How to Create Appointment Slots in Google Calendar

Are you a remote professional struggling to keep track of numerous meetings? Not sure how to organize appointments with those outside your organization? Fret not, because Google Calendar is your ultimate ally. With its intuitive interface and appointment organization tools, Google Calendar ensures that you never overlook an important meeting again.

In this blog post, we will go deeper on how to create appointment slots in Google Calendar, so you can make sure you're always on top of your schedule.

Does Google Calendar Have Appointment Slots?

Yes! Google Calendar has a new Appointment Slots feature that allows you to set up a block of appointments on your calendar that others can reserve. For instance, you can schedule a weekly meeting with a client or your team.

You can provide individuals with a block of time from your schedule in which they can reserve specific time slots. For example, you can allocate a 2-hour meeting window into 30-minute slots. Others can reserve one of these 30-minute slots within that designated time frame.
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Another example is setting up consulting sessions, which can look like this:

Google Calendar Appointment Slots vs. Appointment Schedule

Google Calendar’s Appointment Slots feature is different from making an Appointment Schedule. Eventually, Appointment Scheduling will replace Appointment Slots, but both are still available to use depending on the type of Google account that you have. Let’s talk about the main features of the two and how they differ.

Appointment Scheduling

• Offers more flexible booking options for people who don’t have a Google account or are outside your organization. People can simply access your booking page through a link.
• You can access this feature from a work or education account or a personal Gmail account on a Google Workspace Individual plan.
• You have your own professional booking page that allows anyone to book an appointment with you.
• You receive booking confirmation and update emails, and those who book an appointment with you also receive reminder emails before the appointment.
• You can customize how you meet with clients (in person, over the phone, or a Google Meet video conference).
• You can customize your appointment availability (limit the number of appointments per day, appointment windows, buffer time in between, etc.)

Appointment Slots

• Appointment Slots are only available to eligible Google Workspace accounts. Only those with a Google Account can book appointments with you.
• You have the ability to add new team members. Google Calendar automatically includes them in your confirmed appointments.
• You have the ability to manage secondary, team, or coworker calendars, allowing you to set up appointments beyond your personal calendar.
• You have the option to pre-reserve a conference or meeting room during your appointment.

Similar to Calendly, Google Calendar’s appointment features provide tools for scheduling appointments or events more efficiently. They enable users to allocate specific time slots for appointments to help improve the booking process. 

Additionally, both platforms offer the convenience of online scheduling, reducing the need for manual coordination and communication. While they differ in terms of customization and features, the core similarity lies in their ability to simplify appointment scheduling and enhance time management.

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Schedule Meetings Faster with Gmail’s New Availability Feature

Great news! Google recently rolled out a new feature allowing you to schedule meetings and share your availability directly from Gmail. This makes it convenient to schedule appointments with clients, partners, and teammates whose Google Calendars are invisible to you. This feature helps reduce the back-and-forth email threads when organizing meeting times.

When you compose an email directly from your inbox, click the three-dotted icon and select ‘Set up a time to meet.’

Here, you can find two options:

1. Offer Times You’re Free - with this option, your calendar opens beside your email draft. You can select and insert proposed meeting times directly into the email. The recipient can then review these options and select a time that suits them, automatically receiving a calendar invite.
2. Create an Event - upon selecting this option, a window to create a calendar event will appear on the right side. Recipients and event details are automatically pre-filled from the email. An event summary is even added to the email body for quick sharing.

(Note: This functionality is available to all Google Workspace customers and users with personal Google Accounts.)

How Do I Create Appointment Slots in Google Calendar?

When you create a block of appointment slots, they consolidate into a singular event on your calendar. You will see the "Appointment block” icon at the upper left corner of the event to verify the event as an appointment block. To create an appointment slot, follow these steps:

