Google Workspace Updates
This official feed from the Google Workspace team provides essential information about new features and improvements for Google Workspace customers.
What’s changing Building upon the recent announcement of NotebookLM and NotebookLM Plus becoming available as a Google Workspace core service with enterprise-grade data protection, we’re excited to introduce the ability for admins to specify Context-Aware Access (CAA) policies when their users access NotebookLM and NotebookLM Plus. Who’s impacted Admins and end users Why it’s important Using Context-Aware Access, admins can set up different access levels for NotebookLM and NotebookLM Plus based on a user’s identity and the context of the request (location, device security status, IP address). This can help provide granular access controls without the need for a VPN, and give users access to Google Workspace resources based on organizational policies. Getting started Admins: Visit the Help Center to learn more about protecting your business with Context-Aware Access, about qualifying Google Workspace editions and how to turn this service on or off. End users: Visit the Help Center to learn more about NotebookLM and NotebookLM Plus. Rollout pace Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains: Available now. Availability Context-Aware Access is available for Google Workspace: Enterprise Standard and Plus Education Standard and Plus Enterprise Essentials Plus Frontline Standard Cloud Identity Premium Resources Google Workspace Admin Help: Protect your business with Context-Aware Access Google Workspace Admin Help: NotebookLM and NotebookLM Plus coming to Google Workspace as core services Google Help: Get started with NotebookLM and NotebookLM Plus
What’s changing Last year, we introduced a collection of building blocks designed to help you manage important business workflows in Google Docs, including team task management, project tracking, hiring, and more. Today, we’re excited to announce an additional building block that adds an AI-generated summary to your content using Gemini in Docs. By going to Insert > Building Blocks > AI Summary or typing “@” followed by “AI summary,” Gemini will provide a summary that you can instantly insert or edit alongside other document collaborators. In addition, you can select the refresh option to update your summary when you make changes to your document. doc content. These AI-generated summaries make it easier to consume long documents and can be particularly useful for content such as technical documents, meeting notes, strategy documents, marketing briefs, and more. Getting started Admins: There is no admin control for this feature. End users: Visit the Help Center to learn more about inserting smart chips & building blocks in your Google Doc. Rollout pace Rapid Release domains: Extended rollout (potentially longer than 15 days for feature visibility) March 17, 2025 Scheduled Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on April 8, 2025 Availability Available for Google Workspace: Business Standard and Plus Enterprise Standard and Plus Google One AI Premium Anyone who previously purchased these add-ons will also receive this feature: Gemini Business* Gemini Enterprise* *As of January 15, 2025, we’re no longer offering the Gemini Business and Gemini Enterprise add-ons for sale. Please refer to this announcement for more details. Resources Google Help: Insert smart chips and building blocks in your Google Doc
What’s changing After a Vault or Data export (takeout), admins can now convert their exported client-side encrypted documents to Word files. This allows organizations to maintain ownership over, access to, and analysis of sensitive data in a portable format even after it has been exported from Google Workspace. Eligible Google Workspace admins can use this form to request access to the beta. We’ll share more specific instructions once you’re accepted into the beta. Getting started Admins: Client-side encryption can be enabled at the domain, OU, and Group levels (Admin console > Data > Compliance > Client-side encryption). Visit our Help Center to learn more about client-side encryption. Rollout pace The feature will be available immediately once you're accepted into the beta. Availability Available to Google Workspace Enterprise Plus, Education Standard and Education Plus customers. Resources Google Workspace Admin Help: About client-side encryption
What’s happening Many Google Workspace organizations rely on Google Chat to facilitate communication and collaboration, including with users in the same domain, users in other Workspace Domains, and users with personal Google accounts. Currently, each organization in an external 1:1 direct message conversation can set their own retention policy, which impacts what messages end users see in the product user interface and what admins see in Google Vault. To provide a more consistent product experience across conversation types, we are changing how retention policies are applied to 1:1 direct messages with external participants. Following this change, 1:1 direct messages with external participants will respect the retention policy of the user who created the conversation. If a user in your organization did not create the conversation, they may see more or fewer messages in the Chat user interface after this change since the creator’s policy will be respected. You can see who created the conversation by scrolling to the top of the conversation, or hovering over the external badge. This change does not impact an admin’s ability to apply a retention policy or ability to access 1:1 direct messages in Google Vault or Data Export for users with a Google Vault policy applied. If you do not have Vault, or do not have a Vault policy