If you frequently arrange meetings with clients, conduct interviews, or offer consultation hours, you know the frustration of the “email ping-pong” game trying to find a time that works for everyone. Traditionally, professionals paid for third-party software like Calendly to solve this. However, Google Workspace now includes a powerful, built-in alternative: Google Calendar Appointment Schedules.
Appointment Schedules allow you to create a professional booking page. You set your availability, share a single link, and clients can click a slot to automatically inject a meeting into both of your calendars, complete with Google Meet links. In this guide, you will learn how to configure your booking page.
Creating an Appointment Schedule
Note: This feature is available to Google Workspace subscribers and Google One premium accounts.
- Open Google Calendar in your web browser.
- Click the large Create (+) button in the top left corner.
- Select Appointment schedule from the dropdown menu.
- A configuration pane will open on the left side of the screen.
Configuring the Booking Details
You must now define the rules for how and when people can book you.
1. Basic Details
- Title: This is what clients will see (e.g., “30-Minute Consultation”). It will also be the title of the calendar event created.
- Appointment duration: Choose how long each slot lasts (e.g., 30 minutes, 1 hour, or a custom duration).
2. Setting Your Availability
Under the “General availability” section, you dictate when you are open for meetings.
- By default, it shows a standard 9-to-5 schedule. Click the X next to a day (like Saturday or Sunday) to mark yourself as unavailable.
- Click the + icon next to a day to create split shifts (e.g., available 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM, and 2:00 PM – 5:00 PM), ensuring nobody books you during your lunch hour.
- Crucial Setting: Look for the Scheduling window option. Here, you should set a “Minimum time before appointment can be booked” (e.g., 12 hours). This prevents a client from booking a meeting at 8:55 AM for a 9:00 AM slot, catching you completely off guard.
3. Buffer Times
Scroll down to Buffer time. If you enable this, Google will automatically enforce a gap (e.g., 15 minutes) between booked appointments, giving you time to write notes or grab a coffee before the next meeting begins.
Click Next to proceed to the Page settings.
Customising the Booking Page
This section determines what the client experiences when they click your link.
- Location and conferencing: Choose how you will meet. If you select Google Meet, the system will automatically generate a unique video conferencing link for every booking and add it to the calendar invite. You can also select “In person” or “Phone call”.
- Booking form: By default, Google asks for the client’s First Name, Last Name, and Email. You can click Add an item to ask custom questions, such as “What is your phone number?” or “What topic would you like to discuss?”
- Booking confirmations and reminders: Ensure email reminders are turned on so your client receives an automated ping 24 hours before the meeting, drastically reducing no-shows.
Sharing Your Link
Once everything is configured, click Save.
To start accepting meetings, click anywhere on the Appointment Schedule block in your calendar grid and click the Share button. You can copy the direct link and paste it into your email signature, or use the provided HTML to embed the booking widget directly onto your company website.
By adopting Google Calendar Appointment Schedules, you eliminate scheduling friction, look more professional, and protect your focused work hours from unexpected interruptions.