How to set up a Google Meet

Setting up a Google Meet takes less than a minute once you know where to click. This guide covers the three common ways to start a meeting, the settings worth checking before guests arrive, and how to stop creating links by hand when you meet clients every day.

Start an instant meeting

Open meet.google.com in your browser and choose the option to start a new meeting. You can pick an instant meeting, which opens the room right away, or create a link to share for later. The instant option is the fastest choice for a quick call with a colleague.

When the room opens, copy the joining information from the pop up and send it to your guests. Anyone with the link can ask to join, and you admit them from the waiting screen.

Schedule a meeting from Google Calendar

Scheduled meetings are the better choice for client calls because the invite lands in every calendar and reminders go out on time.

1. Open Google Calendar and click on the time slot you want.
2. Add a title and the guest email addresses.
3. Click the button to add Google Meet video conferencing.
4. Check the time zone, then save and send the invitation.

Guests receive an email with the date, the time in their own calendar and the joining link. If the guest uses another calendar app, the link still works because it sits in the invite text.

Check the settings before guests join

Before your first client call, review three things. First, decide who can join without asking. For external clients it is usually safer to keep the waiting room on so that you control who enters. Second, test your camera and microphone in the preview screen. Third, pick a clean background, which our guide on Google Meet backgrounds explains step by step.

Guest permissions

In the event details you can decide whether guests may edit the event, invite others and see the guest list. For sales and client calls, turning off editing prevents accidental changes to the time.

Stop creating links by hand

If you set up several Google Meet calls a week, the manual steps add up: finding a free time, writing back and forth, creating the event, adding the link. A booking page removes all of it. Clients open your link, see only times that are free on your calendar in their own time zone, and pick one. The event and the video link are created for both sides.

Teams can go one step further with round robin, which hands each new meeting to the next available teammate. You can see how this works on the features page, or compare plans on the pricing page. When a client lives in another country, the time zone planner helps you find an hour that works for both of you.

A short checklist

• Use Calendar for anything you plan ahead.
• Keep the waiting room on for external guests.
• Send the invite at least a day ahead with a clear title.
• Test audio and video two minutes before the start.
• Automate the link with a booking page when meetings repeat.

MeetSetup creates the Google Meet link for every booking, so your clients get a working invite the moment they choose a time.