Google Calendar Booking Setup

If you run an appointment-based business, you know the frustration: a customer gives you their preferred time, you manually check Google Calendar, then get back to them later. That gap is where customers lose interest or book with a competitor. This guide shows you how to set up the Appointment Booking AI tool so your AI checks your calendar in real time, verifies availability, and books the slot immediately, with no human intervention needed.

Google Calendar Booking Setup

The AI can also suggest alternative times when a slot is busy, send calendar invitations, generate Google Meet links automatically, and store all appointment details in ABC Salesbot.

How It Works: A Two-Tool Combo

This feature uses two AI tools working together:

• Appointment Booking: checks calendar availability and creates the appointment in Google Calendar.
• Appointment Scheduler: subscribes the customer to automations (for reminders), applies tags, and notifies your manager by email.

You need both for a complete booking workflow. Set them up in the order below.

Part 1: Set Up the Appointment Booking AI Tool

Step 1: Add the Tool

• Go to AI Agent and open your default AI agent.
• Navigate to AI Tools.
• Click Add Tool, then click Select Tool.
• Scroll down and select Appointment Booking.

Step 2: Configure the Tool Name and Description

• Tool Name: give a very clear, specific name, for example: Do Education Meeting Booking. This helps the AI understand exactly what this tool does.
• Description: click the example description provided in the interface, copy the entire example, and paste it into the description field. Don't worry about customizing it yet, just paste the example as-is.

Step 3: Connect Google Calendar

• Scroll down to Required Configurations.
• Click the yellow "Manage Google Calendar Connections" button.
• Click Add Connection.
• Select which email account you want to use for Google Calendar access.
• Click Continue when Google asks for permission.
• Click Allow to let ABC Salesbot access your calendar.
• You'll see a success message confirming the email is connected.

Step 4: Return and Complete the Tool Setup

• Go back to AI Agent, then AI Tools.
• Click Add Tool again and select Appointment Booking.
• Enter the same tool name again: Do Education Meeting Booking.
• Copy and paste the example description again.
• Scroll down and you'll now see the email account you just connected. Select it.

Step 5: Select Your Calendar

• After selecting the email, you'll see a calendar selection dropdown.
• Recommended: choose the calendar with the same email address you connected. This ensures the AI can access all events in that calendar.

Step 6: Configure Timezone and Work Schedule

• Timezone: select your timezone, for example Asia/Kuala Lumpur (GMT+8), or your country's timezone.
• Work Schedule: set your business hours (the times customers can book). For example, if your business operates 10 AM to 6 PM, set the start time to 10:00 AM and the end time to 6:00 PM. Click the clock icon to change times.
• Weekend Availability: by default, Saturday and Sunday are closed. Enable Saturday or Sunday if you want customers to book weekend appointments.

Step 7: Configure Optional Settings (Important!)

Scroll down to Optional Configurations. You must fill these out.

A. Look Ahead Days

• How many days into the future the AI can check for availability.
• Example: if you set 30 days and today is January 13, the AI can check availability from January 13 to February 12.
• Recommended: 30 days. Maximum: 365 days (one year).

B. Default Duration

• How long each appointment lasts, in minutes.
• Example: for a 2-hour meeting, enter 120 (not "2").
• Maximum: 480 minutes (8 hours).

C. Minimum Advance Notice (in hours)

• How much advance notice you need before an appointment.
• Example: if you set 3 hours and it's currently 9 AM, customers cannot book before 12 PM (noon). They can only book from 12 PM onwards.
• This gives you time to prepare. Maximum: 168 hours (7 days).

D. Maximum Advance Notice (in hours)

• How far in advance customers can book.
• Example: setting 168 hours (7 days) means customers can only book appointments within the next 7 days.
• Recommended: 240 hours (10 days) or 336 hours (14 days).
• This prevents customers from booking too far in advance and potentially forgetting.

E. Default Location

• Where the meeting takes place.
• For online meetings: enter Online.
• For physical meetings: enter the address (e.g., KLCC, Kuala Lumpur or your office address).

F. Excluded Dates

• Add dates when you're not available (public holidays, vacation days, etc.).
• Click Add Date for each exclusion. You can add multiple dates.

