Boomerang brings in-email meeting scheduler to enterprise users

Quickly scheduling a meeting is one of those tasks that can be a huge challenge for businesses, large and small, and might benefit from a dedicated, streamlined tool. That’s why Boomerang, the team behind some of the leading individual email productivity tools is stepping into the enterprise meeting scheduling arena.

On Thursday, the company announced the launch of its new in-email meeting scheduler for enterprise users. This interactive graphical calendar appears in the body of emails, and offers a user-friendly and efficient way to manage schedules without forcing the email recipient to leave their mail client. 

“This is our patented live image technology. The reason it feels like this is suddenly possible is because nobody has done it before. It’s not an HTML component in the email. We are using a combination of an image map and real-time dynamic image generation that works with our server-side to live update from users’ calendars without leaving the email,” explained Aye Moah, CEO of Boomerang in an email to VentureBeat.

Founded in 2010, Boomerang has focused on building time management tools that automated some of the mundane processes behind effective email marketing. Its software is also SOC2 Type 2 certified and GDPR compliant, so its users proprietary information is secure and privacy maintained.

Automated actions for smoother communications

One notable aspect of the new calendar meeting scheduler is its integration with automated components. The Magic Live Calendar automatically updates in real-time, ensuring that the availability of team members remains in sync. This feature is particularly useful for large teams, as it eliminates the need for managers to manually allocate meeting times among team members.

The significance of these productivity tools lies not only in their novel approach but also in their potential for various other functionalities. Boomerang is already working on additional features, though it did not share specifics. However, the company said further enhancements are coming 

Right now though, the new tool is available for Google Workspace for senders (any email client can receive the invites and use the calendar tool). Support for Outlook sending is slated to be released later this year.

Moreover, Boomerang has a forward-thinking approach toward the implementation of artificial intelligence (AI) in its products. The company has previously launched AI-powered features, such as a tone-checking writing assistant called Respondable. However, in the context of meeting scheduling, Boomerang believes that the solution lies in striking a balance between human interaction and AI automation.

“But when we looked at the inherent issues with meeting scheduling, the power dynamics, who shoulders the burden, we realized that these are fundamentally human problems,” the Boomerang representative said. “So the solution isn’t to remove humanity from the process, it is to make the process itself more human while still taking advantage of technology to do the tedious parts.”

Automation needs the human element to be successful

While some may envision a future where AI assistants interact with other AI bots to fill calendars automatically, Boomerang’s vision focuses on infusing humanity into productivity tools while optimizing workflow efficiency for all users.

The company’s work to understand users’ needs is evident in its research endeavors. Boomerang has previously conducted studies to identify effective email writing practices, which culminated in the development of the Respondable AI assistant. Building on this success, Boomerang recently published research based on millions of proposed meeting times. The insights gained from this study are set to be incorporated into an upcoming AI assistant specifically tailored for meeting scheduling.

As Boomerang’s graphical calendar meeting scheduler rolls out, enterprises can expect a boost in productivity and smoother collaboration within their teams. By streamlining the meeting scheduling process and keeping calendars up-to-date in real time, teams can focus on their core tasks and objectives. The integration of AI advances in Boomerang’s tools leverages the latest technologies while preserving the essence of human interaction. Through this approach, Boomerang seeks to make work more manageable and meaningful.

“After all, when you’re asking someone to meet with you, you are asking them for the most irreplaceable, most human currency that they have, their time,” said Moah. “So we built our meeting scheduling tools with person-to-person connectivity and respect for the other person’s humanity at their core while still automating away the inefficiencies of the manual process.”