Superhuman Introduces Availability-Sharing Feature in Email and Calendar Integration

Superhuman, the email startup known for its streamlined inbox experience, has launched a new availability-sharing feature for its integrated calendar. This update allows users to quickly share their free time slots, making it easier to schedule meetings directly through the email platform. According to CEO Rahul Vohra, the company is considering expanding its calendar capabilities further, with the possibility of developing a standalone calendar app in the future.

Availability-sharing features, of course, are not a new feature: Calendly, Cal.com, Vimcal, Notion Calendar, and Clockwise, to name just a few, have offered such functionalities for ages. This is just Superhuman’s entry into this space as it looks to make meeting scheduling much simpler and faster. And despite these tools, Superhuman found that it still took three emails to get a meeting confirmed. This realization motivated the company to develop its very own scheduling tool, intended to minimize the ping-pong that usually characterizes scheduling of meetings.

For Superhuman users, the new availability-sharing feature is super easy to use. It can be accessed by clicking the share availability icon located at the bottom bar or through keyboard shortcuts, which include the following: Cmd+Shift+A for Mac or Ctrl+Shift+A for Windows. This shows an interactive calendar view, in which a user can drag and pick the free time slots desired. Having the desired slots, users then type a return to send out selected slots plus a link to book along with the reply composer.

The recipient of the email can subsequently click on the link to select a time that is best suited for both parties. Superhuman’s newest feature also allows users to find the availability of team members when arranging a meeting that requires more people. This feature lets the user pick mutually available time slots or ignore scheduling conflicts, provided the meeting is urgent and must be scheduled.

In addition to availability-sharing, Superhuman has launched other AI-powered tools over the past few months. For instance, its Instant Event feature suggests the best meeting times based on the content of the email, thus helping users schedule meetings instantly. Superhuman’s AI assistant also helps in scheduling by automating some of the decision-making process.

Since the company has had a strong focus on managing emails, this expansion into calendar offerings really marks a strategic shift. As Vohra disclosed during the interview, Superhuman is planning to unleash more features of calendars in the next year, such as automatic scheduling and detailed meeting briefings to provide useful information about participants ahead of the meeting.

Vohra also discussed the potential for a separate Superhuman calendar app, noting that he sees use cases for both integrated and standalone calendar solutions. While Superhuman’s integrated calendar serves users well for quick scheduling—especially when scheduling is tied to email conversations—there are scenarios where a separate calendar app could be useful. For example, one is more likely to want to deal with long-term plans from a standalone application – such as scheduling vacations, or planning attendance at conferences: those are less integrated with the usual flow of emails.

He mentioned how the integrated calendar functionality comes especially handy for Outlook clients, because the calendar component is already contained within the email package. For such users, the ease with which they can access their calendar directly from their email client makes scheduling super easy.

It’s not only a feature addition to its existing user base but also the company’s positioning to compete in a rapidly evolving market of productivity software. With a merge of email and calendar functionalities, Superhuman seeks to give its users an integrated experience, thus streamlining workflows and eliminating friction in scheduling and communication. As businesses and individuals increasingly seek tools that integrate multiple tasks, Superhuman’s combined email and calendar solutions could play a central role in the future of work.

Looking forward, Vohra sees a future where email and calendar tools are better integrated, so users can easily flow between both. One feature he is really looking forward to is linking calendar events to email conversations to provide context and make workflows even more efficient. This is a future where integration may change how users interact with calendars and email, making a more streamlined and efficient productivity suite.