applied, changes in access to conversations will apply to the product user interface and Data Export. Starting May 1, 2025: All new external 1:1 direct messages will respect the retention policy of the creator. For users with a Vault policy applied, the creator’s policy will only impact messages in the Chat product user interface. Starting June 2, 2025: Existing 1:1 direct messages will migrate to respect the retention policy of the creator. For users with a Vault policy applied, the creator’s policy will only impact messages in the Chat product user interface. By August 1, 2025: We anticipate the migration will be complete. Until February 1, 2026: We will preserve impacted 1:1 direct messages in Google Vault or Data Export for 6 months past the end of the migration to allow organizations to download a copy of the data. Why it matters It’s important to note that if your organization has a Google Vault policy applied to your users, you will not lose access to any conversations—even if they no longer appear in the Chat product user interface. If your organization does not have Vault or does not have a Vault policy applied, some conversations that were previously available may no longer be available in Data Export or Vault. Getting started Admins: For more information, including answers to common questions about this change, check out our admin guide to message retention changes. We recommend that you confirm your external chatting settings and ensure you have Vault policies properly configured (if applicable) to preserve data for the desired amount of time. Visit the Help Center to learn more about retaining messages in Google Chat with Vault and using Vault to search Google Chat. If you’d like to obtain a copy of all conversations not created by your organization, you can perform a Vault or Data Export after August 1, 2025. To reduce the size of the export, you can use the Vault search operator “is:externalmanaged” after August 1, 2025. End users: Visit the Help Center to learn about message history for conversations with work or school accounts. Resources Google Workspace Admin Help: Guide to Chat 1:1 DM retention changes Google Workspace Admin Help: Integrate Chat with a third-party archiving solution Google Workspace Admin Help: Export all your organization's data Google Workspace Admin Help: Control external Chat and spaces chat options Google Help: Retain messages in Google Chat with Vault Google Help: Export your data from Google Chat Google Help: Search for Google Chat messages Google Workspace Admin Help: Use Vault to search Google Chat Google Workspace Admin Help: Retain messages in Google Chat with Vault Google Help: Learn about message history for conversations with work or school accounts
3 New updates Unless otherwise indicated, the features below are available to all Google Workspace customers, and are fully launched or in the process of rolling out. Rollouts should take no more than 15 business days to complete if launching to both Rapid and Scheduled Release at the same time. If not, each stage of rollout should take no more than 15 business days to complete. Updates to the attachment menu in the Gmail app We’ve updated and added new attachment options to the Gmail app on Android and iOS devices. On Android, in addition to the current options for attaching a file or inserting an item from Drive, you’ll now notice a dedicated menu item for Camera. On iOS, we recently replaced the attachment sheet that previously appeared at the bottom of your screen after clicking the attachment icon. Now, iOS users will see a menu experience similar to the one on Android devices that includes: Photos, Camera, Files, and Drive. Rollout to Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains is complete for iOS devices. | Rolling out now to Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains for Android devices. | Available to Google Workspace customers, Google Workspace Individual subscribers, and users with personal Google accounts. | Visit the Help Center to learn more about sending attachments with your Gmail message. Additional accessibility tags for Tables, Equations, and Checkboxes in PDFs exported from Google Docs Last year, we added structural and accessibility tagging in PDFs exported from Google Docs to improve the ability for users with screen readers and other assistive technology to read and navigate PDFs. We’re building upon this by introducing support for tables, equations, and checkboxes. As a result, users will be able to export a wider range of content in an accessible format. | Rolling out now to Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains. | Available to all Google Workspace customers, Workspace Individual Subscribers, and users with personal Google accounts. | Visit the Help Center to learn more about using Google Docs with a screen reader. 2.0 Flash Thinking Experimental model upgrades in the Gemini app and Deep Research We’re pleased to announce that an improved version of Gemini 2.0 Flash Thinking Experimental will become available to Gemini app users. Built on the foundation of 2.0 Flash, this model delivers improved performance and better advanced reasoning capabilities with efficiency and speed. Gemini Advanced users will also have access to a 1M token context window with this model. Additionally, we're upgrading Gemini Deep Research to use the 2.0 Flash Thinking Experimental model. With advanced reasoning from 2.0 Flash Thinking Experimental, Gemini is even better at all stages of research from planning to delivering even more insightful and detailed reports. Rollout to Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains is complete. | The improved version of 2.0 Flash Thinking Experimental and Deep Research with 2.0 Flash Thinking Experimental is