Google Calendar just added a new feature where individuals can visit a page and find a time in your calendar that works for both of you, minimizing the hassle in scheduling meetings.
At its core, this is exactly the feature offered by Calendly – a tool for people to easily book meetings with you without the back and forth. How does Google’s new feature bode for Calendly?
At first glance, it might seem like a competition, but Calendly has focused on doing one thing well, and as a result offers a wealth of features that expand on Google’s more basically functionality. As a paying Calendly customer, I have access to advanced logic flows, reminders, and even the ability to bill clients in advance of a meeting.
I believe that Calendly will continue to attract loyal users who enjoy the simplicity and power that their platform offers.
At the same time, Google doesn’t need to compete head on with Calendly. This feature is being offered as part of a suite of tools they offer as part of their workspace package. This is a new strategy for Google – directly offering paid add-ons that are presented as upsells to free users. (They’ve been employing a similar strategy within their Android Photo Editing app, trying to drive subscriptions to Google One)
So for Google, their scheduling tool just needs to be good enough. For Calendly, it needs to be excellent – which it already is.
