Google wants to make it easier for stores and services to book and maintain appointments. Area 120, the Google incubator responsible for things like voice messenger Supersonic, has begun developing another service — Appointments.
The company uses hair salons as an example, but it’s easy to see how the app could be useful to any service in which you make appointments. The project has not been publicly released, but the website is live at salon.area120.com.
“Upgrade your schedule with a faster, smarter, and simpler booking app. Our free new phone line protects your privacy and automatically turns client-texts into booking links. Add in online booking and automated advertising — you’ll wonder how you ever lived without it,” the page says.
Not only does the service offer online tools but it also goes a step further with the ability to turn SMS client texts into booking links. The website works on both desktop and mobile devices, and if you need to book an appointment, you can see up to a week of availability. On the business website, you will also be able to see things like services offered, directions, contact info, and more.
Google has been making a serious effort to expand Google Maps with more and better business listings and this product could help the company gather more information to ultimately use in Maps. Of course, it is also helpful for businesses, which could better set up their web presence through the service.
The product could also be a competitor to Microsoft’s Bookings, a service that was announced as part of Microsoft Office 365 last year. Having a service from Google could be very helpful, as it may better integrate with Google’s already-existing suite of productivity tools.
We’ll have to wait and see how big Appointments’ full potential is. Expect an official announcement of the product from Google in the near future.
