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Valid for AI Receptionist (plans from August 31, 2026) and AI Chat Assistant. (Momentum AI)
If you link Google Calendar or Microsoft 365, your assistant will automatically book appointments during the call and add them directly to the linked calendar. This means your customers receive a confirmed appointment while the call is still in progress, without you having to follow up on inquiries manually. To do this, link your provider’s account and then specify in the assistant interface when appointments are available, what types of appointments are possible, and which calendar they should be added to. This feature is available with the AI Chat Assistant and the AI Receptionist. You can find out which products and packages include them under Requirements. The following steps show you how to establish the connection and set up appointment booking.
Requirements
- You must have purchased one of the following products:
- AI Chat Assistant - on its own or in addition to an AI Receptionist contract, regardless of the plan tier.
- AI Receptionist on one of the following packages:
AI Receptionist Flex Pro
AI Receptionist Unlimited
- You have a Google account or a Microsoft 365 account that you wish to use to manage your appointments.
Note
If you are using only AI Receptionist under the AI Receptionist Flex or AI Receptionist S packages, the appointment booking section will not be displayed. It will become available as soon as you add AI Chat Assistant or upgrade to a higher package tier.
Open the assistant’s settings
- Log in to your IONOS account.
- Click on Menu > AI Frontdesk in the title bar.
- In the contract overview, click on Manage in the tile for the contract you want.
- Open the Appointment Booking section. This is where you can configure all the following settings.
Note
These settings form part of your assistant’s general configuration. If you use multiple channels (phone or chat), the settings you specify here apply to all channels. Only the settings in the Language, Voice & Behavior section are channel-specific (see Customizing behavior and language).
Select a booking tool
First, select your booking tool.
Click on the Google Calendar or Microsoft 365 tile.
Note
Only one booking tool can be linked to your assistant at any one time. To switch to a different one, first remove the linked tool.
Link calendars
You can integrate Google Calendar and Microsoft 365 via the respective provider’s login dialog. It is only this one-off connection that differs. You can then set up everything else – opening hours, appointment types, and the mapping of your calendars – in the same way for both providers. Once the connection is established, the calendars from the linked account will automatically appear in the Calendars section. You do not need to add them individually.
Connect Google Calendar
- Click on the Google Calendar tile. The Google sign-in dialog box will open.
- In the Choose an account window, choose the Google account you want to use to manage your appointments. Select Use another account to log in with a different account.
- In the permissions dialog, check which access rights the assistant will have to your Google account, then confirm by clicking Allow. This authorization is required so that the assistant can create and manage events in your calendar. Click Cancel to cancel the connection.
Once you have confirmed, your Google account will be connected.
Connect Microsoft 365
- Click on the Microsoft 365 tile. The Microsoft sign-in dialog box will open.
- In the Pick an account window, select an account you’ve already set up or sign in via Use another account.
- In the Permissions requested dialog, check which access rights the assistant is granted, and confirm by clicking Accept. This authorization is required so that the assistant can create and manage appointments in your calendar. Click Cancel to cancel the connection.
Once you have confirmed, your Microsoft 365 account will be connected.
Set opening hours
Opening hours define the time slot during which appointments can be booked. Your assistant will only book appointments within this time slot. Unless you select a day of the week, the Always closed option will be enabled and your assistant will not book any appointments.
- In the Opening hours section, click Edit opening hours. A configuration window will open.
- Tick the box for each desired day of the week (Monday to Sunday). As soon as a day is selected, time fields for start and end times (default: 09:00–17:00) will appear, which you can adjust. Days that are not selected remain set to Closed.
- Use Add time period to set multiple time slots per day, for example to exclude a lunch break.
- Under Time zone, select the appropriate time zone (for example, London) to ensure that all time details are interpreted correctly.
- Save your opening hours using the button in the window.
Note
When booking appointments using Google Calendar and Microsoft 365, only the time zone set in this window applies. Although there is also a setting with the same name in the Assistant & Language section – if AI Receptionist is enabled, this section is called Language, Voice & Behavior – it does not affect these two booking tools. Among other things, it determines what time your assistant states during a call. Nevertheless, set both to the same time zone to ensure that information given during calls and booked appointments match up.
In the same window, below the time zone, you will find the Exceptions section for special daily arrangements on public holidays or at specific times. Click on Add exception, select a date and either set different opening hours or mark the day as Closed. Existing exceptions are displayed under Upcoming or Past along with their respective counts and can be removed individually.
Creating appointment types and assigning them to calendars
You use appointment types to specify the types of appointments your assistant can book, such as a consultation or a treatment. In the same window, you can specify for each appointment type which calendar it should be booked into.
- In the Appointment Types section, click Add appointment type.
- Enter a descriptive name under Appointment Name.
- In the Appointment Details field, enter relevant information such as prices, services, or the procedure, so that the assistant can answer any queries directly during the conversation.
- Under Duration (minutes), specify the duration of the appointment (default: 30 minutes).
Further appointment settings
You can also use Advanced Settings to control booking availability: the maximum lead time in days (how far in advance bookings can be made), a buffer before and after in minutes (time between appointments), and a minimum lead time in minutes (how close to the appointment a booking can be made).
In the Data to be collected section, you can specify which information the assistant collects during the booking conversation. The customer’s name is always collected. You can add further details such as a telephone number, email address, or custom queries via Add query. For each query, you can use a toggle switch to specify whether it is mandatory. For a custom query, you should also provide a brief instruction on what the assistant should ask.
Assign a calendar
To ensure that a booked appointment is placed in the correct location, select the destination calendar for each appointment type.
- In the appointment type window, open the Calendar drop-down menu and click Select calendar. The list will show the calendars from your linked account, each with its corresponding time zone.
- Select the calendar in which this appointment type is to be entered.
- Save the appointment type by clicking Save.
The new appointment type will then appear in the overview and can be edited at any time.
Manage calendars
In the Calendars section, the linked account appears as a separate entry – showing the provider, account address, and the calendars associated with it. Click Link calendar to link another account from the same provider. Click the bin icon next to the entry to unlink a connected account.
Save changes
To apply your changes, click the Save changes button in the top right-hand corner. As long as you haven’t made any changes, the button will be greyed out and labelled No changes.
If you have already embedded the website widget on your website, your saved changes will be automatically applied there – there is no need to embed it again. It may take a few minutes for the changes to become visible to all visitors.
To test your settings, have a conversation with the assistant. There are two ways to do this:
- Via your website: Open your website and start a conversation via the website widget. If you haven’t integrated the widget yet, first follow the guide Setting up and integrating the website widget.
- Via a test call: If you have subscribed to AI Receptionist, call the assistant directly from the interface – using the green Test Call button in the top right-hand corner. If you have made any changes, the button will say Save & Call and will save your changes at the same time. Test calls are free of charge. You can find further details in the article Making a test call.
During this conversation, ask the assistant to arrange an appointment.
The appointment booking system is now ready for use: As soon as a calendar is linked, opening hours are set, at least one appointment type has been created, and a calendar has been assigned to it, your assistant will know the available slots in your calendar and will book the configured appointment types for your customers during the conversation – via any channel you have set up.
Note on hallucinations
AI systems may occasionally make incorrect or inaccurate statements, known as hallucinations. This means that the AI estimates or interprets answers when no clear information is available.
Please Note:
- The AI cannot always adhere 100% to your specifications.
- You should therefore scrutinize important answers carefully.
- Such deviations are not technical faults, but a typical characteristic of generative AI.