AI Customer Service for Pet Businesses in 2026: What Groomers, Pet Hotels and Pet Shops Can Automate on LINE, Plus 12 Message Templates

What ten kinds of messages does a pet business get every day?

Sort the messages first, and you will see which ones can be handed off. The quoted lines are illustrative examples.

• Grooming prices: "How much is a bath for a Shiba?" "How do you charge for a poodle cut?"
• Booking and waiting: "Can you fit a bath in this Saturday?" "How long is the wait?"
• Boarding and vaccination requirements: "Can he stay five days over Lunar New Year? Which vaccines does he need?"
• Drop-⁠off and pickup: "What time can I collect her?" "What's the latest I can come?"
• What to bring: "Do I bring my own food for boarding?"
• Skin or health concerns: "He's been scratching a lot. Can you take a look during the bath?"
• Product ingredients and suitability: "Can a kitten eat this food?" "Is this OK for a cat with bad kidneys?"
• Breed and behaviour: "He bites. Can you still groom him?" "She's fifteen. Can she still board?"
• Injury or escape incidents: "I found a cut on his ear when we got home." "Did my dog get out?"
• Complaints: "The cut isn't what I asked for." "She's had diarrhoea since I picked her up."

The answers to the first five are about the same every day. Every message in the last five is different, and each involves a life that cannot type for itself, so one wrong sentence is costly. That line is where the work divides.

Which messages can be automated, and which must go to the manager or groomer?

FRIDAI Editorial uses one test: if the answer can be written down and is the same for every owner, automate it. If answering requires seeing the animal, the situation on site or the records, the auto-⁠reply only takes the message and says how long the wait will be.

"Partly" means the AI can explain the rules and collect the details, but the final "yes, Saturday at two is yours" needs a reliable basis.

Product ingredients deserve one more warning. When an owner asks "Does this contain chicken?", the AI can answer from the label. When an owner asks "Is it OK for bad kidneys?", the question is no longer about ingredients; it is a medical judgment. The standard answer is to ask a veterinarian, not to compose something that sounds professional.

How should grooming and boarding inquiries flow?

The point of the chart below is that health, incidents and complaints are split off first, and only the rest enters the booking flow.

Set the threshold for the "behaviour, old age or similar" box yourself: for example above a certain age, a history of biting, or a heart or seizure history. Once decided, write it into the rules.

How do you write rules and knowledge for the AI?

How well an AI answers depends mainly on what you give it. A pet business needs at least four documents: a price list, boarding and pickup rules, product information, and a list of things the AI may never promise. For the full method, see How to write AI customer service rules. This section covers only what is specific to pet businesses.

Price list: breed, size and add-⁠on conditions

Grooming prices usually depend on breed, weight, coat volume and coat condition. With only "small dog bath from NT$500", the AI cannot tell which tier an eight-⁠kilo mixed breed falls into. List the weight bands, a table of common breeds, and add-⁠ons such as de-⁠matting and flea treatment, and add "the final amount depends on the coat condition we see in person."

Boarding rules: admission terms are your shop rules

Vaccination, deworming, neutering, age, whether an animal in heat may stay: these are your shop rules. In the Regulations on Specific Pet Business Management (特定寵物業管理辦法) that FRIDAI Editorial read today, we did not find a vaccination rule for boarding, so do not let the AI say "the law requires it." Write them honestly as "our admission terms" and ask owners for a record you can check.

Product information: only what is on the packaging

Supply shops and bakeries should type out the product name, ingredients, intended animal and storage method exactly as labelled. The AI may answer only from that. Any question connected to an illness goes to "please ask your veterinarian."

What the AI must never promise

This is the most important part. Write the prohibitions as rules. Do not expect the AI to work out the boundaries by itself.

The template stays in Chinese because the AI will be answering your Taiwanese customers in Chinese. Its six blocks are: basics (including the permit number if you run boarding or sales), grooming prices, boarding and pickup, products, cases that always go to a person, and things that must not be said.

