AI Customer Service for Interior Designers in 2026: What to Automate on LINE and Instagram, a Requirements Checklist and 12 Message Templates

What ten kinds of messages does an interior designer get every day?

These are the ten common types. The quoted lines are illustrative examples.

• Price: "Roughly how much for 30 ping?"
• Design fee: "How is your design fee calculated?"
• First brief: "New three-⁠bedroom flat, looking for someone to plan it."
• Portfolio and style: "Have you done a Japanese minimalist look?"
• Timeline: "Can it be finished before Lunar New Year?"
• Structure and walls: "Can this living room wall come down?"
• Permits and rules: "Do I need a renovation permit?"
• Old-⁠home renovation: "Does an old walk-⁠up need all-⁠new plumbing and wiring?"
• Site measurement: "Can you come and see the flat this Saturday?"
• Problems during works: "The bathroom seems to be leaking."

The first few can be handled with fixed explanations plus requirement collection. The last few involve the site, the structure and the law, and every sentence can be taken as a promise.

Which messages can be automated, and which must go to a designer?

Design projects are quoted only after seeing the site, so the AI acts as "reception plus intake form": anything that needs drawings or a site visit gets collected, not answered.

When a customer asks "how much for 30 ping", any number the AI gives causes trouble: the customer remembers the number, not the "for reference only".

How should a renovation inquiry flow?

Separate problems during works and structural or legal questions first; only the rest goes into requirement collection.

Let the customer state the budget; the AI should never suggest "about this much per ping", and it should not fire seven questions at once.

How do you write the intake form and rules for the AI?

Write at least four things: the requirement fields, the service process, how fees are explained, and what the AI must never promise. For the full method, see How to write AI customer service rules. The template stays in Chinese because it is meant to be pasted into your tool.

【室內設計知識與規則範本】（括號內換成你的內容）

一、需求收集（一次問兩三項）
屋況：新成屋／中古屋／老屋，屋齡：
房型與坪數：
地點（縣市區即可）：
預算範圍（客人自己說，未定就寫未定）：
希望入住或完工時間：
喜歡的風格或參考照片：

二、服務範圍與流程
服務地區：（地區），承接類型：（住宅／商空）
流程：初談→丈量→提案→報價→簽約→施工

三、計費說法
設計費：（你的計費方式）
工程費：依現場與材料，由設計師丈量後報價

四、一定轉真人
報價、工期、結構與拆牆、許可與法規、
施工中問題、合約與付款、客訴

五、不可以說
不報任何金額或每坪單價
不承諾工期或完工日
不說「可以拆」「不用申請」「沒問題」
不評論其他設計公司

The five sections are: requirement collection, two or three questions at a time (condition: new, pre-⁠owned or old, and age; layout and size; location to district level; budget range as the customer states it, or "undecided"; hoped-⁠for move-⁠in or completion date; preferred style or reference photos); service area and process (first talk, measurement, proposal, quote, contract, works); how fees are explained (your design-⁠fee method, and works priced by a designer after measuring); what always goes to a person (quotes, timelines, structure and walls, permits and rules, problems during works, contracts and payment, complaints); and what the AI may not say (no amount or price per ping, no timeline or completion date, no "it can come down", "no permit needed" or "no problem", no comments on other firms).

12 copy-⁠ready reply templates for interior designers

Each template has an answer, a next step and a way to reach a person. They stay in Chinese because your customers will read them; each has a one-⁠line English gloss. For LINE keyword setup, see LINE auto-⁠reply setup and examples.

First message

Gloss: greets the customer, asks for the home's condition, layout, size and location, and says when a designer will be in touch.

你好，這裡是（公司名）。
先告訴我屋況（新成屋／中古屋／老屋）、房型坪數和地點，
設計師會在（時間）前跟你聯絡。

Collecting requirements

Gloss: asks for the budget range (undecided is fine), the hoped-⁠for completion or move-⁠in date, and preferred style or reference photos.

謝謝！再請你補充：
預算範圍（未定也沒關係）：
希望完工或入住時間：
喜歡的風格或參考照片：

Price questions

Gloss: explains that cost depends on condition, size, materials and scope, that a formal quote comes after measuring, and offers to book a first talk.

費用要看屋況、坪數、材料和工程項目，
設計師丈量後才能正式報價，我先幫你安排初談。

Design fee and process

Gloss: lists the process from first talk to works and the design-⁠fee method, with details explained by the designer.

