How to Send Meeting Reminders from Google Calendar to Slack with Zapier

Dashboard > Create Zap > Trigger

Create new Zapier automation

Start building the Zap that will monitor your Google Calendar and send Slack reminders. You'll set up a time-based trigger that checks for upcoming meetings.

1. 1Go to zapier.com/app/zaps and click 'Create Zap'
2. 2Click the trigger box and search for 'Schedule by Zapier'
3. 3Select 'Every X Minutes' as your trigger event
4. 4Set the interval to 1 minute for accurate timing

Zap Steps > + > Google Calendar > Find Event

Add Google Calendar search step

Configure Zapier to find events starting in the next 15 minutes from your Google Calendar. This creates the list of meetings that need reminders.

1. 1Click the + button to add an action step
2. 2Search for and select 'Google Calendar'
3. 3Choose 'Find Event' as the action
4. 4Connect your Google Calendar account when prompted

Google Calendar Action > Event Search Fields

Configure event search parameters

Set up the search to only find events starting exactly 15 minutes from now. This prevents sending duplicate reminders or missing time-sensitive meetings.

1. 1Set 'Calendar' to your main work calendar
2. 2Set 'Start Time After' to 'now + 15 minutes' using the formatter
3. 3Set 'Start Time Before' to 'now + 16 minutes' using the formatter
4. 4Leave other fields blank to find all event types

Zap Steps > + > Filter > Event Conditions

Add filter to check for events

Prevent the Zap from continuing when no meetings are found. This filter stops unnecessary Slack messages and reduces your task usage.

1. 1Click + to add another step
2. 2Select 'Filter by Zapier' from the built-in apps
3. 3Set condition to 'Event ID exists'
4. 4Choose 'Continue only if' from the dropdown

Zap Steps > + > Slack > Send Channel Message

Add Slack action

Configure Zapier to send the reminder message to your chosen Slack channel. You'll map the meeting details from Google Calendar into the Slack message format.

1. 1Click + to add the final action step
2. 2Search for and select 'Slack'
3. 3Choose 'Send Channel Message' as the action
4. 4Connect your Slack workspace when prompted

Slack Action > Channel Selection

Choose target channel

Select which Slack channel receives the meeting reminders. Most teams use a general channel or dedicated meeting channel for visibility.

1. 1Click the 'Channel' dropdown
2. 2Select your target channel from the list
3. 3If the channel doesn't appear, type # followed by the channel name
4. 4Verify the channel name matches exactly

Slack Action > Message Text Field

Build the reminder message

Create a formatted Slack message that includes all essential meeting information. Use Google Calendar data fields to populate meeting title, time, link, and attendee list.

1. 1Click in the 'Message Text' field
2. 2Type 'Meeting starting in 15 minutes:' as the header
3. 3Add the Event Summary field from Google Calendar data
4. 4Insert the Hangouts Link or Location field for meeting access
5. 5Add the Attendees field to show who's invited

📬 New entry: {{1.name}}
Email: {{1.email}}
Details: {{1.description}}

Formatter > Text > Replace > Email Transformation

Format attendee list

Clean up the attendee display so it's readable in Slack. Google Calendar returns email addresses, but you want just the names for a cleaner reminder.

1. 1Click the + icon next to Message Text
2. 2Select 'Formatter by Zapier' from the list
3. 3Choose 'Text' then 'Replace' as the transformation
4. 4Set 'Input' to the Attendees field from Google Calendar
5. 5Set 'Find' to '@.*' and 'Replace' to '' to remove email domains

Slack Action > Message Text > Field Replacement

Update Slack message with clean names

Replace the raw attendee field in your Slack message with the formatted version that removes email domains for better readability.

1. 1Go back to your Slack action step
2. 2Click in the Message Text field where you added Attendees
3. 3Delete the original Attendees field reference
4. 4Insert the Output from your Formatter step instead

📬 New entry: {{1.name}}
Email: {{1.email}}
Details: {{1.description}}

Drop this into a Zapier Code step.

{{attendees__email | replace: '@.*', '' | join: ', '}}

{{attendees__email | replace: '@.*', '' | join: ', '}}

Each Zap Step > Test Step Button

Test the automation

Run a test to verify your Zap finds upcoming meetings and sends properly formatted Slack messages. This catches any field mapping or timing issues before going live.

1. 1Click 'Test step' on each action in sequence
2. 2Verify the Google Calendar step finds a real upcoming meeting
3. 3Check that the Slack message includes title, time, link, and clean attendee names
4. 4Send a test message to confirm Slack formatting looks correct

Zap Editor > Publish > Turn On

Enable the automation

Turn on your Zap to start sending automatic meeting reminders. Monitor the first few runs to ensure timing and formatting work correctly in production.

1. 1Click 'Publish Zap' in the top right corner
2. 2Toggle the Zap status to 'On'
3. 3Name your Zap something like 'Meeting Reminders to Slack'
4. 4Click 'Turn on Zap' to confirm activation