【寵物店知識與規則範本】（括號內換成你的內容）

一、基本
店名：（店名）
服務項目：（美容／住宿／安親／用品／烘焙）
營業時間：（時段），公休：（星期）
地址與交通：（地址、停車）
特定寵物業許可證字號：（有經營寄養或買賣者填寫）

二、美容價目
（體重級距或品種）｜（洗澡）｜（剪毛）｜（大約時長）
加價項目：（打結、除蚤、藥浴等，逐項列價）
需現場評估的項目：（列出），一律由美容師報價

三、住宿與接送
入住條件：（疫苗、驅蟲、年齡等本店規定）
需帶物品：（飼料、牽繩、熟悉的墊子、藥品與餵法說明）
可接送時段：（時段），逾時（你的處理方式）

四、商品
（品名）｜（包裝標示的成分）｜（適用對象）｜（保存方式）

五、一定轉真人
飼主提到任何症狀、傷口、不吃不喝、嘔吐、拉肚子
服務中或接回後受傷、走失、疑似中暑
有咬人紀錄、高齡、懷孕、慢性病、短吻品種等狀況
詢問商品能不能改善疾病、能不能和藥物一起吃
客訴與要求賠償

六、不可以說
不判斷毛孩得了什麼病，不說「應該只是過敏」這類話
不建議任何藥品、劑量或停藥
不說食品或用品可以治療、預防或改善疾病
不保證毛孩不會緊張、不會受傷或不會生病
不自行確認時段與房位，不自行給折扣或同意賠償
不評論其他店家與動物醫院

The last block says, in order: do not judge what illness the animal has, and do not say things like "it's probably just an allergy"; do not suggest any medicine, dose or stopping a medicine; do not say a food or product treats, prevents or improves a disease; do not guarantee the animal will not be stressed, injured or ill; do not confirm slots or rooms, give discounts or agree to compensation on your own; do not comment on other shops or veterinary clinics.

Why ban "it's probably just an allergy"? Because it sounds considerate and is in fact a diagnosis. If the owner then waits two more days before seeing a vet, those two days will be counted against you.

12 copy-⁠ready reply templates for pet businesses

Replace the brackets with your own details. Every template contains three things: an answer, a next step and a way to reach a person. You can paste them into LINE auto-⁠response messages or use them as example replies for an AI. The templates 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; for an all-⁠industry index, see Customer service message templates.

First message

Gloss: greets, offers keywords for grooming, boarding and prices, and says when a person will answer.

你好，這裡是（店名）。
想預約美容請輸入「美容」，想問住宿請輸入「住宿」，想看價目請輸入「價目」。
美容師工作中無法即時回覆，需要本人回答的問題會在（時間）前回你。

Grooming prices

Gloss: lists bath and cut prices by weight band and add-⁠ons, notes the final price depends on coat condition, and asks for breed and weight.

（店名）美容價目
（體重級距一）洗澡（價格）／剪毛（價格）
（體重級距二）洗澡（價格）／剪毛（價格）
加價項目：（打結／除蚤）（價格）
實際金額以現場看到的毛況為準。方便的話請告訴我品種與體重，我幫你對應級距。

Collecting grooming booking details

Gloss: asks for name, breed and weight, service, preferred date, any skin, ear or other health issue, and habits such as fear of the dryer.

好的，幫你登記美容預約。請告訴我：
毛孩名字、品種與體重：
想做的項目：
希望的日期與時段：
最近有沒有皮膚、耳朵或其他健康狀況：
有沒有怕吹風機、不喜歡被碰腳等習慣：
收齊後我們會回覆可以的時段。

Booking confirmation

Send this one only after the groomer has confirmed the slot. Do not let an auto-⁠reply fire when the owner says "I'd like to book."

Gloss: confirms time, service and expected finish time, asks for a toilet break before arrival, and gives the rescheduling deadline.

美容預約已確認。
時間：（日期）（時段）
項目：（項目）
預計完成時間：（時間），完成後會通知你來接。
請在來店前先讓毛孩上過廁所。需要改期請在（幾）小時前告訴我們。

Boarding inquiry

Gloss: states the shop's admission terms, asks for breed, age and dates, and routes chronic illness, medication or separation anxiety to the manager.

