Lori AI User Guide

Everything you need to know about using Lori, your AI scheduling assistant.

Getting Started

What is Lori?

Lori is an AI scheduling assistant that coordinates meetings on your behalf. When you need to schedule a meeting, simply mention #lori in your email and she'll handle the back-and-forth of finding a time that works for everyone.

Requirements

  • Microsoft 365 Business or Education account - Lori works with Outlook calendars
  • Calendar access - Lori needs permission to read your calendar and create events
  • Email access - Lori sends and receives emails on your behalf
Important: Personal email accounts (Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail) are not supported. Lori requires a Microsoft 365 Business or Education account.

Connecting Your Outlook Account

  1. Sign in with Microsoft
    Click "Connect with Outlook" and sign in with your work or school Microsoft account.
  2. Grant Permissions
    Approve the permissions Lori needs: calendar access (to check availability and create meetings) and email access (to send scheduling emails).
  3. Complete Your Profile
    Set your timezone, working hours, and other preferences in Settings.
IT Admin Approval: Your organization's IT admin may need to approve Lori before you can connect. If you see a permissions error, contact your IT department.

Scheduling a Meeting

Step 1: Compose Your Email

Write an email to the person (or people) you want to meet with, just like you normally would.

Step 2: Include #lori

Add #lori anywhere in your email to activate Lori. For example:

Example Email

To: jane.doe@company.com

Subject: Quarterly Review Meeting

Hi Jane,

I'd like to schedule a 30-minute call to discuss the quarterly results.

#lori can you find us a time next week?

Thanks,
John

Step 3: Send and Let Lori Handle It

Once you send the email, Lori takes over:

  1. Lori detects the #lori tag in your sent email
  2. Checks your calendar for available times
  3. Sends time options to the recipient
  4. Follows up automatically if they don't respond
  5. Creates the calendar event once a time is confirmed
Pro Tip: You can include time preferences like "next week", "mornings only", or "30-minute call" - Lori will understand and factor them in.

How Recipients Confirm Times

When Lori sends time options, recipients can confirm in two ways:

Option 1: Click a Button (Fastest)

Lori's emails include clickable buttons for each time option. Recipients simply click their preferred time and the meeting is instantly booked.

This is the fastest and most reliable method.

Option 2: Reply with Time

Recipients can also reply to the email stating their preferred time, like:

"Tuesday at 2pm works for me"

Lori's AI will understand and book accordingly.

What If None of the Times Work?

Recipients can suggest alternative times by replying:

"None of those work for me. How about Thursday at 3pm or Friday morning?"

Lori will check your availability and respond accordingly.

Multi-Person Meetings

Lori excels at coordinating meetings with multiple people (3-8 participants). Just CC everyone on the email:

Multi-Person Example

To: alice@company.com, bob@partner.com

CC: carol@agency.com

Subject: Project Kickoff Meeting

Hi all,

Let's schedule a kickoff call for the new project. #lori please find a time that works for everyone.

Thanks,
John

How Multi-Person Scheduling Works

  1. Individual Outreach: Lori contacts each participant separately
  2. Availability Collection: Collects responses from everyone
  3. Smart Consensus: Finds overlapping times using intelligent matching
  4. Tentative Holds: Places tentative blocks on your calendar for potential times
  5. Automatic Follow-ups: Sends polite reminders to non-responders
  6. Meeting Creation: Books the meeting once all participants confirm

Multi-Person Features

Tentative Calendar Holds

Lori blocks potential times on your calendar as "tentative" so they don't get double-booked.

Smart Nudging

Automatic follow-ups with escalating urgency to non-responders.

Timezone Intelligence

Detects each participant's timezone and shows times in their local time.

Coordination Timeout

If not everyone responds within 7 days (configurable), you're notified.

Tip: For very large groups (8+ people), consider using a traditional scheduling poll for faster coordination.

Coordination Center (Dashboard)

The Coordination Center is your command center for all scheduling activities.

Dashboard Features

Completed This Week

Meetings successfully scheduled in the last 7 days.

Awaiting Responses

Coordinations waiting for participant replies.

Expiring Soon

Coordinations that will timeout in 24 hours.

Coordination Details

Click any coordination to see:

  • Participant Status: Who has responded and what they said
  • Time Options: The proposed meeting times
  • Email Thread: Full conversation history
  • Activity Timeline: When follow-ups were sent

Managing Scheduled Meetings

Quick Time Change (Same Day)

Need to move a meeting to a different time on the same day? Simply reply with natural language:

Example Requests

"Can we move it to 10am?"

