How to Schedule a Meeting in Outlook (Step by Step)
Outlook handles meeting invites the same way everywhere — you create a calendar event, add people, pick a time, and send — but the buttons sit in slightly different spots across new Outlook, classic desktop Outlook for Windows, Outlook on the web, and mobile. Here’s how to schedule a meeting in Outlook in each version, add attendees, turn it into a Teams call, make it recurring, and use the Scheduling Assistant to land on a time that actually works for everyone.
Schedule a meeting in new Outlook and Outlook on the web
New Outlook for Windows and Outlook on the web (outlook.com / Microsoft 365 in a browser) share the same layout.
- Click the Calendar icon in the left navigation bar.
- Click New event (top-left).
- Type a meeting title.
- In Invite attendees, start typing names or email addresses. Anyone you add here turns the event into a meeting invite that gets emailed out.
- Set the start and end date and time.
- Add a location, or toggle on a Teams meeting (more on that below).
- Write an agenda in the body if you want.
- Click Send.
Every attendee receives an email invitation they can accept, decline, or mark tentative, and the meeting lands on your calendar automatically.
Schedule a meeting in classic Outlook for Windows (desktop)
The classic desktop app uses the ribbon.
- Go to the Calendar (bottom-left icon, or
Ctrl+2). - On the Home ribbon, click New Meeting (or
Ctrl+Shift+Q). - Type a Subject and a Location.
- In the To… field — or Required / Optional in the meeting form — add attendee email addresses.
- Set the Start time and End time.
- Click Send.
If you only see New Appointment, use Invite Attendees on the appointment ribbon to convert it into a meeting so the invite gets sent.
Schedule a meeting in Outlook mobile (iOS and Android)
- Open the Outlook app and tap the Calendar tab at the bottom.
- Tap the + (top-right) to create a new event.
- Enter a title, then tap People to add attendees by name or email.
- Set the date and time, and toggle Teams meeting on if you need a video link.
- Tap the checkmark or Send (top-right) to send the invite.
Add attendees: Required vs. Optional
Outlook splits invitees into Required and Optional:
- Required attendees are expected to join; their responses count toward the meeting.
- Optional attendees are kept in the loop but their absence won’t read as a conflict.
In new Outlook and on the web, type everyone into Invite attendees, then click Optional to move the non-essential people over. In classic desktop, use the Required and Optional lines in the meeting form. You can add people outside your organization by typing their full external email address (for example, name@gmail.com) — they’ll receive a standard invite they can accept from any calendar.
Make it a Teams meeting
To add a video link so people can join from anywhere:
- New Outlook / web / mobile: toggle Teams meeting on in the event form before sending.
- Classic desktop: on the meeting’s ribbon, click Teams Meeting (or use New Teams Meeting from the Home ribbon to start one directly).
The join link and dial-in details are inserted automatically. For the full walkthrough, see how to schedule a meeting in Microsoft Teams. Prefer Zoom or Google Meet instead? See how to schedule a Zoom meeting and how to schedule a Google Meet.
Use the Scheduling Assistant to find free times
The Scheduling Assistant overlays everyone’s calendars so you can pick a slot with no conflicts — the single most useful step for group meetings.
- While creating the meeting, open Scheduling Assistant:
- New Outlook / web: the Scheduling Assistant tab at the top of the event.
- Classic desktop: the Scheduling Assistant button on the meeting ribbon.
- You’ll see a grid with each attendee’s busy time shaded. White space is open for everyone.
- Drag the meeting block (or use the suggested-times pane) to a slot where no one is busy.
- Return to the main event view and Send.
Availability only shows for people whose free/busy info Outlook can read — usually colleagues on the same Microsoft 365 tenant. External guests often appear as No information, so you’ll need to confirm with them separately or send an availability email offering a few options.
Make it recurring
- In the event form, find the recurrence control:
- New Outlook / web: the Repeat dropdown (set to Don’t repeat by default).
- Classic desktop: the Recurrence button on the meeting ribbon.
- Choose Daily, Weekly, Monthly, or a Custom cadence.
- Set an end date so the series doesn’t run forever.
- Send — the whole series goes out as one invite.
Troubleshooting
Attendees didn’t get the invite
You may have created an appointment instead of a meeting. An appointment is just a block on your own calendar — only an event with attendees gets emailed out. Add people (or click Invite Attendees in classic desktop) and send again.
Scheduling Assistant shows “No information” for everyone
Free/busy data depends on shared calendars within your organization. For external guests or anyone whose calendar isn’t shared, Outlook can’t read availability — propose a few times directly instead.
The Teams Meeting toggle is missing in classic Outlook
The add-in only registers when the Teams desktop app is installed and signed in. Close Outlook, launch and sign in to Teams, then reopen Outlook. If it’s still gone, re-enable it under File > Options > Add-ins > COM Add-ins > Go and check Microsoft Teams Meeting Add-in for Microsoft Office.
The meeting shows the wrong time for some people
Check the event’s time zone (click the start time, then the time-zone link in new Outlook, or set it on the meeting in classic desktop). Outlook displays the event in each attendee’s local zone, so the source zone has to be right. For cross-region meetings, see how to schedule meetings across time zones.
Quick Reference
| Goal | What to do |
|---|---|
| One-off meeting (new/web) | Calendar > New event > add attendees > Send |
| One-off meeting (classic) | Calendar > New Meeting > add to Required > Send |
| Add a video link | Toggle Teams meeting on (or Teams Meeting on the ribbon) |
| Find a time that works | Open Scheduling Assistant > pick open white space |
| Repeating series | Repeat dropdown / Recurrence > pick cadence |
| On the phone | Outlook app > Calendar > + > add People > send |
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