offers meet and greet as an optional £10 add-on.
Q: Can I change my booking details in the chat before confirming? A: Yes. Type the change at the summary — for example a new time, pickup or number of passengers — and it updates the booking. Nothing is booked until you confirm.
Q: What happens if the assistant doesn't understand me? A: It asks again with an example. If it still cannot read your message, it hands over: our team will contact you using the details you gave, and you can use WhatsApp or the booking form instead.
Q: Is a chat booking any different to using the booking form? A: No. It uses the same fare calculation, checks and confirmation. It is simply a conversational way to fill in the same booking.
Try the assistant
Open the amber chat button and tell it about your journey, or use the booking form if you prefer. Either way, we provide the journey directly with our licensed drivers.