available for Google Workspace Business Starter, Standard and Plus; Enterprise Starter, Standard and Plus; Frontline Starter and Standard; Essentials, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Essentials Plus; Education Standard and Plus; and Google Workspace for Nonprofits and customers with a Gemini Education or Gemini Education Premium add-on, and anyone who previously purchased a Gemini Business or Gemini Enterprise add-on. | Visit the Help Center to learn more about using the Gemini app with a work or school account in general, as well as for in-depth research. Previous announcements The announcements below were published on the Workspace Updates blog earlier this week. Please refer to the original blog posts for complete details. Quickly add events to Google Calendar based on your emails with Gemini in Gmail In addition to asking Gemini in Gmail to perform calendar related actions or answer questions about your calendar, you can now add an event to your calendar directly from an email. | Learn more about adding events to your calendar from Gmail using Gemini. Create files and folders using Gemini in the side panel of Google Drive We're excited to expand Gemini in Drive capabilities by introducing the ability to create new Google Docs, Sheets, Slides and folders in your Drive. | Learn more about creating files and folders in Drive using Gemini. View invited meeting participants on Google Meet hardware You can now see participants who were invited to the meeting but have yet to join the call right on Google Meet hardware. | Learn more about invited Meet participants. Use Gemini in the side panel of Workspace apps in four more languages Gemini in the side panel of Google Docs, Google Sheets, Google Drive, and Gmail can now be used in four additional languages: Greek, Catalan, Indonesian, and Malay. | Learn more about new languages for Gemini in the side panel of Workspace apps. More AI-powered features in Google Meet and Google Chat are coming to Google Workspace Business and Enterprise editions Earlier this year, we announced that we’re including the best of Google AI in Workspace Business and Enterprise plans without the need to purchase a separate Gemini add-on. Beginning this week, even more AI-powered features are available for Business and Enterprise editions. | Learn more about additional AI-powered features. Export your client-side encrypted documents to Microsoft Word files Launching in beta, you can now export client-side encrypted Google Docs to Word files. This means you'll continue to own the encryption keys that protect your files to prevent unauthorized access from any third party (including Google or foreign governments) but convert your files as needed. | Learn more about exporting your client-side encrypted documents to Microsoft Word files. Embed AppSheet apps directly in Google Sites You can now embed authenticated AppSheet applications as iframes directly within Google Sites pages. | Learn more about AppSheet apps in Sites. More languages are available for recorded captions and transcripts in Google Meet Transcripts in Google Meet are now available in seven additional languages: French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, and Spanish. | Learn more about recorded captions and transcripts in Google Meet. "Take notes for me" in Google Meet is available in seven additional languages We’re rolling out support “take notes for me” in the following seven additional languages: French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, and Spanish. | Learn more about “Take notes for me” in Google Meet. Deep Research and Gems in the Gemini app are now available for more Google Workspace customers We’re expanding the availability of Deep Research and Gems in the Gemini app to Google Workspace: Business Starter Enterprise Starter Education Fundamentals, Standard, and Plus Frontline Starter and Standard Essentials, Enterprise Essentials, and Enterprise Essentials Plus Nonprofits Learn more about Deep Research and Gems. Introducing AppSheet User Pass You can now license any user of your apps with AppSheet User Pass. | Learn more about the AppSheet User Pass. Consent re-confirmation for under 18 users accessing Additional Services will soon be required In September 2024, we communicated that we now require admins who have Additional Services enabled for users under the age of 18 to re-review them on an annual basis. Admins are always in control of which services their users have access to, and this gives admins an opportunity to ensure the right users have access to the right services. | Learn more about consent re-confirmation for under 18 users accessing Additional Services. Completed rollouts The features below completed their rollouts to Rapid Release domains, Scheduled Release domains, or both. Please refer to the original blog posts for additional details. Rapid Release Domains: Adding real-time Markdown styling and code formatting support in Google Chat Scheduled Release Domains: Scroll through live captions and translated captions in Google Meet Rapid and Scheduled Release Domains: Gemini Deep Research and most experimental models now available to Google Workspace users in Gemini Advanced Use Gemini in the side panel of Google Slides in seven new languages Enhancements for custom and AI-generated backgrounds in Google Meet “Extensions” in Gemini are now “apps” and we’ve upgraded the model powering apps to 2.0 Flash Create files and folders using Gemini in the side panel of Google Drive Export your client-side encrypted documents to Microsoft Word files (beta only) Embed AppSheet apps directly in Google Sites Introducing AppSheet User Pass For a recap of announcements in the past six months, check out What’s new in Google Workspace (recent releases).
