Auto convert meeting link to join button in chat

1. A computer-implemented method comprising:

monitoring, by a server supporting text-based communication sessions, a text-based communication session among at least two participants;

detecting, by the server, in the text-based communication session a text string that is received from a first participant and represents a link to a known meeting service at least in part by: parsing text in the text-based communication session to identify the text string, and pattern matching at least part of the text string with at least part of text strings indicative of known meeting services;

in response to detection of the text string in the text-based communication session, converting, by the server, the text string to a graphical user interface element that allows a connection by a second participant to the known meeting service; and

outputting, for display via a graphical user interface, the graphical user interface element in association with the text-based communication session.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein detecting comprises:

parsing text in the text-based communication session to detect a text-string that is a universal resource locator; and

pattern matching of the universal resource locator with respect to known meeting services to determine that the universal resource locator refers to a meeting service.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein detecting further comprises:

expanding the universal resource locator by following all redirects associated with the universal resource locator to produce a resolved universal resource locator;

wherein pattern matching is based on the resolved universal resource locator with respect to a database of the known meeting services.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

in response to received input associated with the graphical user interface element, retrieving meeting information corresponding to a current state of a meeting supported by the known meeting service; and

displaying, via the graphical user interface, the meeting information corresponding to the current state of the meeting in association with the text-based communication session.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

determining whether the known meeting service to which the text string is a link allows retrieval of information associated with a meeting supported by the known meeting service;

if it is determined that the known meeting service allows retrieval of information, retrieving for the meeting one or more of: start time and duration, identities of participants, identity of meeting host, or status; and

outputting, for display by the graphical user interface, the information associated with the meeting.

6. The method of claim 5 , further comprising displaying the information associated with the meeting including at least one of: identity information of participants of the meeting or identifiers of participants already in the meeting.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the text-based communication session is one of a: chat session, email communication, or text-messaging session.

8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising displaying the graphical user interface element by a client application running on a user device.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the link is for a meeting already in progress, an ad-hoc meeting, or a scheduled meeting to be conducted in the future.

10. An apparatus comprising:

a network interface unit configured to enable network communications;

a processor coupled to the network interface unit, wherein the processor is configured to:

monitor a text-based communication session among at least two participants;

detect in the text-based communication session a text string that is received from a first participant and represents a link to a known meeting service at least in part by: parsing text in the text-based communication session to identify the text string, and pattern matching at least part of the text string with at least part of text strings indicative of known meeting services;

in response to detection of the text string in the text-based communication session, convert the text string to a graphical user interface element that allows a connection by a second participant to the known meeting service; and

cause display, via a graphical user interface, of the graphical user interface element in association with the text-based communication session.

11. The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the processor is configured to detect by:

parsing text in the text-based communication session to detect a text-string that is a universal resource locator; and

pattern matching of the universal resource locator with respect to known meeting services to determine that the universal resource locator refers to a meeting service.

12. The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the processor is further configured to:

expand the universal resource locator by following all redirects associated with the universal resource locator to produce a resolved universal resource locator; and

perform the pattern matching based on the resolved universal resource locator with respect to a database of the known meeting services.

13. The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the processor is configured to:

in response to received input associated with the graphical user interface element, retrieve meeting information corresponding to a current state of a meeting supported by the known meeting service; and

cause display, via the graphical user interface, of the meeting information corresponding to the current state of the meeting in association with the text-based communication session.

14. The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the processor is further configured to:

determine whether the known meeting service to which the text string is a link allows retrieval of information associated with a meeting supported by the known meeting service; and

if it is determined that the known meeting service allows retrieval of information, retrieve for the meeting one or more of: start time and duration, identities of participants, identity of meeting host, or status.

15. The apparatus of claim 14 , wherein the processor is further configured to cause display of the information associated with the meeting.

16. One or more non-transitory computer readable storage media encoded with instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform operations including:

monitoring a text-based communication session among at least two participants;

detecting in the text-based communication session a text string that is received from a first participant and represents a link to a known meeting service at least in part by: parsing text in the text-based communication session to identify the text string, and pattern matching at least part of the text string with at least part of text strings indicative of known meeting services;

in response to detection of the text string in the text-based communication session, converting the text string to a graphical user interface element that allows a connection by a second participant to the known meeting service; and

displaying, via a graphical user interface, the graphical user interface element in association with the text-based communication session.

17. The non-transitory computer readable storage media of claim 16 , wherein the instructions operable for detecting include instructions operable for:

parsing text in the text-based communication session to detect a text-string that is a universal resource locator; and

pattern matching of the universal resource locator with respect to known web-based meeting services to determine that the universal resource locator refers to a meeting service.

18. The non-transitory computer readable storage media of claim 16 , further comprising instructions operable for:

in response to received input associated with the graphical user interface element, retrieving meeting information corresponding to a current state of a meeting supported by the known meeting service; and

displaying, via the graphical user interface, the meeting information corresponding to the current state of the meeting in association with the text-based communication session.

19. The non-transitory computer readable storage media of claim 16 , further comprising instructions operable for:

determining whether the known meeting service to which the text string is a link allows retrieval of information associated with a meeting supported by the known meeting service; and

if it is determined that the known meeting service allows retrieval of information, retrieving for the meeting one or more of: start time and duration, identities of participants, identity of meeting host, or status.

20. The non-transitory computer readable storage media of claim 19 , further comprising instructions operable for displaying the information associated with the meeting.