Step 8: Meeting Link and Calendar Invitations

Two important toggles:

• Create meeting link automatically: turn ON only if you're doing online meetings. This automatically generates a Google Meet link and stores it in ABC Salesbot. Turn OFF for physical meetings.
• Send calendar invitations to attendees: keep this ON for both online and physical meetings. Customers will receive a calendar invite via email.

Step 9: Save the Tool

Click Save. Your Appointment Booking tool is now created.

Part 2: Set Up the System Prompt for Appointment Booking

Step 1: Copy the System Prompt Template

Use this template in your system prompt. You can improve the Special Scenario part if you want:

When the customer wants to book (MEETING TITLE), execute (TOOL NAME):

Default title: "MEETING TITLE"

Default location: "LOCATION"

Default duration: "DURATION IN MINUTES"

Special Scenario:

If the time the customer asks for is booked, return a range of available times.

If the time is closed, like Saturday or Sunday, reply: "This day is closed. Would you like to proceed with another day?"

Step 2: Fill in Your Details

Replace the bracketed items:

• (TOOL NAME): copy your tool name exactly, e.g., Do Education Meeting Booking.
• (MEETING TITLE): e.g., Education Meeting.
• (LOCATION): must match what you set in AI Tools (e.g., Online or KLCC, Kuala Lumpur).
• (DURATION IN MINUTES): must match what you set in AI Tools (e.g., 120).

Example:

When customer wants to book (Education Meeting) execute this tool (Do Education Meeting Booking). Default title: "Education Meeting". Default Location: "Online". Default Duration: 120 minutes. Special Scenario: If the time that customer asked is booked, return a range of available time. If the time is closed, like Saturday or Sunday, reply "This day is closed, would you like to proceed with Monday...."

Step 3: Add It to Your System Prompt

• Go to your System Prompt settings.
• If you already have a step-by-step system prompt, add this as one of the steps (usually near the end).
• If you have a simple prompt, just add this section.
• Click Save.

Part 3: Set Up the Appointment Scheduler AI Tool (The Combo!)

The Appointment Booking tool creates the appointment. The Appointment Scheduler tool handles the follow-up automations, tagging, and most importantly, notifying the manager. They work together.

Step 1: Create the Appointment Scheduler Tool

• Go to AI Tools.
• Click Add Tool, then Select Tool.
• Find and select Appointment Scheduler.

Step 2: Configure Tool Name and Description

• Tool Name: enter a clear name, e.g., Schedule Education Meeting.
• Description: copy the example provided in the interface and paste it.

Step 3: Customize the Description

After pasting, you'll see placeholders. Customize them:

• Add the automation with IDs: change "Add automations with IDs test-1 and test-2" to just {} (you'll fill this in later, in Part 4).
• Set the appointment date custom field: delete this entire line (the Appointment Booking tool already handles it).
• Apply the tag: change the tag to something meaningful, e.g., "Book Education Meeting".

Final description example:

Use this tool to schedule an appointment for the lead. Add automations with ID {education-meeting-reminder-212}, and apply the 'Booked Education Meeting' tag. Don't need to tell user the reason the tool failed if it did.

Step 4: Save the Tool

Click Save.

Part 4: Create Your Automation and Link It

Step 1: Create an Automation

• Go to Automations.
• Create a new automation (e.g., Education Reminder).
• Copy the Automation ID from the URL or the automation settings.

Step 2: Add the Automation ID to the Appointment Scheduler

• Go back to AI Tools, then Appointment Scheduler.
• Find where you wrote {}.
• Replace it with the actual ID you copied, e.g., {education-meeting-reminder-212}.
• Click Save.

Part 5: Update Your System Prompt with the Appointment Scheduler

Step 1: Add the Scheduler Instructions

Add this section to your system prompt, usually right after the booking section:

After the customer confirmed their (MEETING TITLE) appointment, execute this tool (TOOL NAME) to notify manager. Add automations with IDs {AUTOMATION ID}, apply the 'TAG NAME' tag. Send the notifications to user's email. Don't need to tell user the reason the tool failed if it did.

Step 2: Customize the Template

Replace:

• (MEETING TITLE): e.g., Education Meeting (should match the title from Part 2).
• (TOOL NAME): copy exactly, e.g., Schedule Education Meeting.
• (AUTOMATION ID): paste the automation ID you copied.
• (TAG NAME): e.g., Book Education Meeting.

