Calendly Upgrades Browser Extension to Expand Beyond Meeting Scheduling

Calendly Revamps Browser Extension to Enhance Scheduling and Meeting Management

Calendly, the popular appointment scheduling service, has unveiled a redesigned browser extension aimed at streamlining schedule management and accelerating the booking process. The updated extension, compatible with Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and Outlook, introduces a range of new features to improve user experience and efficiency.

Centralized Meeting Management

The revamped extension boasts a dedicated ‘Meetings’ tab, serving as a centralized hub for managing your Calendly-booked meetings. From this tab, you can effortlessly join, cancel, or reschedule your appointments. While currently limited to Calendly-generated meetings, the company is open to expanding the extension’s capabilities based on user feedback.

Personalized Contact Insights

Calendly has also introduced a ‘Contacts’ tab, providing users with a comprehensive overview of their upcoming meetings and the attendees involved. This feature offers valuable insights into your meeting history with each contact, enabling more personalized interactions and follow-ups.

Image Credits: Calendly

Flexible Scheduling Options

The extension empowers users to share links for various meeting types, such as longer or shorter sessions, and even instantly schedule follow-up calls with attendees directly from the current meeting. This flexibility ensures seamless communication and efficient time management.

Expanding Calendly’s Feature Set

In addition to the browser extension enhancements, Calendly is broadening its overall functionality. Users can now book multiple meetings within the same time slot and prioritize one meeting over another. While manual prioritization is currently required, the company is exploring the integration of intelligent suggestions to streamline this process.

Collaborative Team Scheduling

Calendly is also rolling out a new feature designed for sales and marketing teams, enabling team members to book calls on behalf of their colleagues. To utilize this functionality, teammates must grant the group permission to modify their calendars.

Image Credits: Calendly

By combining the enhanced browser extension with integrations to popular tools like Gmail and LinkedIn, Calendly aims to minimize the time users spend navigating between different websites and applications, streamlining their workflow and boosting productivity.

Evolving Beyond Scheduling

Stephen Hsu, Calendly’s chief product officer, shared insights into the company’s vision during an interview with The Zero Byte. Calendly’s goal is to transcend its role as a scheduling tool and become an indispensable companion throughout the entire meeting lifecycle. The company plans to focus on assisting users in meeting preparation, providing valuable insights during and after meetings, and even venturing into the realm of meeting transcription.

“We have customers who use tools like Otter or Zoom Assistant, but they are not necessarily easily integrated, and [are] managed separately.”

Hsu emphasized Calendly’s ambition to leverage its integrations with platforms like Salesforce and LinkedIn to provide users with comprehensive information about attendees and meeting agendas. By harnessing knowledge from historical meetings and action items, Calendly aims to enhance the user experience and facilitate more productive interactions.

Currently, note-taking functionality is accessible through Calendly’s web app. However, the company plans to integrate this feature into the browser extension for more convenient access.

Embracing AI for Smarter Meeting Tools

As various meeting-related tools, from industry giants like Zoom to innovative startups like Limitless (formerly Rewind AI), harness the power of artificial intelligence to extract valuable insights from meeting data, Calendly recognizes the immense potential of AI in enhancing its product offerings.

“If we have a world where we can create a model that allows the user to tap into any type of information across that entire meeting lifecycle from anywhere, whether it’s in Slack or a new conversational interface in Calendly, that’ll be super powerful.”

Hsu expressed Calendly’s commitment to developing an AI-driven model that can seamlessly integrate meeting data with knowledge from CRM systems, providing users with a comprehensive view of their meetings and enabling them to access this information effortlessly across various platforms and interfaces.

As Calendly continues to innovate and expand its features, it is well-positioned to revolutionize the way individuals and teams manage their meetings, fostering more efficient collaboration and productive interactions in the digital age.