Why Dropbox Trusted Reclaim.ai to Redefine Time Management with AI

Reclaim.ai wasn’t built with the simple goal of improving the calendar; it began as an answer to a pressing question: Why is it so hard for teams to get important work done, and why does it only become more difficult as an organization grows? This foundational inquiry became the spark that ignited Reclaim’s mission to reimagine time management and scheduling in a way that empowers individuals, teams, and organizations to be more intentional and productive.

Reclaim was born out of the frustration felt by co-founders Patrick and Henry Shapiro when they experienced firsthand the challenges of managing time and competing priorities across large, distributed teams. As they navigated this issue, they realized that the key to improving productivity wasn’t simply adding more tools—it was about making the tools smarter, more responsive, and better integrated with the workflows that teams already use. The focus was clear: take the ubiquitous, but outdated, calendar and infuse it with intelligence to work better for people and organizations.

In their early conversations with users, it became evident that there was an opportunity to create a smarter calendar—one that could not only reflect priorities but also take action to optimize time. The vision was not just to build a better calendar, but to build a calendar that could adapt to the changing needs of its users, anticipate their requirements, and even adjust on the fly.

As they iterated, the concept of “intelligent time management” emerged. They weren’t alone in this vision. Dropbox’s CEO, Drew Houston, had already outlined a similar concept in 2018, imagining a world where a calendar automatically reorganizes itself to create focused work blocks and where a to-do list reflects a true understanding of priorities. Reclaim’s founders shared this vision and set out to build a tool that could make it a reality.

The Smart Calendar for Teams and Individuals

Reclaim.ai operates at the intersection of several important workplace systems: project management, customer relationship management (CRM), and personal productivity. In most organizations, these systems capture what’s important, but they often exist in silos, making it hard to align priorities across teams. While CRMs can give insights into critical customers and deals, and project management tools can track which product initiatives matter most, the calendar is where these priorities converge.

Reclaim set out to change this by focusing on the calendar, the single most important tool for managing and allocating time. The calendar isn’t just where meetings are scheduled; it’s where an individual’s day-to-day priorities are realized. Reclaim recognized that if you want to truly understand what someone is focused on, their calendar tells a more honest story than any other system of record.

By integrating deeply with a user’s calendar, Reclaim provides an intuitive platform where scheduling decisions are informed by the broader organizational priorities, thus making better use of time across the board. This approach allows teams and companies to align their efforts more effectively, enabling them to address complex scheduling challenges that eat up time and resources.

Turning the Calendar into a Smart Scheduling System

At its core, Reclaim leverages artificial intelligence (AI) to transform static scheduling into a dynamic, intelligent process. It’s not just about finding available time slots for meetings or tasks; Reclaim aims to make scheduling an intelligent, automated process that saves users time and mental energy.

The AI behind Reclaim learns from a user’s calendar history, preferences, and priorities, and then automatically adjusts the schedule based on these insights. For example, Reclaim can prioritize specific habits—like exercise or lunch—based on the user’s preferred time range, and it will automatically move them around to ensure they don’t conflict with other commitments. Furthermore, when new meetings or urgent tasks arise, Reclaim can intelligently reschedule events based on priority, freeing up time for what matters most.

The most exciting feature is how the system adapts in real-time. Imagine waking up to a schedule that already reflects your top priorities for the week, dynamically adjusted with minimal intervention. If a sudden shift occurs—such as a last-minute meeting or urgent project requirement—Reclaim will handle the rescheduling, adjusting to accommodate the change without requiring you to manually tweak the calendar. In essence, Reclaim does the heavy lifting of time management for you, saving up to eight hours a week for users, as it handles the complexities of scheduling, rescheduling, and adapting.

A User-Centered Approach

The simplicity and effectiveness of Reclaim’s design come from its intuitive user interface. After connecting your Google Calendar (with plans for Outlook integration in the works), users can customize how they want their time managed, specifying time blocks for work, breaks, and personal habits. Reclaim allows users to create “Habits,” such as setting a recurring time for lunch or exercise, and adjusts these events dynamically to fit into available slots based on user preferences.

