AI-Powered Vacation Request Approval Automation

Automate and streamline vacation request approvals in Google Calendar using an AI agent. This workflow detects new vacation requests, evaluates them against company rules, updates calendar events accordingly, and notifies employees by email, reducing manual workload and ensuring fair policy enforcement.

How the AI Flow works - AI-Powered Vacation Request Approval Automation

Flows

How the AI Flow works

Detect New Vacation Requests.
Monitors a designated Google Calendar for new vacation request events.
Extract and Parse Event Data.
Parses event details such as employee information and requested dates for processing.
AI-Driven Request Evaluation.
The AI agent applies company rules (e.g., only one person per department on vacation at a time) by reviewing calendar events and approving or rejecting requests.
Calendar Update Automation.
Automatically updates the Google Calendar to reflect approved or rejected vacation requests by creating or deleting events.
Employee Notification.
Sends automated email notifications to inform employees of the approval or rejection decision.

Prompts used in this flow

Below is a complete list of all prompts used in this flow to achieve its functionality. Prompts are the instructions given to the AI model to generate responses or perform actions. They guide the AI in understanding user intent and generating relevant outputs.

AI Agent

An AI-powered Vacation Approval Agent that automates vacation request approvals based on specified business logic and interacts with calendar and email tools.

                You are an AI-powered Vacation Approval Agent triggered by the creation of a new event in a designated Google Calendar (e.g., "Vacation Requests"). Your role is to automate the vacation approval process based on predefined rules. Execute the following steps when a new calendar event is detected:

1. **Extract Event Details**:
   * Read the new event from Google Calendar.
   * Extract: employee name, department (from event description or title, e.g., "Vacation Request: Peter, Accounts"), requested vacation dates, and event ID.
   * Validate that the event is a vacation request (e.g., title contains "Vacation Request").
2. **Evaluate Request**:
   * Apply this rule: Only one employee from a department can be on vacation on the same day.
     * Check the calendar for existing approved vacation using the view events tool (e.g., events titled "Approved Vacation: [Employee Name]") on the same dates.
     * If another employee from the same department (e.g., Kamil from Accounts when Peter from Accounts requests) has an approved vacation on any of the requested dates, reject the request.
     * [Additional rules can be added here if provided, e.g., team capacity or leave type restrictions.]
   * Log the decision reasoning for transparency.
3. **Update Calendar (THE WAY YOU HAVE TO UPDATE THE CALENDAR IS TO CREATE A NEW EVENT WITH THE EXACT SAME DETAILS AND DATE AND TIME AND DELETE THE OLD ONE (THE ORIGINAL EVENT))**:
   * If approved, update the event title to "Approved Vacation: [Employee Name]" or set a specific status/color.
   * If rejected, delete the event from the calendar.
4. **Notify Employee**:
   * Send an email to the employee using their email address (from event description (event creator) or a predefined employee database) using the email notification tool.
   * Email details:
     * **Subject**: "Vacation Request Decision"
     * **Body**:
       * Approval: "Your vacation request for [dates] has been approved."
       * Rejection: "Your vacation request for [dates] was rejected because another employee from your department is already scheduled for vacation on those dates."

Components used in this flow

Below is a complete list of all components used in this flow to achieve its functionality. Components are the building blocks of every AI Flow. They allow you to create complex interactions and automate tasks by connecting various functionalities. Each component serves a specific purpose, such as handling user input, processing data, or integrating with external services.

Flow description

Purpose and benefits

Overview

This workflow automates the process of managing vacation requests submitted as Google Calendar events. By integrating an AI agent with Google Calendar and email notifications, the system evaluates vacation requests according to predefined business rules, updates the calendar accordingly, and communicates the decision to the requesting employee. This brings efficiency, transparency, and scalability to a traditionally manual HR process.

Trigger: New Google Calendar Event

  • The automation is initiated whenever a new event is created in a specific Google Calendar (configured for vacation requests, e.g., arshiakahani@gmail.com).
  • The event typically contains the employee’s name, department, requested vacation dates, and other relevant details in the title and description.

Data Processing

  • The event data is parsed and converted into a plain text format using a template, making it suitable for further processing by the AI agent.
  • This ensures the agent receives all necessary information (employee name, department, dates, etc.) in a structured, readable way.

AI Agent: Vacation Approval Logic

The core of the workflow is an AI-powered agent (“Vacation Manager”) configured with the following logic:

  1. Extracts Event Details:

    • Reads the event to extract the employee’s name, department, requested dates, and event ID.
    • Checks if the event is indeed a vacation request (e.g., title contains “Vacation Request”).

  2. Evaluates the Request:

    • Applies the rule: Only one employee per department can be on vacation on the same day.
    • Searches the calendar for overlapping “Approved Vacation” events for the same department and dates.
    • Decides to approve or reject the request based on these rules.
    • Logs the reasoning for audit and transparency.

  3. Updates the Calendar:

    • If approved, creates a new event with the title changed to “Approved Vacation: [Employee Name]” (and deletes the original request event).
    • If rejected, deletes the vacation request event from the calendar.

  4. Notifies the Employee:

    • Sends a notification email to the employee, informing them of the approval or rejection.
    • Email includes clear subject and body text, with reasons for rejection if applicable.

Integrated Tools

The AI agent can use the following tools, connected as workflow nodes:

Tool NameFunctionality
View EventsSearches the calendar for overlapping or conflicting vacation events.
Create EventAdds a new event to the calendar to mark an approved vacation.
Delete EventRemoves calendar events (used for both cleaning up requests and rejected vacations).
Notification EmailSends approval or rejection emails to the employee.
OpenAI LLMProvides the underlying language and reasoning capability for the agent.

Output

  • The agent’s decision and reasoning are displayed in a chat interface, allowing HR or managers to review actions taken by the system.
  • All actions (approvals, rejections, notifications) are performed automatically, minimizing manual intervention.

Why This Workflow is Useful

  • Scalability: Handles large volumes of vacation requests with consistent application of rules.
  • Automation: Reduces manual HR workload and response times.
  • Transparency: Logs decisions and sends clear communications to requesters.
  • Flexibility: Rules and logic can be extended to include more complex policies (e.g., team capacity, leave types).
  • Integration: Seamlessly connects Google Calendar and email, making it easy to fit into existing processes.

Process Flow Diagram

Below is a simplified flow of the automation:

  1. New Calendar Event (Vacation Request)
    ⮑ Parse Event Data
    ⮑ AI Agent Evaluates Request:
    • Checks for conflicts
    • Approves or rejects
      ⮑ Calendar Updated (Create/Approve or Delete/Reject)
      ⮑ Notification Email Sent to Employee
      ⮑ Decision Logged in Chat Output

Example Scenario

  1. Peter from Accounts submits a vacation request for July 10–15.
  2. The workflow triggers on event creation, parses the request, and passes it to the AI agent.
  3. The agent checks if anyone else from Accounts has an approved vacation for those dates.
    • If not, the request is approved: The event is re-created as “Approved Vacation: Peter”, and an approval email is sent.
    • If Kamil from Accounts already has an approved vacation on July 12, the request is rejected: Event is deleted and Peter receives a rejection email stating the reason.

This automation ensures fairness, compliance with HR policies, and timely communication—making it ideal for organizations looking to streamline leave management and reduce administrative overhead.

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