How to send a Google Calendar invite

Add guests to an event, send the invitation, attach a Meet link, and fix the times Google quietly fails to deliver it.

To send a Google Calendar invite, open or create an event, type each guest’s email address into the Guests (or Add guests) field, then save. Google emails the invitation and drops the event onto the calendar of anyone who also uses Google Calendar. That is the whole job. The details below cover the parts that actually trip people up: the iPhone app, Google Meet, and invites that silently never land.

Send an invite on the web

The desktop version gives you the most control, so start here when you can.

1. Go to calendar.google.com and click Create, or click a time slot on the grid.
2. Add a title, date, and time. For a quick event, click More options to open the full editor.
3. On the right, find Add guests and type an email address. Press Enter and repeat for each person. Google autocompletes saved contacts as you type.
4. Below the guest list, decide whether guests may modify the event, invite others, or see the guest list. Loosen these only when you mean to.
5. Click Save. Google asks whether to send invitation emails to your guests. Choose Send.

That confirmation dialog is the moment the invite actually goes out. If you pick the “don’t send” option, the guests stay attached to the event but never hear about it.

Send an invite from the iPhone or Android app

The mobile flow is the same idea with a couple of relabeled buttons.

1. Open the Google Calendar app, tap the + button, then Event.
2. Tap the option to add people and enter each email address.
3. Set the time and any other details, then tap Save in the top corner.

On a phone the invite usually sends without a separate confirmation prompt. Worth knowing: the built-in Apple Calendar app can display your Google events, but creating the invite inside the Google Calendar app is more reliable for guest notifications. If you only have the iPhone Calendar app, an event you add to your Google account still sends its invite through Google.

Add a Google Meet link

For anything remote, attach the call before you send. While editing the event, select the option to add Google Meet video conferencing. Google creates a unique link that shows up in the event and in every guest’s invitation email, so they join straight from the calendar entry at the scheduled time with no extra app. If the option is missing, your account may be limited by a Workspace admin, or you may be signed in to the wrong Google account.

What to do when guests do not get the invite

This is the failure people search for, so work through it in order.

Confirm you clicked Send. Reopen the event. If a guest shows no RSVP status at all, the email probably never went out. Open the event and click the envelope or email-guests icon to resend.

Check the address. One wrong character routes the invite nowhere. Remove the guest and re-add them carefully.

Look in spam. Invites from unfamiliar senders often land in spam or the Promotions tab. Ask the guest to search their mailbox for the event title.

Verify the calendar. An event created on a secondary or shared calendar may not notify guests the same way. Recreate it on your primary calendar to be safe.

Re-save to retrigger. Nudge the time by a minute and back, save, and choose Send again. That forces a fresh notification.

Plan your day around the meetings you send

Once an invite is on your calendar, the harder question is fitting everything else around it. ClaroCal connects to your Google Calendar with two-way sync, turns your task list into a time-blocked plan, and reflows it when a meeting moves, so the invites you send and accept act as anchors instead of surprises. See how to plan your day around fixed events, or compare plans on the pricing page.

Last reviewed June 2026.