"Push this to 2pm instead"

"Let's do 3:30 instead"

What Happens

If the time is available, Lori instantly reschedules

If busy, Lori offers alternative times for the same day

New! Quick time changes work automatically - no need to say "reschedule". Just mention a time like "move it to 10am" and Lori handles the rest.

Rescheduling to a Different Day

Need to change to a completely different day? Reply to the confirmation email:

"Can we reschedule this to next Thursday instead?"

Lori will cancel the existing meeting and start a new coordination with fresh time options.

Canceling a Meeting

To cancel, reply to the confirmation email with:

"Please cancel this meeting"

Lori will remove the calendar event and notify participants.

Note: Reschedule and cancel commands only work when you reply to Lori's confirmation email - this ensures Lori knows which meeting you're referring to.

Settings & Preferences

Customize Lori's behavior in Settings:

  • Timezone: Your local timezone for scheduling
  • Working Hours: When Lori can schedule meetings (e.g., 9 AM - 5 PM)
  • Default Meeting Duration: Standard length for meetings (e.g., 30 minutes)
  • Buffer Time: Gap between meetings (e.g., 15 minutes)
  • Minimum Notice: How far ahead meetings must be scheduled (e.g., 24 hours)

  • Maximum Nudges: How many follow-up reminders to send (default: 3)
  • First Nudge Delay: Hours before first reminder (default: 12 hours)
  • Nudge Interval: Hours between subsequent reminders (default: 24 hours)

  • Scheduling Strategy: How Lori coordinates with participants
    • Legacy: Timer-based follow-ups (12h/24h/48h)
    • Deadline-Driven: Escalating urgency based on time remaining
    • CEO-First: Contact executives first (paid plans)
    • Quiet Hours: Respect local business hours (paid plans)
    • Auto: AI selects best strategy (premium plans)
  • Coordination Timeout: Max days to wait for responses (default: 7 days)
  • Tentative Hold Expiry: When calendar holds expire (default: 7 days)

Customize the emails Lori sends:

  • Time Suggestion Emails: When proposing meeting times
  • Follow-up/Nudge Emails: Reminder messages
  • Confirmation Emails: When meetings are booked

How Lori Works Behind the Scenes

Email Monitoring

Lori monitors your Sent Items folder for emails containing #lori. She also watches your Inbox for replies to scheduling threads.

AI Understanding

Lori uses advanced AI to understand email content, detect scheduling intent, extract proposed times, and craft professional responses.

Calendar Integration

Lori reads your Outlook calendar to find available times and creates events when meetings are confirmed - all through secure Microsoft APIs.

Threading

Lori maintains proper email threading so all scheduling messages appear in the same conversation in everyone's inbox.

Best Practices

1
Be Specific About Duration

Mention how long the meeting should be: "30-minute call" or "1-hour meeting"

2
Provide Time Constraints

If you have preferences, mention them: "sometime next week" or "mornings preferred"

3
Keep Your Calendar Updated

Lori uses your calendar to find availability - make sure it reflects your actual schedule

4
Configure Working Hours

Set your working hours in Settings so Lori only suggests appropriate times

5
Use Buffer Time

Set buffer time in Settings to avoid back-to-back meetings

6
Check the Dashboard

Regularly check the Coordination Center to see pending meetings and take action on expirations

Frequently Asked Questions

No, Lori is an AI scheduling assistant. All emails from Lori are clearly marked as coming from "Lori AI" acting on your behalf. We believe in transparency about AI.

Lori only processes emails where you explicitly include #lori, plus direct replies to scheduling threads she initiated. Lori does not read or access your other emails.

Lori sends polite follow-up reminders based on your nudging settings. By default, she'll send up to 3 reminders over 7 days. After that, the coordination times out and you're notified so you can follow up manually or try again.

Yes, you can disconnect Lori at any time in Settings. You can also revoke access directly in your Microsoft 365 account settings under "Apps with access."

Currently, Lori only supports Microsoft 365 (Outlook) calendars. Google Calendar integration may be added in a future release.

During multi-person scheduling, Lori places "tentative" events on your calendar for the proposed meeting times. This prevents double-booking while waiting for responses. These holds show as "tentative" (striped) in Outlook and are automatically removed when the meeting is finalized or expires.

  • Legacy: Simple timer-based reminders (12h, 24h, 48h)
  • Deadline-Driven: Urgency increases as deadline approaches
  • CEO-First: Contacts executives first, then others
  • Quiet Hours: Respects each person's local business hours
  • Auto: AI analyzes the meeting and picks the best approach

Coordinations expire after the timeout period (default: 7 days) if not all participants respond. You can adjust this in Settings under "Multi-Person Scheduling" or try again with a new #lori email.

Need More Help?

Contact our support team for assistance.

Contact Support