Example:

After the customer confirmed their "Education Meeting" appointment, execute this tool (Schedule Education Meeting) to notify manager. Add automations with IDs {education-meeting-reminder-212}, apply the 'Booked Education Meeting' tag. Send the notifications to user's email. Don't need to tell user the reason the tool failed if it did.

Step 3: Save

Click Save in your System Prompt settings.

Part 6: Test Your Setup

Step 1: Send a Test Message

Go to your Inbox and send a test message to your AI, such as: "I want to book tomorrow 9 AM appointment"

Step 2: Watch the AI Work

The AI will:

• Check your Google Calendar for availability at 9 AM tomorrow.
• If that time is busy, tell you when it's busy until and suggest alternative times. Example: "The 9 AM slot tomorrow is busy from 10 AM to 10:30 AM. You can book at 10:30 AM instead."
• If available, proceed to book.

Step 3: Continue the Conversation

If you accept an alternative time (e.g., "10:30 AM"):

• The AI will ask for your email address (to send the calendar invitation).
• Provide your email.
• The AI will ask you to confirm the booking.
• Type "confirm".

Step 4: Verify the Booking

After confirmation, check three places:

• Your email: you should receive a calendar invitation.
• Google Calendar: the appointment should appear with the correct date and time, the lead's details (name, email, WhatsApp number), and a Google Meet link if it's an online meeting.
• ABC Salesbot: click the customer's profile in your inbox. The Appointment Time custom field should show the date and time, the Meeting Link custom field should show the Google Meet link (online meetings only), the customer should be tagged with your tag (e.g., Book Education Meeting), and the customer should be subscribed to your automation.

Part 7: Set Up Reminder Messages

Step 1: Create Template Messages

Go to Automations and add template messages to your reminder automation. Example template:

Hi variable_1 name,

Your appointment is confirmed!

Date & Time: variable_2

Meeting Link: variable_3

See you there!

Note: if you're doing physical meetings, don't include the meeting_link variable. Just use appointment_time and add the address manually.

Step 2: Configure Automation Timing

Set when to send reminders:

• 1 day before the appointment
• 1 hour before the appointment
• Immediately after booking (confirmation message)

Quick Settings Checklist

• Tool Name: clear and specific (e.g., Do Education Meeting Booking)
• Calendar: use the calendar with the same email you connected
• Timezone: match your business location
• Work Schedule: set accurate business hours
• Look Ahead Days: 30 days is a good default
• Default Duration: in minutes (120 = 2 hours)
• Minimum Advance Notice: 3 to 5 hours recommended
• Maximum Advance Notice: 240 hours (10 days) or 336 hours (14 days) recommended
• Create meeting link: ON for online, OFF for physical
• Calendar invitations: always ON

Important Reminders

• Time units: duration is in minutes (e.g., 120 for 2 hours), advance notices are in hours (e.g., 168 for 7 days), and look ahead is in days (e.g., 30 for one month).
• Consistency: your System Prompt settings (title, location, duration) must match your AI Tool settings exactly.
• The two-tool combo: Appointment Booking handles the calendar; Appointment Scheduler handles automations and tags. Both are needed for a complete workflow.
• Test before going live: always send test bookings to verify everything works.
• Smart scheduling: the AI won't just say "not available". It checks your calendar and suggests alternative times.
• Customer details: all customer information (name, email, phone) automatically appears in the Google Calendar event.
• Automation power: use the scheduler to automatically send confirmation messages, reminders 24 hours before, and reminders 1 hour before.

Frequently Asked Questions

Next Steps

Now that you understand the Google Calendar Booking feature, set it up:

1. Connect Google Calendar: go to AI Tools, Add Tool, Appointment Booking, then Manage Google Calendar Connections.
2. Configure the Appointment Booking tool with your business hours, timezone, and meeting settings.
3. Create the Appointment Scheduler tool to handle automations and tags.
4. Update your System Prompt with both tool instructions.
5. Create a reminder automation and link it with the Automation ID.
6. Test it thoroughly: send test bookings at different times to make sure everything works.
7. Set up reminder messages using the appointment_time and meeting_link variables.

If you're currently checking Google Calendar manually, this feature will save you countless hours and dramatically increase your booking conversion rates.