Escaping that painful team meeting or recovery call could soon be a little more complicated due to a new Google Workspace update.
The business calendar app makes it easy to spot free time for an appointment or meeting with an improved schedule sharing feature that could be a boon for small businesses.
Google Calendar is updating its "booking page" system, where users can post their availability with other contacts, by adding a new Share button for seamless sharing.
Google calendar sharing
First released in March 2022, Google Calendar's appointment scheduling feature was intended to eliminate the headaches of finding blank spaces in multiple users' records.
Instead, it used a booking page much like the one you might see when scheduling a doctor's appointment, which can be used by internal and external employees, customers, and partners.
Google Workspace is now looking to make the feature even more flexible, with a new Share button (opens in a new tab) that makes it easier to spot free time. To activate it, users simply copy a short link that gives access to their appointment schedule or a specific booking page.
The button can also provide HTML code to embed a booking page on your website, making it a great tool for SMBs looking for an easier way to register new meetings or appointments.
The tool is already available, without the need for administrative controls to activate it. It is available to Google Workspace Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Fundamentals, Education Standard, Education Plus, Teaching and Learning Enhancement, and Nonprofit customers.
However, previous Google Workspace Essentials, Business Starter, Frontline, and G Suite Basic and Business customers will not be able to use it, nor will users with personal Google accounts.
The release will work alongside an existing Google Calendar appointment slots feature announced last year and aimed at internal use cases where you don't know who needs to meet with you but want to be available. For example, teachers can use it to maintain their office hours, while an IT department can make itself available to employees experiencing computer problems.
Google Calendar also recently launched "Focus time" where users can block periods of time where they can avoid meetings and focus on real work.
Setting such a bookmark in your Google calendar will also allow users to decline meetings automatically, meaning there's no last-minute rush to get work done.