What’s changing When a Google Workspace for Education admin chooses to enable Additional Services for students under the age of 18 to use, they acknowledge that they may be required to collect parental or guardian consent. This includes access to services like YouTube, Google Translate, Google Photos, Google Books, Google Earth and more. In September 2024, we communicated that we now require admins who have Additional Services enabled for users under the age of 18 to re-review them on an annual basis. Admins are always in control of which services their users have access to, and this gives admins an opportunity to ensure the right users have access to the right services. If admins do not want to provide access to Additional Services for their under 18 users, they can turn them off for those users. If admins want to keep Additional services enabled for under 18 users, they need to reconfirm parental consent in the admin console. If admins do not take action, under 18 users who previously had access to Additional Services will lose access in the coming weeks. Admins can re-enable access to Additional Services at any time. How admins can take action Admins were first provided notice of this re-confirmation requirement in September 2024, which indicated a 6 months notice to complete the re-review process before the March 2025 rollout. The banner in the admin console has turned red to alert admins that action is required. While the rollout begins in March, it might take several weeks before some users in your organization are impacted. You can easily view which applications require consent reconfirmation from Admin console > Apps > Additional Google services. You can re-confirm consent by checking the box next to the app, hovering over the app, or using the three-dot overflow menu. Experience for impacted end users If users lose access to a specific service they’ll be notified “Your Google Workspace for Education account is designated as under 18 and your organization’s admin has not granted you access to this Additional Service. To regain access, inform your admin that you need this service to be enabled.“ Who’s impacted Admins and end users under the age of 18 Why it’s important Admins are in control of which services their users have access to, and to do so in alignment with both our terms of service and local laws and regulations that determine what services are appropriate for users under 18. Since admins manage which services their students have access to, only they can enable or disable access for their under 18 users. This is a guide to support admins with collecting consent from parents, which includes this template for communicating with parents and guardians around collecting consent. Additional details The requirement to review and re-confirm access to Additional Products is an annual requirement customers must complete for their under 18 users, subject to their Google Workspace for Education Terms of Service. Getting started Admins: Visit the Help Center to learn more about Communicating with Parents and Guardians about Google Workspace for Education, as well as turning additional services on and off. End users: There is no action required. Rollout pace Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains: This update will start taking effect as early as March 2025, though it may take several weeks to reach all customers. Availability This change impacts Google Workspace: Education Fundamentals, Standard, and Plus Resources Google Workspace Admin Help: Turn on or off additional Google services Google Workspace Admin Help: Communicating with Parents and Guardians about Google Workspace for Education
What’s changing Starting today, you can license any user of your apps with AppSheet User Pass. Each User Pass grants unlimited access to an AppSheet app for the month and your users can consume as many User Pass licenses as they need. This gives you the flexibility to pay for the features that will make a difference for your users, whether they are internal or external to your organization, signed-in or unauthenticated. Additional details How is an AppSheet User Pass is different from traditional Google Workspace licenses?: User Pass licenses are available to your app users as a pool, rather than assigned to individual users through the Google Admin console. Licenses are automatically consumed each time an eligible user accesses one of your AppSheet Enterprise Plus or AppSheet Core apps. Eligible users include those that do not already have an AppSheet license or have a license of a lower tier than the app owner, including internal, external, or unauthenticated users. Users consume a license for each app they use - allowing you to license your app users at a discounted rate. User Pass will not independently grant these users the ability to build apps with Core or Enterprise features, but it is possible for an eligible user to consume more than one User Pass license if they access multiple unique apps in a month. For example: Please also note that: The pool of User Pass licenses resets at the end of the calendar month and unused licenses do not rollover. You will only be charged for the user pass licenses that you have committed to purchase. AppSheet User Pass will be available through Workspace and the Partner Sales Console. We recently alerted customers that starting April 10, 2025, the AppSheet Enterprise Standard External User and AppSheet Enterprise Plus External User licenses will no longer be available for purchase. Customers with existing external user licenses will not see any interruption in service during this transition and will receive additional notice with next steps. Getting started Admins: Visit the Help Center to learn more about User Pass. User pass licenses can be monitored in the AppSheet Admin Console via the Licenses page. Rollout pace Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains: Available now. Availability Available for Google Workspace: Business Starter, Standard, and Plus Enterprise Starter, Standard, and Plus Education Standard and Plus Frontline Standard AppSheet Enterprise Plus Resources AppSheet Help: Allow app access as needed with AppSheet User Pass AppSheet Help: Overview of AppSheet administration AppSheet Help: About external user licensing
