Gmail’s AI Finds Your Perfect Meeting Time
▼ Summary
– Google is launching a “Help me schedule” feature powered by Gemini AI that suggests meeting times based on your calendar and email context.
– The feature automatically appears in emails when Gemini detects scheduling intent and allows users to insert suggested time slots directly.
– Users can edit the suggested times and add more slots, and when a recipient selects a time, Google automatically creates a calendar invite for both parties.
– This is part of Google’s recent AI features for Gmail, which already include email summarization and an “Add to Calendar” button for event-related messages.
– The feature currently supports only two-person meetings and is rolling out to Workspace customers and Google AI Pro/Ultra subscribers.
Scheduling meetings just became significantly less of a chore, thanks to a new artificial intelligence feature within Gmail. Google’s latest innovation, called “Help me schedule,” leverages the power of Gemini AI to automatically propose available time slots directly within your email composition window. This smart tool analyzes your Google Calendar alongside the specific details of your message to generate relevant suggestions you can insert with a single click.
The feature activates automatically. As you type an email that mentions arranging a meeting, the “Help me schedule” button will appear. Selecting it reveals a list of your open time slots, which you can then instantly add to your draft. For instance, if a colleague emails requesting a 30-minute meeting next week, the AI will intelligently scan your calendar for available 30-minute blocks during that period and present those options.
You retain full control over the suggestions. The interface allows you to modify the proposed times or include additional slots to offer more flexibility. Once the recipient receives your email and chooses a time, the system works its magic in the background. Google Calendar will automatically create and send an invitation, seamlessly adding the event to both of your calendars without any further action required.
This new functionality is part of a broader suite of AI enhancements recently introduced to Gmail. The platform can already provide concise summaries of long email threads and surface an “Add to Calendar” prompt when it identifies messages concerning future events. It’s important to note that the “Help me schedule” capability is currently designed for one-on-one scheduling and does not yet support coordinating meetings for larger groups. The rollout is presently available for Google Workspace customers, alongside subscribers to the Google AI Pro and AI Ultra service tiers.
(Source: The Verge)
