What conferencing app are you trying to use?

Google Meet has this action available via Zapier:

Yes, this is feasible, for example with Zoom...

Zap

1. Trigger: GCal - New Event Matching Search
2. Action: Zoom - Create Meeting
3. Action: GCal - Update Event

Also many scheduling apps will do this automatically, such as Calendly and Acuity Scheduling.

Thanks for the reply. My specific problem:

When an ad hoc meeting is created by Calendly it’s not possible to have it auto-create a Google Meet (or Zoom) link. See this Calendly thread.

I don’t want to create a new Event or Google Meet or Zoom meeting (which would duplicate the Google Event that triggers the Zap); I want to update the Google Event that was created (by Calendly) to include conferencing.

I can set up a Zap trigger based on a new Calendar event, filter to only include those organized by me that contain the word “Calendly” but am at a loss for how to update the Event that triggered the Zap to add conferencing. It appears that the list of actions available for Update Event are not the same as those for Create Detailed Event.

Article: https://help.calendly.com/hc/en-us/articles/226766447-Specify-a-meeting-location

Via Calendly you can let the user choose the Meeting Location.

Via Calendly you can let the user choose the Meeting Location:

Please refer to the thread I linked to above (here again).

It’s not possible to let attendees select a Meeting Location when creating an ad hoc meeting. The official comment in the Calendly thread post is inaccurate (Google does not append a Google Meet link to each new calendar invitation created, as noted by several others on that thread).

Hence, trying to figure out if this is feasible with Zapier.

Hi @dmcgovern!

Since the Update Event action does not include the Include Conferencing? option, would you be able to use a Zap to do the whole process? So instead of having Calendly create the event then try to update it via Zapier, you’d have the Zap create the detailed event and then you can choose the option to include conferencing.

Another option would be what Troy alluded to above, where you can create a Google Meet meeting, then update the description of the Google Calendar event with the information. You’d want to make sure to not overwrite what’s already in there, so in the Update Event step you could map the existing Description from the Google Calendar trigger that kicked off the Zap. 

You can read more about the concept of appending to a field instead of overwriting it here:

Hope that helps!

Thanks for the reply @nicksimard.

I’m not really sure what you mean by having Zapier “do the whole process.” The whole point of using Calendly is to easily share a link of times I’m available to meet. How would I set this up with Zapier if Calendly wasn’t involved? Am I missing something?

Re: appending a meeting link - I think Troy was suggesting do this via Calendly, which isn’t possible when scheduling ad hoc (screenshots are from a whole different way of scheduling). I think you are suggesting create a Google Meet via Zapier, then append the meeting link to the Calendar invite? The problem here is that creating a Google Meet meeting in the Zap will auto-create a calendar event as well, and I’ll have a duplicate event.

Let’s say you’re trying to save money by not eating out, and you’ve decided one way to do that is to plan your meals for the week. You can create a separate calendar called “Meals” where you specify what you’ve planned for dinner each day.

Here’s how to create a new calendar:

• Next to “Other calendars” on the left, select the plus sign
• Click on “Create new calendar”
• Type in the name of your new calendar and add a description (if you want to). Make sure the time zone is correct.
• Click on “Create calendar”

Your new calendar will now be active, and you’ll find it in the “My calendars” category. If you want to change the assigned color, hover your cursor over the calendar name, click on the three-dot Options menu, and choose a color.

Hey @dmcgovern!

Just checking in. Where did you end up with all of this? Did any of the provided information help? Let us know!