Google Calendar
Connecting your Google Calendar lets Groupthink see your meetings, attach pre-meeting context, and join calls automatically based on the attendance setting you choose. Without a calendar connection, Groupthink cannot auto-join scheduled meetings or build agendas from your events. This is the place where you also decide how Groupthink shows up in your meetings, so it is the setting that the rest of the integration docs point back to.
Heads up: Having Groupthink join a meeting requires an active trial or paid plan. Once your trial ends, the notetaker will not join until you upgrade.
Connecting Your Calendar
- Go to User Settings > Calendar in Groupthink.
- On the Connect to Google Calendar card, click Connect.
- Google will ask your permission to allow Groupthink to access your Google Calendar. Approve the request to finish connecting.
You can revoke this permission at any time, either from Groupthink or from your Google account settings.
Connecting More Than One Account
You can connect several Google accounts to the same workspace — for example your work account and your personal account — so Groupthink sees everyone you meet with across all of them.
- After connecting your first account, go to User Settings > Calendar.
- Click Connect another Google account.
- Sign in to the additional account and approve access.
The new account's calendars appear under their own heading in the Your Calendars list, so each account's calendars stay grouped together.
Choosing Which Calendars Feed Groupthink
The Your Calendars section lists the calendars from every account you have connected, grouped by the account each one belongs to. Each calendar has a checkbox.
- Leave a calendar checked to let Groupthink watch its events.
- Deselect any calendar you do not want Groupthink to watch, such as birthdays, holidays, or other non-essential calendars.
This keeps Groupthink focused on the meetings that matter and skips placeholder events.
Telling Your Calendars Apart with Colors
When you connect calendars from more than one account, Groupthink shows each calendar's color — the same color you have set in Google Calendar — as a small dot. You will see it next to the calendar in the Your Calendars list, and next to events on your Upcoming list and dashboard, so you can tell at a glance which account an event came from.
There is nothing to set up: the colors are inherited automatically from Google Calendar. A calendar with no color set — or one whose connection needs reconnecting — simply shows no dot.
Turning Auto-join On or Off per Calendar
Each calendar in the list has its own Auto-join toggle. This lets you keep the notetaker on for one calendar while turning it off for another — for example, on for work and off for a personal calendar — without changing the overall attendance setting below. Turning a calendar's toggle off stops Groupthink from automatically joining that calendar's meetings.
Choosing How Groupthink Attends Meetings
After connecting your calendar, Groupthink will not join anything until you pick an attendance setting. Go to User Settings > Calendar and find the heading How should Groupthink attend your meetings? It is a single choice that applies to all of your future meetings.
| Option | What it does |
|---|---|
| Privately Take Notes | Groupthink records, transcribes, and takes notes privately through the desktop app. No bot joins the call and other participants do not see Groupthink. Notes and transcripts stay private to you. |
| Automatically Join All Meetings | The Groupthink notetaker joins your meetings as a visible participant, takes notes, and shares recaps with all attendees. |
| Let Me Choose Each Time | Nothing joins automatically. You add Groupthink to specific calls yourself when you want notes. |
Each mode controls when and how Groupthink shows up across all of your calendar events, so you do not need to manage meetings one by one unless you choose Let Me Choose Each Time.
Privately Take Notes needs the desktop app. Private recording happens locally, so it is only available in Groupthink for Desktop. If you are on the web, Groupthink will prompt you to download the desktop app when you pick this option.
Note for invited users: If you signed up through a shared meeting link, auto-join is turned off by default. Your calendar is connected, but the notetaker will not join anything until you pick a default. You can change this any time in User Settings > Calendar.
Changing Your Attendance Setting
- Go to User Settings > Calendar.
- Find the How should Groupthink attend your meetings? section.
- Select the option you want.
- Your choice saves automatically and applies to all future meetings.
Syncing Your Calendar
Groupthink syncs as your calendar updates, so you should rarely need to do this by hand. If you want to pull in new events right away, open User Settings > Calendar, find the Sync Events Now section, and click Sync Now.
Disconnecting Your Calendar
You can disconnect your calendar at any time. Disconnecting stops Groupthink from accessing your calendar and from joining future meetings. It does not delete any past meetings, notes, or agendas.
- Go to User Settings > Calendar.
- Scroll to the Disconnect Calendar section.
- Click Disconnect Calendar...
- Confirm in the dialog by clicking Disconnect Calendar.
If you want to delete all of your data from Groupthink, email support@groupthink.com.
Reconnecting Your Calendar
If your calendar shows as disconnected, or Groupthink stops syncing or joining your meetings, you can reconnect in about 30 seconds. See Reconnect your Google Calendar for step-by-step instructions on both web and desktop.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a calendar connection to use Groupthink?
You need one for Groupthink to auto-join scheduled meetings and build agendas from your events. You can still add the notetaker to a specific call by pasting its link, and Privately Take Notes records through the desktop app, but the automatic calendar-based features depend on a connection.
Why did Groupthink not join my meeting?
A few things have to line up: your calendar needs to be connected, your attendance setting has to allow Groupthink to join, the event needs a video link, and your workspace needs an active trial or paid plan.
Can I pick which calendars Groupthink watches?
Yes. In the Your Calendars section, deselect any calendar you do not want Groupthink to watch.
Can I connect more than one Google account?
Yes. Click Connect another Google account in User Settings > Calendar and sign in to the additional account. Its calendars appear grouped under that account, and each calendar gets a color dot — inherited from Google Calendar — so you can tell at a glance which account an event came from.
Will disconnecting delete my notes?
No. Disconnecting only stops future access. Your past meetings, notes, and agendas stay in Groupthink.
Getting Help
Questions about the Google Calendar integration? Email support@groupthink.com.