When you connect Google Calendar, the AI does two things differently:
- Reads free/busy data from every connected provider in real time before offering a slot.
- Writes confirmed appointments straight onto the right provider's calendar with the patient's name, phone, service type, and notes.
This eliminates double-bookings and means front-desk staff see new bookings appear in their normal calendar app instantly.
Connect a calendar
- Open Settings → Integrations → Google Calendar.
- Click Connect Google account.
- Sign in and pick the calendars you want to expose. Check the box for each provider's calendar — typically one per provider, plus any shared resource calendars (e.g., "Operatory 2").
- Click Allow — you'll bounce back to FrontDesk with a green "Connected" badge.
Map calendars to providers
Each provider in Settings → Team → Providers can be linked to one Google Calendar. The AI uses this mapping to know which calendar to book into when a caller says "I want to see Dr. Lee."
- Open the provider's profile.
- Under Booking calendar, pick the connected Google calendar.
- Set buffer time (default 0 min) if you want gaps between back-to-back appointments.
Two-way sync rules
| Event | What happens |
|---|---|
| AI books an appointment | Pushed to Google Calendar with patient name, phone, service, and call summary as the event description |
| Patient cancels via SMS | Event deleted from Google Calendar |
| Patient reschedules via SMS | Original event deleted, new event created |
| Staff edits or moves the event in Google | FrontDesk picks up the change within 60 seconds (via push notification + polling fallback) |
| Staff deletes the event in Google | FrontDesk marks the booking as cancelled; no patient notification is sent (staff is responsible for notifying) |
Privacy & permissions
- We only access calendars you explicitly select.
- Event titles in Google are configurable. By default they show "[Service] — [Patient first name]" so they're useful at a glance without exposing the full PHI to anyone with calendar access.
- Disconnect anytime from the same settings page. Past bookings remain on your calendar; future syncing stops.
Troubleshooting
- "Calendar not found" errors: the calendar was deleted or its sharing settings changed. Reconnect from settings.
- Events appear twice: usually caused by an existing Zapier or Make.com sync also creating events. Disable the other automation.
- Appointments not appearing for one provider: check the provider's "Booking calendar" mapping isn't empty.