Appointment booking directly in the conversation: The calendar integration of Safina AI

Requirements: What You Need for Direct Appointment Booking

Before you start, make sure you meet the following requirements.

Support for additional calendar providers is planned for the future.

Safina as Your Fully Automated Appointment Scheduler

Do you know this? A call, an appointment request – and the juggling begins. Opening calendars, matching times, writing a confirmation, hoping that the customer also enters the appointment in their calendar. This process takes time and is prone to errors.

Until now, Safina AI could make this task easier for you by sending a booking link via SMS. Now we are taking a significant step forward.

Alternative Method: Would you prefer to give callers the freedom to choose in your external booking tool (e.g., Calendly)? In our article How to Link Your Appointment Booking Link in Safina, you will learn everything about this method.

With the new direct calendar integration, your Safina assistant becomes a fully automated appointment scheduler. It checks your availability in real-time, books appointments directly into your calendar, and even ensures that your caller receives an official calendar invitation. No manual entries, no media breaks, no hassle – just pure efficiency.

In this guide, we will show you how to set up this feature.

How to Set Up Direct Appointment Booking

The configuration is done in a few minutes. Our guide will lead you through the menus that you will also see in the screenshots.

Step 1: Find Appointment Booking and Choose a Method

First, you need to find the right setting in the app.

1. Open the Safina App and navigate to the Safina AI tab.

   

   
   

2. Under "Advanced Organization", you will find the menu item Appointment Booking.

   

   
   

3. Activate the switch "Enable Appointment Booking" at the top.

4. Now select the option "Book Appointment Directly in Conversation" under "Booking Method".

Step 2: Connect and Synchronize Calendar

Now we will connect Safina to your calendar so it can check your availability.

1. Tap on "Add Calendar" in the setup menu.

   

   
   

2. On the "Sync Calendar" page, you will initially see an empty list. Tap on the plus sign (+) to add a new calendar.

   

   
   
   

3. Now select your provider (Google or Microsoft) and follow the authentication process.

   

Important Privacy Notice: As it is also indicated in the app, it always applies: "To protect your privacy, Safina only receives availability and no appointment details." Safina only sees "free" or "booked" time slots, but never what is in your appointments.

Step 3: Set Availability and Appointment Duration

Now you will set the framework conditions so that Safina knows when and for how long it can book appointments.

• Availability: Tap on this menu item and specify the general time slots in which you are available for appointments (e.g., Monday – Friday, 09:00 – 17:00).

• Appointment Duration: Here, set a standard duration for an appointment booked by Safina (e.g., 30 or 60 minutes).

Step 4 (Optional): Set the Target Calendar

This step is only relevant if you have more than one calendar connected to Safina.

• Case 1: You have only one calendar connected. Perfect, Safina automatically uses this as the target for new bookings. You don’t have to do anything else.

  

  
  

• Case 2: You have multiple calendars connected. You must inform Safina which calendar to enter new appointments into. To do this, tap on the menu item "Target Calendar for Bookings" and select the desired calendar from the list. Safina will continue to check all connected calendars for free times but will only create the new appointment in this target calendar.

The Appointment Booking from the Caller’s Perspective: From Request to Calendar Entry

After setup, the feature works in the background to make the entire booking process as smooth as possible for your callers. The process for the caller is divided into three phases.

How does it actually work?
If you want to dive deeper into how our AI recognizes an appointment request, we recommend our article: How Safina Recognizes an Appointment Request in Conversation?

Step 1: The Interactive Appointment Finding in Conversation

Safina conducts a natural dialogue to find a suitable appointment. Instead of suggesting just one single slot, it can respond to requests and intelligently offer available times.

Caller: "Good day, I would like to arrange a consultation appointment."
Safina: "Very well. Do you have a particular day in mind?"
Caller: "Yes, preferably next Tuesday."
Safina: (Checks availability for Tuesday in the background) "On Tuesday, I have available slots at 10:00, 11:30, or in the afternoon at 15:00. Which would work best for you?"
Caller: "15:00 is perfect."
Safina: "Excellent. I have just booked the appointment for you on next Tuesday at 15:00. I will now send you a confirmation of the appointment via SMS."

Step 2: Sending the Confirmation SMS

To deliver the confirmation, Safina checks the available phone number and specifically asks:

• For recognized mobile numbers: "Shall I send the confirmation to the number you are calling from?"

• For landline or withheld numbers: "To which mobile number may I send you an SMS with the confirmation link?"

After the response, the SMS is sent.

Step 3: The Guided Process to Calendar Entry

The caller is guided through a simple, browser-based process to finalize the appointment:

1. Clicking the link in the SMS opens a webpage.

2. This page summarizes the appointment details (reason, date, time) clearly.

3. The caller enters their email address in the designated field and clicks on "Receive Calendar Invitation".

4. Then, they receive a standardized calendar invitation by email. They can accept it as usual, thereby saving the appointment firmly in their own calendar.

Conclusion

The direct calendar integration transforms Safina AI from an intelligent assistant into a proactive team member. You save valuable time, eliminate organizational effort, and provide your callers with impressively professional and seamless service.