Google is making it easier to reschedule meetings in Calendar

Google is making it easier to reschedule meetings on Calendar — and avoid all that unnecessary Slack chatter — with a new feature that lets participants propose alternative times from within the app itself. The organizer of the meeting is then given the option to review and accept the new time or reject it. All attendees’ availability windows, if their calendars are shared with co-workers, will also now be displayed in a side-by-side view, so it’s easier to propose times that work with everyone’s schedules.

Normally, most meeting time reshuffling has to be done in person, or over email or company chat apps. Google is hoping to cut down on those annoying conversations by helping users automate subtle office interactions right from within G Suite apps.

“This allows for richer communication between attendees, reduces time spent on meeting practicalities, and makes meetings more productive with key stakeholders in attendance,” reads the company’s blog post. Part of this new Calendar feature will also let users add an optional message to the proposal, to give some context around the rescheduling.

The feature won’t be live on mobile until August 13th, but it should be available for all web users of Google Calendar starting today. The rescheduling feature should also work across domains and with Microsoft Exchange, the company notes.