Sometimes, it"s difficult to get two apps that are very similar to each other to work together. Such is the case for Microsoft Outlook and its calendar feature with Google Calendar. This week, Google announced a change that should make things a little easier for people who prefer to use Outlook.
In a post on the Google Workspace blog, the company revealed a small but still significant change in how Calendar works with Outlook. It stated:
Previously, if a Microsoft Outlook user invited a Google Calendar user to a meeting event, the Outlook user’s display name would not appear at all in the list of meeting attendees on Google Calendar. Starting today, we’re updating this experience so that the Outlook user who organized the meeting is listed amongst the other meeting attendees in Calendar as the meeting organizer.
Again, this is a fairly small change on Google"s side of the equation. However, it"s a big help for Outlook users who want to invite Google Calendar users to online meetings and show they are the person who organized the meeting.
The new feature is slowly rolling out for both Google Workspace customers and anyone who has a personal Google Account. The new Outlook organizer meeting feature should be available to all Google Calendar users in two weeks or so. Admins don"t need to do anything to enable this feature; it will be updated automatically.
This new Microsoft Outlook-Google Calendar feature comes even as Microsoft is preparing to roll out its new Outlook for Windows app to replace the current Mail and Calendar apps for Windows 10 and 11. Microsoft has already indicated it will start the change to the new Outlook Windows app sometime in late August 2023.
Those users will have the option of switching back to the Mail and Calendar apps, if they want. However, Microsoft plans to completely get rid of those apps in favor of the new Outlook for Windows sometime in late 2024.