Family calendar · $0 to start · 7-min read

One AI setup that handles the weekly family calendar

When practice moves or two things land at the same time, it’s easy to miss until the day of. Here’s one shared calendar plus a Sunday-night brief that flags clashes in the week ahead.

By Dave Luderer, dad of three · Updated

Step 1: one calendar everybody can see (15 min)

Your house runs onHow to get a shared family calendarGood to know
GoogleCreate a family group on Google and a calendar called “Family” is made for you. Everyone who joins sees it in Google Calendar.[1]Anyone in the family can see, create, edit or delete events. You can’t add non-family members, but you can invite them to events. By default you won’t be notified when someone else changes an event.[1]
AppleIn the Calendar app, tap the info button next to an iCloud calendar, then Add Person.[2]The people you invite need an email address in your contacts, and you can turn editing on or off for each person.[2]
OutlookAdd members at account.microsoft.com/family, and Outlook.com makes a shared family calendar called “Your family.”[3]It only shows up in Outlook.com and the Outlook mobile app, and new events aren’t sent to family members automatically.[3]

Step 2: agree on three naming rules (5 min)

An assistant can only flag a missing driver if the calendar says who’s driving. These are my suggestions, so adjust them for your house:

Family calendar rules:
1. Kid's name first: "[Sam] Soccer practice", "[All] Grandma's birthday".
2. Driver in brackets at the end: "(Dad drives)", "(Mom picks up)", "(carpool: Lees)". No driver yet = "(driver?)".
3. Put the address in the location field, and anything to bring in the notes.

Step 3: the Sunday-night week-ahead brief (5 min)

Every Sunday at 7 pm, look at our Family calendar (and my own calendar) for the next 7 days.
Give me:
1. The week at a glance: one line per day, earliest first.
2. Clashes: two things at the same time, or back-to-back with no travel time, and which adult looks free to cover.
3. Driving: every pickup and drop-off that doesn't name a driver.
4. Prep: anything to buy, pack, sign or pay before an event (cleats, a check for the field trip, a birthday present).
5. Breathing room: evenings with nothing on, so we can keep one free for the family.
Keep it to one screen. Don't add, change or delete events. Suggest changes and I'll make them.
  • Gemini (free): with Google Workspace connected, Gemini can see your events.[4][5] Schedule it at gemini.google.com once schedules reach your account.[6]
  • ChatGPT Plus or Pro: connect the Google Calendar plugin. You can connect more than one Google account, so a work calendar and the family calendar can be checked together.[7] Then schedule the prompt.[8]
  • Copilot (Microsoft 365): Copilot Tasks can use your connected calendar and run on a schedule.[9]
  • Apple calendars, or nothing connected: take a screenshot of next week’s view on Sunday and attach it with the prompt.

Step 4: add events by asking (on Gemini)

Gemini can create and edit Google Calendar events, including on shared calendars. It uses your default calendar unless you name one, so say “Family.”[4]

Add to our Family calendar: [Sam] dentist, Thursday 3:40 pm, 45 minutes, at [address]. Title it with the driver as "(driver?)" and remind me the day before.

Step 5: the monthly appointment nudge

Checkups and dentist visits are easy to put off. This runs once a month and tells you what to book. It doesn’t book anything.

On the 1st of every month, check our recurring appointments and tell me which ones are due in the next 6 weeks.
Our list (what, how often, last done):
- [Kid 1] checkup, yearly, [month/year]
- Dentist for everyone, every 6 months, [month/year]
- Haircuts, every [6] weeks, [date]
- [Eye exam / allergist / car oil change / furnace service], [how often], [last done]
For each one that's due: say who it's for, the best week to book it around what's on our calendar, and a 2-line script I can use on the phone or in the booking form.
Don't book, call or email anyone. Just give me the list.

Claude’s built-in schedules don’t include monthly, so set it to manual and run it on the 1st there.[10] On ChatGPT Free this one works without any connections, because the list is in the prompt.

Tested by Dave Not yet

I haven’t run this exact setup with my family for a full week yet. When I do, this box will say what happened, good or bad.

Next up

Sources

  1. Google Help: Use a family calendar on Google
  2. Apple Support: Share iCloud calendars on iPhone
  3. Microsoft Support: Use shared family calendars in Outlook.com
  4. Gemini Apps Help: Create and manage your calendar events with Gemini Apps
  5. Gemini Apps Help: Connect the Google Workspace app to Gemini Apps (Gmail, Calendar, Keep, Tasks)
  6. Gemini Apps Help: Schedules in Gemini Apps
  7. OpenAI Help: ChatGPT release notes (Aug 28, 2026: Gmail, Google Calendar and Google Contacts plugins, Plus and Pro)
  8. OpenAI Help: Scheduled tasks in ChatGPT
  9. Microsoft Support: Using Copilot Tasks
  10. Claude Help: Schedule recurring tasks in Claude Cowork

All checked Oct 18, 2026 unless noted. Prices change. If something’s out of date, reply to any newsletter issue and I’ll fix it.