1. From your desktop computer or laptop, open Google Calendar.
2. From the upper left, click ‘Create’, then select ‘Appointment slot’ from the menu.
3. Write a title for your appointment. This will be visible to anyone with the link to your booking page and appear on your calendar for bookings and schedules.
4. Select an appointment duration (minimum of 15 minutes).
5. Select your general availability for the date and time, then select the timezone of your appointments.
6. You can also change the following optional settings:
   - Scheduling window - allows you to set how far in advance appointments can be booked. The default setting will allow people to choose a Google appointment schedule 60 days to 4 hours in advance
   - Adjusted availability - will indicate times you’re available for specific dates 
   - Booked appointment settings - allows you to select the buffer time between appointments and the maximum bookings you accept per day
   - Calendars checked for availability - select the boxes next to the calendars if you subscribe to other calendars to check your availability
   - Color - change the color for your appointment schedule
7. Click ‘Next.’‍
8. Choose a booking page photo, name, location, conferencing (in-person, phone, or video conference), and description to explain your service.
9. Hit Save and now you can also add a booking form for attendees to fill out and send booking confirmation emails and reminders to you and the person who made the appointment.

Addressing Issues with Google Calendar Appointment Slots

Why Can’t I Create Appointment Slots in Google Calendar?

Take note that Appointment Slots are only available for Google Workspace users. You cannot access it from a personal Google account. Check if you are signed in to the correct account, or subscribe to a Google Workspace plan (you need at least the Business Standard plan to access Appointment Slots).

Why Aren’t My Google Calendar Appointment Slots Not Appearing?

Ensure that your calendar is set to “Public.” Otherwise, others won’t see your appointment slots. Here’s how you can change the visibility settings:

1. On your computer, open Google Calendar.
2. Select the event you want to update.
3. Click ‘Default visibility’ and select the privacy setting for the event.
4. Hit ‘Save’.

Can You Replace Calendly with Google Calendar’s Appointment Slots?

Both Google Calendar’s Appointment Slots and Calendly offer appointment scheduling solutions, but they have different features and benefits. Google Calendar's Appointment Slots is integrated with Google Calendar and is useful if you’re already using Google Workspace (formerly G-Suite). It allows you to create specific time slots directly within your calendar and share them with others. However, its customization options are limited, and it may not suit complex scheduling needs. Additionally, it doesn’t offer analytics or team features, like the ability to manage multiple large departments.

Calendly, on the other hand, is a standalone scheduling tool that offers more advanced features, like integrations with various apps (including Google Calendar, Microsoft Teams, Outlook, Slack, etc.), customizations, reminders, and more. Some advanced features require a paid plan.

The choice between the two will rely heavily on your specific needs. If you’re looking for a simple scheduling solution directly tied to your Google Calendar, Google’s Appointment Slots might be a good fit. Still, if you need more advanced scheduling features and integrations, Calendly could be a better choice.

How to Boost Your Productivity When Booking Appointments

Aside from utilizing Google Calendar’s Appointment Slots, there are other ways to enhance your productivity when scheduling calls and appointments. Simply follow these tips:

1. Craft standard email templates for appointment confirmations and instructions to save time and maintain professionalism.
2. Use automated notifications and reminders to ensure punctuality and minimize no-shows.
3. Keep meetings concise and purposeful to make the most of your time.
4. Integrate Tactiq into your appointment scheduling workflow! Tactiq's real-time transcription and note-taking capabilities revolutionize how you engage during calls. You can focus on the conversation while Tactiq captures every detail. Afterward, use Tactiq’s searchable transcripts to extract key takeaways and track action items effortlessly. By combining Tactiq's features with strategic scheduling, you optimize time management. To install Tactiq on your computer, follow these steps:
   - Visit the Tactiq GPT Summary Chrome Web Store and Click ‘Add to Chrome’ on the right-hand side of the page, then ‘Add Extension.’
   - Go to Google Meet. The Tactiq widget will be on the right-hand side of the screen.

If you want to know more about how to send a Google Meet invite, check out our guide here: How to Send a Google Meet Invite. If you want to know more about using ChatGPT to summarize your long Google Meet sessions, check out our guide here: ChatGPT for Google Meet: How to Use AI to Summarize Long Meetings.

Appointment Scheduling Made Easy

Google Calendar’s Appointment Slots will make it easier to create and manage your meetings and stay on top of them. This functionality ensures smooth collaboration, particularly for Google Workspace users, and simplifies the scheduling process. While Google Calendar’s Appointment Slots might not offer the most extensive customization found in other tools, it’s important to note that it still offers substantial scheduling benefits to enhance your productivity.