How Workmate Decides When to Schedule

Last updated: March 16, 2026

When coordinating a meeting, Workmate evaluates several signals to determine the best available time.

Rather than relying on a single rule, the assistant combines information from your email, your calendar availability, and the scheduling settings you have configured.

The goal is to identify time slots that both match your request and respect your scheduling preferences.

Factors Workmate Considers

When choosing possible meeting times, Workmate evaluates the following factors:

1. Instructions in Your Email

Workmate first analyzes the request written in the email.

For example:

  • “Next Tuesday afternoon”

  • “Sometime later this week”

  • “Early next month”

These instructions act as the primary constraint that defines the general timeframe for scheduling.

2. Calendar Availability

Workmate checks the connected calendars marked as Busy Calendars to determine when you are free.

It will not propose time slots when you are marked as:

  • Busy

  • Tentative

  • Out of office

This ensures suggested times reflect your real availability.

3. Work Hours and Schedule Settings

Your configured Work Hours, Exceptions, and Preferred Meeting Times define when meetings are generally allowed to occur.

For example, Workmate will respect:

  • Your defined workday (e.g., 9am–6pm)

  • Travel or out-of-office exceptions

  • Time windows you prefer for meetings

These settings act as guardrails for scheduling.

4. Meeting Types and Code Words

If the email contains a code word linked to a Meeting Type, Workmate applies that meeting type’s settings instead of the default ones.

This may affect:

  • Meeting duration

  • Preferred location

  • Scheduling lead time

  • When the meeting can occur

For example, mentioning “dinner” might trigger a meeting type configured for evening meetings.

5. Scheduling Preferences

Workmate also evaluates any Scheduling Preferences you have configured.

These preferences act as behavioral rules that guide how meetings are placed in your calendar.

Examples include:

  • Group meetings back-to-back

  • Avoid late evening meetings

  • Prioritize certain participants

  • Add buffers between meetings

How These Rules Work Together

Workmate combines all of these inputs to identify the most appropriate time slots.

In general, the decision flow looks like this:

  1. Interpret the timeframe requested in the email

  2. Check calendar availability

  3. Apply work hours and schedule settings

  4. Apply any meeting type or code word rules

  5. Refine options using scheduling preferences

The result is a set of meeting times that respect both the request and your configured scheduling behavior.