# Calendar booking

Turn on booking so the AI chatbot and the AI receptionist book, reschedule and cancel in Google Calendar or Outlook, and set the hours, length and details.

Updated Oct 30, 2026. Source: https://smallbusinesschatbot.com/docs/user-guides/calendar-booking

## What this does

With Google Calendar or an Outlook calendar connected to Small Business Chatbot and booking turned on, the AI chatbot checks your free times during a chat, offers slots, and books, reschedules or cancels appointments in that calendar. With booking turned on for the voice agent, the AI receptionist does the same on phone calls. The settings on this panel apply to both and to your public booking page.

Connecting the calendar, Google Meet and Microsoft Teams links, the public booking page and disconnecting are in [Google Calendar and Outlook](https://smallbusinesschatbot.com/docs/integrations/calendars/google-calendar-and-outlook).

## Turn on booking in chat

1. **Open the panel**

   In the app's sidebar, open **Calendar Booking**, below **Voice Agent**. Until a calendar is connected, the panel shows **Connect Your Calendar**.

2. **Connect your calendar**

   Under **Connect Your Calendar**, click **Connect Calendar** and sign in with your Google or Microsoft account. [Google Calendar and Outlook](https://smallbusinesschatbot.com/docs/integrations/calendars/google-calendar-and-outlook) covers the sign-in. When you finish, the panel shows your booking settings.

3. **Turn on booking in chat**

   Under the booking page card, tick the box beside **Turn on calendar booking for the chat agent.** The label next to it changes to **Active**. This switch saves on its own. Booking in chat starts when this box is ticked.

   ![The chat agent and voice agent calendar booking switches, both ticked and labelled Active](https://smallbusinesschatbot.com/static/images/docs/user-guides/calendar-booking-active-2026-10-30.webp)
   *Calendar Booking, October 2026*

4. **Turn on booking on phone calls**

   In the same card, tick the box beside **Turn on calendar booking for the voice agent.** It works on its own, with or without booking in chat. The box is greyed out until a voice agent is set up under [Voice Agent › Settings](https://smallbusinesschatbot.com/docs/user-guides/voice-agent/number-and-voice). The next call uses it.

5. **Save your settings**

   In the panel's sections, change the settings you need. At the bottom of the panel, click **Save Changes**. The panel shows **Settings saved**.

## Settings

### Meeting Messaging

| Field | What it does | Default |
|---|---|---|
| **Default Meeting Title** | The title of each booked meeting | Empty |
| **Default Meeting Description** | The meeting's description. Left empty, the AI writes one. | Empty |
| **Default Location** | A meeting link or address added to every meeting | Empty |

With Google Calendar connected, the panel also shows **Add Google Meet location**, which adds a new Google Meet link to each meeting. With an Outlook calendar, the button is **Add Microsoft Teams location**. [Add Google Meet or Microsoft Teams links](https://smallbusinesschatbot.com/docs/integrations/calendars/google-calendar-and-outlook#add-google-meet-or-microsoft-teams-links) has the steps.

### Availability Defaults

| Field | What it does | Default |
|---|---|---|
| **Timezone** | The time zone for your hours | America/Toronto |
| **Availability start time** and **Availability end time** | The daily window the chatbot offers times in | 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM |
| **Available Days** | The days the chatbot offers. Pick at least one. | Monday to Friday |
| **Appointment Duration** | 15 to 180 minutes, in 15-minute steps | 30 minutes |
| **Buffer before meetings (minutes)** and **Buffer after meetings (minutes)** | Time blocked around each meeting, 0 to 240 in steps of 5 | 0 |
| **Number of calendar slots the AI will suggest** | How many times the chatbot offers at once | 3 |

The chatbot offers only times inside these hours that are free in your calendar.