流程：初談→丈量→提案→報價→簽約→施工。
設計費：（你的計費方式），細節由設計師初談時說明。

Portfolio and style

Gloss: sends the portfolio link and invites the customer to share cases or styles they like.

作品集在這裡：（連結）
有喜歡的案例或風格直接傳給我，設計師初談時參考。

Timeline questions

Gloss: says the timeline depends on condition and scope and needs a site assessment, and asks for the hoped-⁠for completion date to pass on.

工期要看屋況與工程項目，設計師評估現場後才能說明。
請先告訴我希望完工的時間，我轉給設計師。

Walls and structure

Gloss: says whether walls or pipes can move must be assessed by a designer on site and from drawings, and asks for a floor plan or photos.

牆能不能拆、管線能不能移，要由設計師看現場與圖面評估。
方便的話請傳平面圖或現場照片，我轉給設計師。

Permits and rules

Gloss: says whether a permit is needed depends on the building's use and the scope of work, a designer will explain, and the local building authority can confirm.

要不要申請、怎麼申請，依建物用途與工程內容判斷，
由設計師評估說明，必要時請向主管建築機關確認。

Booking a site measurement

Gloss: asks for the address to street level and two possible time slots, with the designer confirming the final time.

可以安排丈量！請告訴我地址（寫到路段即可）
和兩個方便的時段，設計師確認後回覆正式時間。

Budget not decided yet

Gloss: reassures the customer, asks which space matters most, and says the designer will help set priorities.

沒關係，很多人一開始也不確定。
先告訴我最想處理的空間，設計師初談時幫你排優先順序。

Problems during works

Gloss: asks for photos of the location and the problem and when it was noticed, and says the project lead has been notified.

收到，請拍下位置和狀況的照片並告訴我發現時間。
已通知（專案負責人），（時間）前跟你聯絡。

Outside office hours

Gloss: says the office is closed and asks for condition, size, location and a good time to call, with replies in order the next working day.

現在是非營業時間，請先留下屋況、坪數、地點
和方便聯絡的時段，設計師上班後依序回覆。

LINE or Instagram and Facebook as the main channel?

A common pattern is Instagram for showing work and attracting inquiries, and LINE for talking with customers you are already working with. Pick one side as "where the brief becomes final".

Facts FRIDAI Editorial confirmed on official pages today:

• The LINE manual states that auto-⁠response messages are sent when a user types a specific keyword, up to 51 keywords can be registered, emoji cannot be keywords, and a sending period can be set by date or time.
• LINE's FAQ lists the Light usage plan (輕用量方案) as free per month with 200 free messages, and notes that plan pricing changes from 1 November 2026.
• Meta's developer policy page states that a business has up to 24 hours to respond after a user messages, and that a Human Agent tag lets a person reply manually within 7 days.

Interior renovation and apartment rules: not for the AI to answer

FRIDAI Editorial is not a lawyer. What follows quotes only statute text from the Laws and Regulations Database of Taiwan, so you can see why these questions must go to a designer or the authorities. It is not material for the AI to answer customers with.

Regulations Governing Interior Renovation of Buildings (建築物室內裝修管理辦法)

• Article 2: interior renovation of buildings for public use, and of non-⁠public buildings the Ministry of the Interior deems necessary, must follow these regulations.
• Article 3: interior renovation covers ceiling work, interior wall work, fixed partitions more than 1.2 metres above the floor, and changes to partition walls, but not wallpaper, curtains, furniture and similar items.
• Article 10: an interior renovation business that has not obtained a registration certificate may not carry out interior renovation work.
• Article 22: for buildings covered by the regulations, drawings must be submitted for review, and works may begin only after the permit is issued.

Condominium Administration Act (公寓大廈管理條例)

• Article 16 paragraph 3: when carrying out maintenance, repair, renovation or similar work, residents may not damage or alter the main structure of the building without approval from the competent building authority.
• Article 8: changing the structure or colour of exterior walls or the rooftop terrace, or installing window frames and similar, is also restricted by registered building rules or owners' meeting resolutions.

Whether a permit is needed or a wall can be moved depends on the building's use, the scope of work and the building's rules, none of which the AI can see. Write it into the rules: for these questions the AI only says a designer must assess, and where needed asks the customer to check with the building authority or the management committee.

Three common pitfalls when an interior designer adopts auto-⁠replies

• Letting the AI say "about this much per ping". The customer uses that number to compare quotes.
• The AI saying "that wall can probably come down". It becomes a screenshot in a later dispute.
• Answering problems during works with a canned reply. The customer cannot reach the lead and posts about it online.

FAQ