🧭 Access your appointment settings

From there, you can connect your calendar and customize your scheduling preferences.

✅ What your AI Receptionist can do

When a caller or texter requests a meeting, your AI Receptionist will:

Ask for the reason for the meeting, preferred time, and email address.
Check your calendar availability in real time.
Book the meeting automatically or suggest an alternative slot.
Add the confirmed event to:
- Your Google or Outlook Calendar
- The Beside Inbox conversation and call summary
Once booked:
- The caller receives a confirmation text from your Beside number.
- If an email was provided, a confirmation email is also sent.
- The booking appears instantly in your calendar, often while the call is still active.

Beside currently supports Google Calendar and Outlook Calendar.

To enable calendar scheduling:

Tap Connect Calendar.
Choose your provider (Google or Outlook).
Complete the secure sign-in flow to grant permission.
Set your:
- Preferred scheduling hours
- Destination calendar (where new events are created)

Once connected, your AI Receptionist can book directly into your linked calendar.

If your AI Receptionist handles a call that includes a scheduling request, it will:

Ask the caller for the purpose of the meeting, their email, and a preferred time
Check your availability using your selected calendar and hours
Book the event (or suggest another time if needed)
Add it to your calendar and Beside Inbox thread

Once a booking is made:

The caller receives a confirmation text from your Beside number - if booking confirmation texts are enabled.
A confirmation email is also sent - if the caller's email was successfully captured
The booking is confirmed in real time, often while the call is still ongoing
If you cancel the event later, a cancellation text is automatically sent from your number to notify the caller

👉 You can cancel any appointment at any time from the conversation view.

Example flow:

Caller: “Can I schedule a consultation for tomorrow afternoon?”
Your AI Receptionist: “Sure! What time works best for you?”
It checks your calendar and confirms:
“You’re available at 3 PM, I’ve added the meeting to your schedule.”
Both you and the caller receive confirmation instantly.

On iOS: you can choose a default meeting duration between: 15 minutes and 3 hours This duration will apply to all meetings booked by your AI Receptionist.
On Android: appointment duration is currently fixed at 30 minutes.

On iOS, you can choose whether callers receive a confirmation text message when an appointment is booked.

To enable or disable this:

Go to Settings → Your phone number (if multiple phone numbers) → AI Receptionist → Book Appointments
Toggle Send confirmation text

When enabled, callers receive a confirmation SMS from your Beside number after a meeting is scheduled.

Works only for AI-handled calls and messages, not direct live calls.
iCal is not supported - you’ll need a Google or Outlook account
Bookings will only happen during your Preferred hours
You can update or disconnect your calendar anytime in Settings → Your phone number → AI Receptionist → Book Appointments
⏱️ Minimum advance notice (buffer before booking). To give you enough time to prepare for upcoming appointments, Beside applies a minimum advance notice before a meeting can be booked by your AI Receptionist.
What this means:
- Appointments cannot be booked immediately.
- There is currently a minimum buffer of up to 4h between the booking request and the meeting start time.
- If a caller requests a meeting sooner than this buffer allows, the AI Receptionist will automatically suggest the next available time that meets this requirement.
The buffer duration is not customizable yet. We’re actively working on improvements to calendar scheduling, including the ability to customize the advance notice, coming in future updates.

Beside automatically follows the timezone of your phone, not the timezone of your calendar app or email account.

If appointments appear with the wrong time:

Check your phone’s timezone: Go to your device settings and make sure the timezone matches the one you want the AI Receptionist to use.
Restart Beside: Sometimes the timezone doesn’t refresh instantly. Closing and reopening the app forces a quick update.
If it still doesn’t update: Delete and reinstall the Beside app, this forces a fresh timezone detection.

💁 Important: There is no timezone setting inside Beside. Adjusting the timezone in your phone is the only way to update appointment scheduling.