謝謝你的詢問。本店住宿的入住條件：
1.（疫苗與驅蟲的本店規定），請提供可核對的紀錄
2.（年齡或其他條件）
請告訴我毛孩的品種、年齡、入住與離開日期，我們確認房位後回覆你。
有慢性病、需要餵藥或曾經有分離焦慮，也請先說，由店長評估能不能接。

What to bring for boarding

Gloss: lists pre-⁠portioned food, leash and harness, a familiar blanket or toy and the vaccine record, and asks for the vet's written instructions if medication is needed.

住宿請準備：
1. 平常吃的飼料，依餐分裝
2. 牽繩與胸背
3. 有熟悉味道的墊子或玩具
4. 疫苗紀錄
如果需要餵藥，請附上獸醫師的用法說明，並在入住時當面交代。

Drop-⁠off and pickup times

Gloss: states the hours, the deadlines for check-⁠in and check-⁠out, the late rule, and how to request a change.

可接送時段：（時段）
入住請在（時間）前，離開請在（時間）前。
逾時（你的處理方式）。
臨時要更改接送時間，請直接告訴我日期與新的時間，由現場人員確認後回覆。

Skin or health concern mentioned

Gloss: says the shop is not a veterinarian and cannot judge the cause or suggest medication, recommends a vet visit, and passes the message on to confirm whether the service should go ahead.

謝謝你先告訴我們。
我們不是獸醫師，沒辦法判斷原因，也不建議先自行用藥。
建議先帶牠給獸醫師看過；如果已經在治療中，請告訴我醫師的交代。
我已經把訊息轉給（美容師／店長），（時間）前會跟你確認這次適不適合照常美容或住宿。

Product ingredients and suitability

Gloss: quotes the labelled ingredients, intended animal and storage, and refers illness, allergy or medication questions to the owner's veterinarian.

（品名）包裝標示的成分是：（成分）
適用對象：（包裝標示內容）
保存方式：（方式）
如果毛孩有疾病、過敏或正在吃藥，適不適合請先詢問你的獸醫師，我們沒辦法替醫師判斷。

Breed and behaviour

Gloss: thanks the owner, asks for age and weight, the current situation and past grooming or boarding experience, and says the groomer or manager will decide.

謝謝你先說，這對我們很重要。
請再告訴我：
年齡與體重：
目前的狀況（例如會咬、高齡、心臟或呼吸問題）：
之前在其他地方美容或住宿的情形：
這需要由（美容師／店長）評估後才能回答能不能接，（時間）前會親自回你。

Injury or escape

Gloss: says the manager is being notified now, asks for phone, time, details and photos, and tells the owner to go to a veterinary hospital without waiting if there is bleeding, lethargy or laboured breathing.

收到，我現在就通知店長。
請留下你的電話，並告訴我你發現的時間與狀況，有照片請一起傳。
店長會在（時間）內親自打給你。
如果毛孩現在有流血、精神很差或呼吸不順，請先帶去動物醫院，不要等我們回覆。

Complaints

Gloss: apologises, asks for the service date, what happened and photos, and promises a personal reply from the manager by a stated time.

很抱歉這次讓你和毛孩有不好的經驗。
方便的話請告訴我服務日期與發生的事，有照片也請一起傳。
這則訊息我已經轉給店長本人，（時間）前會親自回覆你處理方式。

When you finish, send each of the 12 to yourself as if you were the owner. A wrong answer delivered instantly just worries owners more efficiently.

LINE, or Instagram and Facebook, as the main channel?

A common setup for pet businesses is Instagram for after-⁠bath photos and LINE for bookings and photo updates. When DMs arrive on both, decide which side is "where a booking counts" and let the other side only send people there.

Facts FRIDAI Editorial confirmed on official pages today:

• LINE's official manual says an auto-⁠response message is sent automatically when a user types a specific keyword. Matching ignores letter case and full-⁠width versus half-⁠width, the limit on registered keywords is 51, emoji cannot be keywords, and a sending period can be set by date or time.
• LINE's official FAQ lists the light-⁠usage plan (輕用量方案) as free per month with 200 free messages, and notes that plan prices change from 1 November 2026. See LINE's official announcement for details.
• Meta's developer policy page says a business has up to 24 hours to respond to a user, and that the Human Agent tag lets a person reply manually within a 7-⁠day period. These are the rules for tools connected through the API; the permissions you actually get depend on Meta and the tool you use.

