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When you connect a calendar action to an agent, we add a default block of booking instructions to your agent’s prompt. The agent uses these to ask for a timezone, present a couple of slots at a time, and collect the contact’s name and email only after they’ve picked a time. You can edit these instructions directly in the prompt editor. They are part of your agent’s prompt — they are not hidden from you and they are not enforced by the platform. Tune them, replace them, or remove them entirely.

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The default block

Copy this into your agent’s prompt if you ever need to restore the defaults.

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Why each rule exists

  • Conversation Memory — Without this, agents re-ask for timezone or email after every tool call, which feels broken to the contact.
  • Timezones first — Booking against the wrong timezone produces calendar invites the contact never sees. Asking up front is cheaper than apologizing later.
  • Identity only at booking — Asking for name/email before showing availability comes across as gating. Asking after a slot is selected feels like a normal confirmation step.
  • Two slots at a time — Voice channels can’t read a list of ten options. Even on chat, two options at a time keeps the back-and-forth fast.
  • Booking workflow ordering — Codifies the sequence so the agent doesn’t try to book before checking availability.

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Customizing

You can edit any of these freely. Common tweaks:
  • Offer more or fewer slots — change “two slots” to “three slots” if you want a wider menu, or “one slot” for a more directive feel.
  • Change the language — these instructions affect tone. If your brand is formal, rewrite them as full sentences in that voice; the model will mirror it.
  • Add booking-window rules — e.g. “never offer slots within the next 4 hours” or “only weekday afternoons”.
  • Remove identity verification — if you already authenticated the contact (e.g. logged-in web chat), skip the name/email confirmation by deleting rule 3.

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Phone numbers when booking

Every booking needs the contact’s name and email. The agent asks for whichever is missing, one at a time, name first. A phone number is only asked for when the calendar needs one. The agent does not ask for a phone on every booking.
  • Phone already on file. The agent confirms it with the contact and uses it.
  • No phone and the calendar doesn’t need one. The booking goes ahead without it.
  • The calendar needs one. The agent asks for it, saves it to the contact, and books again. It does not tell the contact the meeting is booked until the booking succeeds.

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Numbers outside the US

The agent accepts numbers from any country.
  • Local formats such as (888) 495-6788 are turned into full international format before booking. The country comes from your workspace country, then your organization’s country, then the US.
  • US 10-digit numbers are saved with +1. The agent does not ask anything.
  • Numbers that start with 0, such as a UK 07911… or a Philippine 0926…, can’t be placed without a country. The agent asks which country the contact is in, then saves the number with that country’s code and without the leading 0.
  • Other numbers it can’t read. The agent asks for the full number again, including the area code.
  • If the calendar still rejects the number, the agent reads it back and asks the contact to confirm it.
The same rules apply on voice calls and in chat.

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Calendar timezone

Each calendar action has an optional Timezone field (IANA, e.g. America/New_York). When set, the agent will not ask the contact for a timezone — it will book against the calendar’s timezone instead. Leave it blank if your contacts span multiple timezones and the agent should always ask.

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Tool wiring (handled automatically)

You don’t need to add the tool names (fetch_slots, book, cancel, reschedule) or the calendar provider/ID to your prompt. Those are still injected automatically when you attach a calendar action — only the operational rules above live in your editable prompt.