I’m trying to create an automated system but I’m stuck on a few technical details. Here’s what I want to build:
My workflow idea:
Monitor my Google Calendar automatically to detect when meetings end
Trigger a Slack message asking “What tasks came out of this meeting?”
Collect my response from Slack
Save the response to a Google Spreadsheet
I’m particularly confused about steps 1 and 2. Can Dialogflow actually monitor my calendar on its own and then initiate a Slack conversation when an event finishes?
My main issue is that I need Dialogflow to start the conversation proactively based on calendar events, rather than waiting for me to message the bot first. Is this even possible or do I need a different approach?
zapier might help but the polling delay could be annoying. if your calendar has webhooks, go for those - way quicker than sitting around for those 15-min checks.
You’re overthinking this with Dialogflow. That’s for processing messages, not starting conversations from calendar events.
I’ve built this exact thing multiple times. Here’s the cleanest approach:
Skip the complex middleware. You need something that watches your calendar, triggers actions when meetings end, and connects your apps.
The flow: Calendar detects meeting end → sends Slack message → captures your response → dumps data into spreadsheet.
No Apps Script maintenance or juggling multiple APIs. Just use a platform that handles integrations natively and monitors calendar events in real time.
I set this up last month in maybe 30 minutes. The automation handles everything from calendar watching to data collection without any server babysitting.
Latenode makes this workflow dead simple since it connects Google Calendar, Slack, and Sheets without custom coding. Check it out: https://latenode.com
Dialogflow won’t monitor your calendar and send proactive messages; you’ve got this backwards. Dialogflow responds to user inputs; it doesn’t start conversations based on external events. You need middleware that watches your calendar and triggers Slack messages. I’ve built something like this with Google Apps Script. It monitors calendar events through the Calendar API, catches when meetings end, then sends messages straight to Slack channels or users. Here’s the flow: Apps Script watches calendar → meeting ends → Apps Script hits Slack → you respond → Apps Script grabs your response and dumps it in Sheets. You don’t need Dialogflow unless you want natural language processing for responses, and even then Apps Script would call it. Apps Script handles all the APIs you need and runs on Google’s servers, so it’s your easiest option.
Had the same confusion when I started with calendar automations. Everyone’s missing the key here - you need event-driven architecture, not polling. Google Calendar supports push notifications through API webhooks. Set up a notification channel that pings your endpoint when events change or end. I’ve run this setup for months - rock solid. The webhook hits my server immediately when meetings finish, then I use Slack’s Web API to post questions directly to channels or DMs. For responses, set up a Slack slash command or interactive component that feeds back to your system. Whole thing runs on a simple Node.js server with express handlers for webhooks and Slack interactions. Way more reliable than polling and gives you real-time triggers. Google’s docs on calendar push notifications are pretty decent once you dig in.