Our suggestions:

• Mainly grooming and boarding: make LINE the main channel, with menu buttons for "Book grooming", "Boarding" and "Prices".
• Mainly supplies and bakery: let Instagram and Facebook DMs answer product questions, and take ordering and pickup to wherever you actually manage orders.

Diagnosis and treatment, boarding and pet food are all regulated

Please read this part carefully. FRIDAI Editorial is not a lawyer. What follows quotes only the text published in Taiwan's Laws and Regulations Database; whether something is a violation is decided by the competent authority, and if in doubt you should ask your local animal protection authority or the Ministry of Agriculture.

Veterinarian Act: diagnosis and treatment are a veterinarian's work

• Article 5 of the Veterinarian Act (獸醫師法) requires a veterinarian to hold a practice licence before practising, and defines the practice as diagnosis, treatment, testing, issuing diagnostic certificates and prescriptions, issuing certifying documents, and other work that laws assign to veterinarians.
• Article 30 sets a fine of NT$100,000 to NT$500,000 for anyone who performs a veterinarian's work without the qualification.
• Article 23 states that those that are not veterinary clinics may not run clinical advertising.

For a pet business this means neither your shop nor your AI should judge the cause of a problem or suggest a medicine or dose. A DM that says "put this on and it will clear up" sits very close to that line.

Animal Protection Act: boarding needs a permit, and pet food promotion may not exaggerate

• Article 22, paragraph 1 of the Animal Protection Act (動物保護法) allows only operators permitted by the municipal or county authority and holding a business licence to run breeding, sales or boarding of specified pets, with a permit term of up to three years. Article 2 of the Regulations on Specific Pet Business Management states that the specified pets are dogs and cats.
• Article 25-⁠2 sets a fine of NT$100,000 to NT$3,000,000 and an order to cease business for operating without a permit.
• Article 30 lists, as a punishable act, a pet breeding, sales or boarding operator advertising in electronic, print, telecom network or other media without showing its permit number, with a fine of NT$15,000 to NT$75,000.
• Article 22-⁠5 states that the labelling, promotion and advertising of pet food may not be false, exaggerated or misleading, and Article 29 sets a fine of NT$30,000 to NT$150,000 for violations.

There are two things FRIDAI Editorial did not find, so we draw no conclusion for you. First, the regulations above cover breeding, sales and boarding; we did not find provisions on pet grooming, so ask your local animal protection authority what applies to grooming. Second, on whether pet food may make efficacy claims, today we read only the "false, exaggerated or misleading" rule; for finer points ask the Ministry of Agriculture. The cautious practice is for the AI never to say a product treats, prevents or improves a disease.

What this means for AI customer service

• Put "no diagnosis, no medication advice, no efficacy claims for products" in the rules, and list the phrases your own shop is most likely to slip into.
• When an owner mentions any symptom, the AI does three things: shows care, suggests seeing a veterinarian, and passes the message to a person.
• If you run boarding or sales, check whether your posts and auto-⁠replies show your permit number.

Veterinary clinics are a separate case

The principle for a veterinary clinic using AI customer service is the same as for a human clinic: answer only administrative questions such as how to register, consultation hours, address and fee explanations, and leave every question about a condition to the veterinarian in the consulting room. For the division-⁠of-⁠work table and templates, go straight to AI customer service for clinics.

Four common pitfalls when a pet business adopts auto-⁠replies

• Letting the AI confirm rooms when the boarding sheet is really in the manager's notebook. You discover the overbooking the day before a long weekend.
• A price list that only says "from". The owner of a large long-⁠haired dog learns about the surcharge at the counter. That is a price-⁠list problem, not an AI problem.
• Answering health questions with canned messages. The owner says he has not eaten for two days and receives the price list.
• Pasting a pet food supplier's marketing copy into the knowledge notes. The AI will repeat "cares for the kidneys" to owners word for word.

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