Skip to content
AI Shift Planner

Generate a New Schedule

Turn your scheduling notes into a perfectly balanced schedule in minutes. AI Shift Planner handles both employee shift schedules and academic class schedules, guiding you through an interactive process for a result you can trust.

This guide walks you through the workflow, from writing your first rule to inserting the finished schedule into your Google Doc™ or Sheet™.

Two Ways to Start

Section titled “Two Ways to Start”

Whether you have a clear plan or need some guidance, we have an entry point for you.

1. Direct Input

If you know what you need, simply type your scheduling rules directly into your Google Doc™ or the designated “instructions” sheet in Google Sheets™. This is the fastest way to get started.

2. The AI Co-Pilot

Not sure where to begin? The AI Co-Pilot is a guided wizard that asks you questions step-by-step. It starts by asking whether you’re creating a shift or class schedule, then helps you build a comprehensive set of rules. It will launch automatically if you click Generate Schedule with an empty document.

The Interactive Generation Workflow

Section titled “The Interactive Generation Workflow”

Once you click Generate Schedule, the AI begins a transparent, multi-step conversation to create the perfect schedule.

Step 1: AI Analysis

Section titled “Step 1: AI Analysis”

The AI first analyzes your instructions to confirm its understanding. It will show you the people, time slots, and constraints it has detected. This is your chance to ensure everything was interpreted correctly before generation begins.

Step 2: Refine & Suggest

Section titled “Step 2: Refine & Suggest”

Next, the AI may offer suggestions to improve your rules, such as clarifying an ambiguity or adding a common-sense fairness rule. You can accept these suggestions with a single click or choose to proceed with your original instructions.

Step 3: Conflict Resolution

Section titled “Step 3: Conflict Resolution”

If the AI finds rules that are impossible to satisfy (e.g., scheduling someone on their day off), it will pause and explain the conflict. You’ll be given clear options to resolve the issue by editing your instructions.

Step 4: Preview the Result

Section titled “Step 4: Preview the Result”

Before anything is written to your document, you’ll see a full preview of the final, optimized schedule. You can view it as a Grid or a Tabular list. For shift schedules, you’ll also see a handy statistics panel showing the workload distribution.

Step 5: Write to Document

Section titled “Step 5: Write to Document”

Happy with the preview? Click the write button (e.g., Write to Sheet). The schedule is instantly inserted as a clean table in your Doc™ or into a new sheet in your spreadsheet, formatted according to your settings.

Best Practices for Instructions

Section titled “Best Practices for Instructions”

The key to a great schedule is providing clear, specific instructions. The AI automatically detects whether you’re describing a shift or class schedule based on the words you use.

Define who is on your team and what their roles or skills are. This allows for powerful relational rules later.

  • Employees: Anna, Ben, Carla, David.
  • We have two staff types: Seniors (Carla, David) and Juniors (Anna, Ben).
  • Teachers: Mr. Harrison (Physics), Ms. Rodriguez (Chemistry), Dr. Chen (Biology).