### Booking Requirements

| Field | What it does | Default |
|---|---|---|
| **Collect name** | Shows a name field on the booking page. **Require name before booking** makes it required. | On, required |
| **Require email?** | Makes email required on the booking page and in chat | Off |
| **Collect phone** | Shows a phone field and passes the number to the CRM and appointment workflows. **Require phone before booking** makes it required. | Off |
| **Require location?** | The chatbot asks for a meeting location before it confirms. Available when no default location or video link is set. | Off |

> **Tip:** Turn on **Require email?** if you send confirmations or reminders by email. Calendar invitations and workflow emails go to the email address the visitor gives.

### Booking Window

| Field | What it does | Default |
|---|---|---|
| **Minimum booking notice** | The shortest time between now and a meeting's start, in days, hours and minutes | 1 day |
| **Maximum booking horizon (days)** | How far ahead someone can book, 1 to 730 days | 60 |

### Booking Page Appearance

**Button color** and **Outline and link color** set the booking page's buttons and outlines. **Reset colours** returns both to `#006BFF`.

### Workflow Integrations

Four buttons create email workflows as drafts: **Create Booking confirmation**, **Create 24-hour reminder** (24 hours before, 1 hour before and 1 day after), **Create Internal notification** and **Create Cancellation follow-up**. Nothing sends until you publish the draft in [Workflows](https://smallbusinesschatbot.com/docs/user-guides/workflows/your-first-workflow).

### Booking Availability

**Invitee rescheduling and cancellation** turns on or off the secure links that let people who booked reschedule or cancel. It is on by default.

### Disconnect calendar

The last card resets the connection. [Disconnect or switch accounts](https://smallbusinesschatbot.com/docs/integrations/calendars/google-calendar-and-outlook#disconnect-or-switch-accounts) covers what it removes and what it keeps.

## Booking on phone calls

With **Turn on calendar booking for the voice agent.** ticked, the AI receptionist books, reschedules and cancels during the call:

- It checks your calendar for the day or time the caller asks about and offers only free times inside your **Availability Defaults**.
- It reads the day and time back and books once the caller says yes. The appointment carries the caller's name and the number they called from.
- Callers can cancel or reschedule appointments booked with the number they are calling from. The AI receptionist finds them by that number, reads the appointment back and changes it once the caller says yes. It only changes appointments booked with the calling number.
- With **Require email?** on, it offers to text the caller your booking link to finish the booking. If the caller would rather give an email, it takes it on the call and spells it back.
- With **Require location?** on, it asks for the address before it books.
- Phone changes follow the same rules as the reschedule and cancel links: they need **Invitee rescheduling and cancellation** on, and close 24 hours before the appointment, except for an appointment booked earlier in the same call. When a change isn't allowed, it tells the caller it will let your team know.
- When it can't finish, for example the time was just taken or the calendar doesn't answer, it offers to text your booking link and sends it with the caller's OK.

After the call, the summary email and the transcript end with a line for each change, such as "*Appointment booked: Tuesday, November 3 at 2 PM". Phone bookings start your appointment workflows like any other booking, with **Voice agent** as their [booking source](https://smallbusinesschatbot.com/docs/workflows/triggers/appointment-events#booking-source).

Without phone booking, the AI receptionist can still text callers your booking link, as [Greeting and call rules](https://smallbusinesschatbot.com/docs/user-guides/voice-agent/greeting-and-call-rules#allow-voice-agent-to-send-consultation-link) explains.

## If something goes wrong

| What you see | Why | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| **Save Changes** is greyed out | No day is ticked, or a buffer isn't 0 to 240 in steps of 5. | Tick at least one day and fix the buffer. |
| **We could not save changes. Try again.** | The save didn't reach the server. | Click **Save Changes** again. |
| **Unable to update calendar tool settings. Please try again.** | The booking switch didn't save. | Tick the box again. |
| The voice agent box is greyed out with **Set up the voice agent first under Voice Agent, Settings.** | No voice agent is set up yet. | Get a number under [Voice Agent › Settings](https://smallbusinesschatbot.com/docs/user-guides/voice-agent/number-and-voice). |
| **Connect a calendar before turning on phone booking.** | No calendar is connected. | Connect your calendar, then tick the box again. |