Gmail now lets you find convenient 1:1 meeting times much quicker

Gif Credit: Google Workspace Updates Blog

Gmail is getting a new feature that lets users find convenient 1:1 meeting times with others much quicker. By reducing the back-and-forth in lengthy email threads when negotiating or scheduling meeting times, the new feature makes scheduling much easier and faster.

According to Google, this feature is especially useful for scheduling meetings with customers, partners, or colleagues whose Calendars may not be visible to you.

When composing an email, you will now notice a new Calendar icon within Gmail, consolidating all calendar-related actions and making them easily discoverable. With this new functionality, you can use two options to efficiently schedule meetings and seamlessly incorporate event details into their emails.

The first option lets you select and insert proposed meeting times directly from your calendar into the email without needing to leave Gmail. The recipient of the email can then review the suggested times and choose one that suits them best. Selecting a time will automatically generate an email with a calendar invite. This option opens up your calendar on the right.

Google noted that time suggestions can only be made for the user's primary calendar and are limited to 1:1 meetings. In cases where multiple recipients are included in the email, only the first person to book an appointment will be automatically added to the event.

The second option allows you to schedule a meeting and share the event details back in the email. This streamlined approach eliminates the need to navigate through multiple menus and windows. The calendar event creation window will open on the right side of the screen and the recipient list and event title will be pre-filled based on the email. An event summary will automatically be inserted into the email body, making it easy to share the event details.

You can create events on any of the primary or secondary calendars you have managed access to.

Rapid Release domains can expect the new feature's visibility to become available within 15 days, starting on July 11, 2023. Scheduled Release domains, on the other hand, will see a gradual rollout starting on July 31, 2023. It will be available to all Google Workspace customers and users with personal Google Accounts.