How to Schedule Meetings via Email with AI

What This Workflow Does

Email scheduling wastes hours every week. Someone asks for a meeting. You check your calendar. You propose times. They counter-propose. You check again. Back and forth until a time is finally set.

This workflow eliminates that ping-pong while keeping you in control:

1. Detects scheduling requests in incoming emails
2. Checks your calendar for real availability
3. Considers your preferences (meeting-free days, preferred times, buffer between meetings)
4. Drafts a professional response with available time slots
5. Waits for your approval before sending anything
6. Handles the negotiation through multiple rounds if needed
7. Books the meeting when a time is confirmed

How It Works

Step 1: Recognize the Request

When an email arrives asking to meet, Consul identifies it as a scheduling request. This works for various phrasings:

• "Can we find time to meet next week?"
• "I'd like to schedule a call to discuss..."
• "When are you free for a quick sync?"
• "Let's set up a meeting about the proposal"

Consul understands context. This isn't keyword matching. It recognizes meeting requests even when phrased casually or buried in a longer email.

Step 2: Check Availability

Consul reads your Google Calendar to find open slots. It considers:

• Existing meetings: Won't double-book you
• Timezone: Proposes times that work for both parties
• Duration: Uses appropriate length for the meeting type (default 30 minutes, adjustable)
• Buffer time: Leaves gaps between meetings if you've requested them
• Meeting-free days: Respects any blocked days you've designated

Step 3: Apply Your Preferences

Beyond basic availability, Consul factors in your stated preferences:

• Morning person? Prefer afternoon slots? Consul knows.
• No meetings on Fridays? Honored automatically.
• Always need 15 minutes between calls? Built into slot selection.
• Prefer video calls over phone? Included in the invitation.

These preferences are set once and applied to all scheduling.

Step 4: Draft the Response

Consul composes a professional email with:

• A friendly acknowledgment of the request
• 3-4 available time slots (typically over a few days)
• Clear timezone indication
• Instructions for the recipient to pick a time
• Your meeting link or call-in details if relevant

The draft matches your communication style: formal for business contacts, casual for colleagues you know well.

Step 5: Request Your Approval

Approval Required Before Sending

Nothing sends automatically. You receive the draft showing:

• The exact message that will go out
• The recipient(s)
• The proposed times
• The thread context

You can:

• Approve: Send as written
• Edit: Modify times, adjust wording, add context
• Reject: Cancel this scheduling attempt

Only after your explicit approval does the response send.

Step 6: Handle the Negotiation

If the recipient picks a time, Consul books the meeting. But often there's back-and-forth:

• "Those times don't work, how about Thursday?"
• "Can we do 45 minutes instead of 30?"
• "Actually, let's include Sarah too"

Consul handles these variations. It proposes new times, adjusts duration, adds participants, with each round going through your approval before sending.

The workflow continues until:

• A time is confirmed and the meeting is booked
• You decide to handle it manually
• The negotiation exceeds a reasonable number of rounds (Consul will flag this)

Step 7: Book the Meeting

Once a time is confirmed, Consul:

• Creates the calendar event with all details
• Sends confirmation to all participants
• Adds the meeting link (Google Meet, Zoom, or your preferred platform)
• Includes any context from the email thread in the event description

The meeting appears on everyone's calendar. The loop is closed.

Setting Up This Workflow

What Makes This Different

vs. Scheduling Links (Calendly, etc.)

Scheduling links require recipients to visit a website, browse available times, and book themselves. This works for some situations but:

• Feels impersonal for important contacts
• Puts the work on the other person
• Doesn't work well for complex scheduling
• Some people find them off-putting

Email scheduling through Consul maintains the natural email flow. You're proposing times, they're responding. It just happens without you doing the work.

vs. Manual Scheduling

Manual scheduling means you're checking calendars, composing messages, and tracking threads yourself. It works, but it consumes 30+ minutes per meeting for complex scheduling.

Consul does the same work in the background. You spend 10 seconds approving instead of 10 minutes coordinating.

vs. Autonomous AI Scheduling

Some AI tools schedule meetings without asking. They send emails, book meetings, and hope for the best.

The risk: wrong times, inappropriate tone, misunderstood requests. With Consul, you see everything before it sends. AI mistakes stay private.

Common Scenarios

Multi-Party Scheduling

When the meeting involves multiple people:

1. Consul identifies all participants from the email thread
2. Checks calendars for mutual availability (if accessible)
3. Proposes times that work for everyone
4. Coordinates confirmations from all parties
5. Books once everyone agrees

Rescheduling Existing Meetings

If someone asks to reschedule:

1. Consul recognizes this as a reschedule request
2. Finds the existing meeting on your calendar
3. Proposes new times that work
4. Updates the event once confirmed
5. Notifies all participants

Recurring Meeting Setup

For ongoing meetings (weekly syncs, monthly check-ins):

1. Consul handles the initial scheduling
2. Creates the recurring calendar event
3. Sets the appropriate recurrence pattern
4. Includes all participants in the recurring invite

Tips for Best Results

Be clear about your preferences: The more Consul knows about when and how you like to meet, the better its proposals match your style.

Review the first few carefully: Pay attention to early drafts to calibrate Consul to your voice. Edit when needed. Consul learns from your corrections.

Trust the process: Once you've approved a few scheduling emails, you'll see how consistent and appropriate Consul's drafts are. The approval step becomes quick.

Handle exceptions manually: If a scheduling request is unusual or sensitive, you can always take over. Consul doesn't force automation on every interaction.

Getting Started

Setting up AI-powered scheduling takes about 2 minutes:

1. Create your Consul account
2. Connect Gmail and Google Calendar
3. Set your basic meeting preferences
4. Start scheduling

Your next meeting request will trigger the workflow automatically. Review the draft, approve, and experience scheduling without the overhead.