Google Calendar connector
Your Silux Chat bot verifies customers by their name and the email on their own bookings in Google Calendar, then answers questions about their appointments and bookings from your live data.
What your bot can do with Google Calendar
Appointments and bookings
Reads upcoming and recent appointments or reservations from Google Calendar — date and time, service and status.
Customers ask: “When is my next appointment?” · “Is my booking confirmed?”
Set it up
Most businesses finish in under ten minutes. You need to be able to sign in to Google Calendar as an administrator.
Step 1 — in Google Calendar
Connect with Google (OAuth) and choose the calendar your bookings go into; events are matched by the customer's email as an attendee.
Permissions (scopes) requested — read-only:
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/calendar.events.readonlyLeast access: grant only the read permissions named above. Never use an owner or full-admin key where Google Calendar lets you create a restricted one.
Step 2 — in Silux Chat
- 1Open Dashboard → Integrations → Connectors and search for “Google Calendar”.
- 2Fill in:
Field Example Stored Calendar ID ('primary' or the calendar's email) primary Setting - 3Press Sign in with Google Calendar. The platform makes a real, read-only call to Google Calendar with a made-up customer and shows a tick or a cross for each capability, with Google Calendar’s exact error if something is refused.
- 4If this is your first way of verifying customers it is switched on automatically; otherwise press Use to verify customers. The platform then runs its chained test (verify → code → account → orders → invoices) with the built-in test customer — no real person is contacted.
There is no key to copy. You press “Sign in with Google Calendar”, approve read-only access on Google Calendar’s own page, and are returned to your dashboard. The access token is stored encrypted and refreshed automatically before it expires.
How customer verification works
- STEP 1
Customer asks
They ask about their own account. The bot asks for their full name and the email address they used with you.
- STEP 2
Matched in Google Calendar
Google Calendar has no customer search, so the customer’s own bookings are looked up by that email. A record must name the exact email and a matching name: the surname exactly, and the first name or its first letter.
- STEP 3
Code emailed
A 6-digit code goes to that email address — the one on the record. It is never sent to a mobile number typed in the chat.
- STEP 4
Verified
The customer types the code. It is valid for 10 minutes and five wrong attempts cancel it. The verified session lasts 30 minutes, and only bookings naming that email are shown.
If the details don’t match, the customer is told only that they couldn’t be matched — never which detail was wrong. If Google Calendar can’t be reached, the bot says it can’t check accounts right now rather than “no account found”. The bot is blocked in code from reading orders, invoices or bookings until verification succeeds. Full details: Customer identity verification & OTP.
What the bot can and cannot see
Can see (after verification)
- Record ID
- Start time
- Service
- Status
- End time
Only these standard fields are mapped from Google Calendar’s responses. Everything else in the response is discarded before the bot sees it.
Never sees
- passwords, security answers or login details
- records belonging to anyone other than the verified customer
- anything outside the fields listed alongside
Security
Sign-in tokens encrypted at rest
Credentials are stored encrypted, shown only masked after saving, and destroyed — not just hidden — when you disconnect.
Read-only look-ups
Every capability is a look-up. The connector cannot create, change or delete anything in Google Calendar.
HTTPS only
Calls go to the vendor’s HTTPS address, redirects are not followed, and private network addresses are refused.
Injection-safe
Values a customer types are cleaned before they are placed in Google Calendar’s search, and URL-encoded in addresses.
Other customers filtered out
A row that names a different customer’s email is dropped, whatever the vendor’s search returned.
Checked daily
Connections are re-tested every day, and the owner is emailed if a working connection starts failing.
More: Security & data protection.
Technical details
For developers and IT teams: the Google Calendar endpoints this connector reads, relative to https://www.googleapis.com/calendar/v3. Values in braces come from the settings you enter.
| Capability | Request | Standard fields returned |
|---|---|---|
| Appointments and bookings | GET/calendars/{calendar_id}/events | id, start, service, status, end |
Test level: Documented-API tested. Each capability is run automatically against Google Calendar’s documented example responses and must produce the standard fields; your own connection is then tested with a real call when you connect. The bot receives these through the standard Account Connect endpoints, exactly as if you had built them yourself.
Troubleshooting
| What you see | Likely cause and fix |
|---|---|
| “the vendor refused the credentials (401)” or (403) | The sign-in was revoked or has expired, or it lacks a read permission this connector needs. Sign in with Google Calendar again. |
| “That Calendar ID ('primary' or the calendar's email) doesn’t look right” | Enter it in the form shown, e.g. primary — without https:// or a trailing slash. |
| “Silux Chat’s Google Calendar app is not registered yet” | Our sign-in app with Google Calendar isn’t available yet; our team is notified automatically. Email support@siluxcall.co.uk for timing or alternatives. |
| Customers are “not matched” although they exist | Customers are matched on their own bookings by the email they give. Check a recent record names that email and the customer’s name (surname exactly). |
| A capability shows a cross but others work | That permission wasn’t granted in Google Calendar, or your Google Calendar plan doesn’t include that part of the API. Grant it and press Test. |
| “the vendor kept rate-limiting the request” | Google Calendar returned “too many requests” three times in a row. The platform already waits and retries automatically (up to 10 seconds, as Google Calendar asks); if it persists, ask Google Calendar about your API quota. |
| Results are empty for a verified customer | The records exist under a different email or customer record in Google Calendar, or none are recent. Check the customer’s record in Google Calendar directly. |
Full error reference: Troubleshooting & error reference.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Google Calendar connection read-only?
Yes. Every request Silux Chat makes to Google Calendar is a look-up; none creates, changes or deletes anything in Google Calendar. Give the key or sign-in read-only permissions wherever Google Calendar offers them.
Do I need a developer to connect Google Calendar?
No. You sign in with Google Calendar in Dashboard → Integrations → Connectors and press “Sign in with Google Calendar”. The platform makes a real call to Google Calendar straight away and shows exactly which features work.
How does the bot know it is really my customer?
Google Calendar has no customer search, so the bot looks up the customer’s own bookings by the email they give. A record must name that exact email and a matching name (surname, plus first name or initial) — then a one-time code is emailed to that address, never to a number typed in the chat. The code lasts 10 minutes, five wrong attempts cancel it, and a verified session lasts 30 minutes.
What happens if my Google Calendar key is revoked or expires?
The bot tells customers it can’t check their account right now — it never pretends there are “no orders”. Connections are re-tested daily and the account owner is emailed when a working connection starts failing. Reconnect it in Dashboard → Integrations → Connectors.
How has the Google Calendar connector been tested?
It is Documented-API tested: every capability is run automatically against Google Calendar’s documented example responses and must produce the standard fields. When you connect, it is tested again with a real call to your own Google Calendar account before your bot uses it.
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Need help with your integration?
Our integration team can review your endpoints, help you choose the right connector and check a test run with you. Tell us which system you use and what you would like the bot to answer.