The fastest way to send an invite

Open your calendar in Outlook, click the time slot where you want the meeting, and type a title. A new event window opens. Add attendees by typing their email addresses in the "Add attendees" field, set your start and end times, then click "Send" at the top. Outlook sends the invite to everyone you listed and adds the meeting to your calendar automatically.

If you are already in an email thread with someone and want to invite them to a meeting, you can also create an event from that email. Right-click the email, select "Create event", and Outlook will pre-fill the attendee field with the sender's address.

Key Takeaways

  • Click a time slot on your calendar, type a meeting title, add attendee email addresses, and click Send to invite people to a meeting.
  • You can add a location, description, and meeting link (Teams, Zoom, or other services) before sending the invite.
  • Attendees receive the invite as a calendar request they can accept, tentatively accept, or decline.
  • You can edit or cancel a meeting after sending, and Outlook will notify attendees of the change.

Adding details before you send

After you type the meeting title and add attendees, you have space to include more information. Click in the description field to add notes about what the meeting covers, what attendees should prepare, or any background they need.

If the meeting is in a physical location, type the address in the "Location" field. If you are using a video call, paste the meeting link (from Teams, Zoom, Google Meet, or another service) into the description or location field so attendees have it before the meeting starts. Some versions of Outlook let you add a Teams meeting link directly — look for a "Teams meeting" button in the event window.

Setting the right time and duration

When you click a time slot, Outlook assumes a one-hour meeting. Change the start and end times by clicking on them. If you need a 30-minute meeting, adjust the end time down. If the meeting runs longer, drag the end time forward.

Outlook shows you a small preview of each attendee's calendar availability if they have shared it with you. Look for green (free) and red (busy) blocks to find a time that works for most people before you send. If someone is unavailable, you can still send the invite — they will see the conflict and can decide whether to attend anyway.

What happens after you click Send

When you send an invite, Outlook adds the meeting to your calendar and sends a calendar request to each attendee. They see it in their inbox and calendar as a tentative event. They can click "Accept", "Tentative", or "Decline" to respond.

As responses come in, Outlook updates the attendee list in your event window. You can see at a glance who has accepted, who is still deciding, and who declined. If someone declines and you want to reschedule, you can edit the event and send an update to everyone.

Editing or canceling a meeting you already sent

Open the event in your calendar and click "Edit". Make your changes — new time, new attendees, updated description — then click "Send update". Outlook notifies everyone of the change. If you cancel the meeting entirely, click "Delete" and choose whether to send a cancellation notice to attendees.

If you only want to remove one person from the meeting, open the event, delete their name from the attendee list, and click "Send update". That person will receive a cancellation notice for that specific meeting.

Inviting people who are not in your contacts

You do not need someone in your contacts to send them an invite. Type their full email address in the "Add attendees" field and Outlook will accept it. If you type a partial name or email, Outlook searches your contacts and recent emails to suggest matches — click the person you want to add.

If you are inviting someone outside your organization and their email address is not recognized, Outlook may ask you to confirm you want to send the invite outside your network. Click through to proceed.

Using recurring meetings

If you need the same meeting every week or every month, click "Recurrence" in the event window before you send. Choose how often the meeting repeats — daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly — and when it should stop. Outlook creates the series and sends invites for all instances at once.

If you need to change one instance of a recurring meeting (move just next week's meeting to a different time), open that specific event and Outlook will ask whether you want to change just that one or the whole series. Choose "This event only" to change just that date.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I send an invite to a group email address?

Yes. Type the group email address in the attendee field just as you would an individual email. Outlook sends the invite to the group address, and the group owner or administrator controls who receives it. Individual group members typically cannot see who else is in the group or respond individually to the invite.

What if I send an invite and then realize I made a mistake?

Open the event in your calendar and click "Edit". Make the correction and click "Send update". Outlook sends a new version of the invite to all attendees with the corrected information. If you sent the invite less than a minute ago and have not closed the event window, you may still be able to click "Undo" in the top menu.

Do attendees have to have Outlook to receive my invite?

No. Attendees receive the invite as an email with a calendar attachment. They can open it in any email program or calendar service — Gmail, Apple Calendar, or others. They may not be able to respond directly from their email client, but they can usually download the event file and add it to their own calendar.

Can I see if someone opened my meeting invite?

Outlook does not track whether someone opened the invite email itself. You can see whether they accepted, declined, or tentatively accepted the meeting request, but not whether they read the message. If you need to know they saw it, you can ask them to confirm in a separate email or message.

What is the difference between Send and Save?

Click "Send" when you are ready to notify attendees of the meeting. Click "Save" if you want to keep the event on your calendar but are not ready to invite people yet. You can open the event later, add attendees, and send the invite then.