Google really wants you to use Google Meet. They added a Meet button in Gmail, and Meet is the default video conferencing app in Google Calendar.
It makes sense—Google is allowed to promote its own product—but it doesn't mean you have to stick with Meet. You can still use Zoom in Google Calendar, and you can even make it the default if you're a Google Workspace admin.
How to add Zoom to Google Calendar
To get started, you'll need to install the Zoom Google Calendar plugin. Here's how.
Click the settings icon that looks like a cog, then select Get add-ons.
The popover will offer you all kinds of third-party integrations for Google Calendar—search for Zoom, and then click the correct result.
Click Install.
Follow the prompts to install, including giving it all the necessary permissions. (Note that, if you're a Google Workplace admin, you can install Zoom for your entire domain.)
Click Done, and then close out of the Google Workspace Marketplace popover.
Refresh the page (or log out and back in to your account).
Now, when you go to schedule a meeting, you'll see a dropdown arrow next to Add Google Meet video conferencing. Click that, you'll have the option to add Zoom instead.
The first time you choose Zoom, you'll need to log in to your Zoom account, but once you do, you'll be all set moving forward.
How to make Zoom the default in Google Calendar
Want Zoom to be the default video conferencing app in Google Calendar? The only way I can find to do this is to disable Meet entirely. There's no way to do that for consumer Google accounts, so if you've got an @gmail.com email address, you're out of luck.
Things are different if you use Google's applications with a work account. Google Workspace admins can disable Google Meet for the entire organization, meaning whatever third-party app is installed will become the default. This is the only way I found to create Zoom meetings in Google Calendar in a single click (assuming Zoom is the only video conferencing app installed).
Head to admin.google.com, then, from the menu, click Apps > Google Workspace > Google Meet.
Click the dropdown, and then select OFF for everyone.
Click Save.
Once you do this, the button in Google Calendar will change.
Add video conferencing now creates a Zoom meeting in one click (again, assuming Zoom is the only video conferencing app installed).
It would be nice if this was possible without disabling Meet entirely, but this method works, so give it a shot if you're tired of switching from one service to another depending on who makes the appointment.
Automate Google Calendar and Zoom
If you use Google Calendar and Zoom as core parts of your work, consider connecting them to all the other apps in your tech stack with Zapier. By using Google Calendar and Zoom with Zapier, you can do things like automatically share recordings, create events from tasks, and prepare for upcoming meetings. Learn more about how to automate Google Calendar and how to automate Zoom, or get started with one of these pre-made workflows.
Create new Trello cards from new Google Calendar events
Copy new Google Calendar events to another Google Calendar
Zapier is a no-code automation tool that lets you connect your apps into automated workflows, so that every person and every business can move forward at growth speed. Learn more about how it works.
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This article was originally published in October 2020 by Justin Pot. The most recent update was in March 2024.