One key feature that distinguishes Reclaim from other scheduling tools is its ability to handle “time defense.” When a habit is set to “busy,” Reclaim will block off that time on your calendar to prevent others from scheduling over it. If a conflict arises, the system can either move the event or automatically decline new invites, ensuring that important habits and priorities are never overlooked. Users can also adjust preferences in real-time, such as shifting workout times or rescheduling lunch, and Reclaim will automatically make those changes in a way that aligns with existing priorities.

The platform’s flexibility extends to how it handles meetings. Reclaim’s Smart Meetings feature allows users to automate the scheduling of recurring meetings, adjusting the timing based on availability, priority, and previous meeting patterns. It even uses machine learning to learn from these patterns, offering suggestions to optimize meeting schedules for future success.

Reclaim’s AI-driven approach has had a profound impact on users. For example, Julian Rost, Engineering Lead at Seibert Group, shared how the tool helped him reclaim 5 to 10 hours a week. Prior to using Reclaim, coordinating meetings was a major time sink. However, after integrating Reclaim’s Smart Meetings and automation features, Rost was able to free up time for more important tasks, including problem-solving and customer-focused work, thus improving both personal and team productivity.

The Acquisition by Dropbox

Reclaim.ai was acquired by Dropbox, a move that promises to amplify the platform’s capabilities. By integrating Reclaim’s advanced AI-powered scheduling tool, Dropbox aims to eliminate the headache of managing calendars, automating the entire process to help users stay on top of their tasks and deadlines. This acquisition directly addresses the growing demand for smarter productivity tools, as Reclaim’s technology reduces the cognitive load of scheduling, enabling users to focus on high-value work. The addition of Reclaim to Dropbox’s suite of tools positions the company as a leader in AI-driven workplace automation, setting it apart from competitors in the productivity space.

Furthermore, the acquisition signals Dropbox’s commitment to expanding its offerings beyond file-sharing and cloud storage into a comprehensive workplace solution. As businesses increasingly look for ways to streamline workflows and boost productivity, Reclaim’s scheduling capabilities provide a critical piece of the puzzle. With plans for deeper integration with Dropbox’s other services and new features like Outlook compatibility, the acquisition strengthens Dropbox’s position in the enterprise market and sets the stage for continued innovation in workplace automation.

More AI, More Productivity

Looking ahead, Reclaim is focused on continuing to expand its AI-driven features. Reclaim.ai has launched Smart Meetings, an AI-powered solution designed to automate the scheduling and rescheduling of meetings. The new feature eliminates the hassle of managing calendars by automatically taking into account team members’ time zones, availability, and priorities, which is especially helpful for remote, in-person, and hybrid teams. This comes after a study by Reclaim found that the average professional spends nearly 15 hours per week in meetings, along with up to 3 hours just managing their schedules. The goal of Smart Meetings is to remove scheduling as a barrier to collaboration, so teams can focus on meaningful interactions instead of wasted time managing calendars. According to Patrick Lightbody, Reclaim’s CEO, this shift could save companies millions annually by reducing time wasted on scheduling tasks.

Smart Meetings introduces advanced AI features that streamline meeting management, such as auto-scheduling recurring meetings, real-time rescheduling when conflicts arise, and the ability to adapt meeting lengths based on priorities. It also integrates seamlessly with various platforms used for agendas and meeting rooms, offering support for hybrid teams with conference room integration. The tool has already been tested by companies like HelloFresh, where team members like Ali Havasi, Engineering Manager, report that it has significantly reduced time spent adjusting their calendars, allowing for more productive and effective meetings.

Reclaim also envisions a future where AI not only helps manage time but also interprets a user’s calendar to proactively suggest actions, such as shifting tasks based on team needs or personal energy levels.

Reclaim.ai has become an invaluable tool for anyone looking to take control of their time in an increasingly busy world. By seamlessly syncing personal and work calendars and automating scheduling, Reclaim helps users prioritize what truly matters without the usual stress and hassle. Thousands of professionals across various industries trust Reclaim to organize their workweek and reclaim valuable time for what counts. With impressive revenue growth from $1.3M in 2023 to $2.1M in 2024, Reclaim continues to prove that its smart, AI-powered approach to time management is making a real impact. Since its launch in 2019, the platform has steadily expanded its user base, solidifying its role as a key player in reshaping how we manage our time and productivity.