What’s changing Beginning today, we’re expanding the availability of Deep Research and Gems in the Gemini app to Google Workspace: Business Starter Enterprise Starter Education Fundamentals, Standard, and Plus Frontline Starter and Standard Essentials, Enterprise Essentials, and Enterprise Essentials Plus Nonprofits Note: There is no change to Google Workspace or Education customers with access to Gemini Advanced already using Deep Research or Gems. Who’s impacted Admins and end users Why it matters Gems are AI experts that you can customize across a variety of topics, helping you complete specific goals, tasks, and workflows based on your inputs, while reducing repetitive prompting. You can use Gems to gather target feedback on new products or services, get suggestions on your writing, brainstorm creative learning experiences and more. You can further customize your Gems by anchoring them to specific files, including Google Docs or Google Sheets via Drive, for even more relevant responses. You can also take advantage of a variety of our pre-made Gems to quickly get started, like “Sales pitch ideator” to create compelling pitch materials to drive conversions, “Copy creator” to draft on-brand marketing copy, “Learning coach” to build knowledge with step-by-step study guidance and practice activities, and “Sentiment analyzer” to dive into customer feedback and identify trends, and more. Deep Research helps save hours of work by browsing the web on your behalf, analyzing information in real-time, and developing comprehensive research reports in minutes to get you up to speed on just about anything. You can use Deep Research to understand your business landscape with comprehensive reports on emerging trends in any industry or competitor products and services. It can also help educators and students 18+ with grant writing, lesson planning, class projects and more. Additional details Currently, some features in Gems are only available in a limited set of languages. Refer to this article in our Help Center for more information: Gems in Gemini Apps. Currently, Deep Research and Gems are limited to the Gemini web app (gemini.google.com) for Google Workspace business and education users 18 years and older. We’re planning to support Deep Research and Gems in the Gemini mobile app for these users at a later date. Deep Research use is limited to five reports per user per 30 day period for the Google Workspace editions indicated in this post. For full usage of Deep Research, we recommend exploring Google Workspace business and education plans with access to Gemini Advanced. Getting started Admins: Deep Research and Gems are available in the Gemini app (gemini.google.com) by default — there is no admin control for this feature. File upload from Google Drive in Gems requires you to turn on Workspace extensions in Gemini. Visit the Help Center to learn more about turning Google Workspace extensions on or off for your organization. End users: Visit the Help Center to learn more about performing in-depth research and using Gems in the Gemini app. File upload from Google Drive in Gems requires you to connect Google Workspace apps & services in Extensions setting. Rollout pace Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains: Full rollout (1–3 days for feature visibility) starting on March 13, 2025 Availability Available for Google Workspace: Business Starter Enterprise Starter Education Standard, Plus, and Fundamentals Frontline Starter and Standard Essentials, Enterprise Essentials, and Enterprise Essentials Plus Nonprofits Resources The Keyword: New Gemini app features, available to try at no cost Google Help: Use the Gemini web app for in-depth research Google Help: Use Gems in Gemini Apps Google Help: Upload and analyze files in the Gemini web app Google Workspace Updates Blog: Gemini Deep Research and experimental models now available to Google Workspace users in Gemini Advanced Gemini: Gemini Deep Research Google Workspace Updates Blog: Customize Gemini (gemini.google.com) for your specific needs with Gems Google Workspace Updates Blog: Tackle repetitive tasks, extract deeper insights, and more with the latest premade Gems in the Gemini app
What’s changing Today, we are excited to start rolling out support “take notes for me” in the following seven additional languages: French German Italian Japanese Korean Portuguese Spanish When you enable "take notes for me” in Google Meet, you'll see the language in which the notes will be taken. You can click on the language to change it or you can change your language from Settings > Meeting records > Language spoken in the meeting. Note that multilingual meetings are not supported at this time. Turning “Take notes for me” on All meeting participants will see a blue pencil icon on their screen and a notification that notes are being taken. They can click on the pencil to see the meeting notes taken so far. Getting started Admins: Visit the Help Center to learn more about allowing Google Meet AI to take notes for my users. End users: Visit the Help Center to learn more about using "Take notes for me" in Google Meet. Rollout pace Rapid and Scheduled Release domains: Extended rollout (potentially longer than 15 days for feature visibility) starting on March 12, 2025. Note: This update will be rolling out at a much slower pace than usual as we carefully monitor performance and quality. We'll update this post when the rollout for each language is complete. Availability Available to Google Workspace Business Standard and Plus Enterprise Standard and Plus Also available with the Gemini Education Premium add-on Anyone who previously purchased these add-ons will also receive this feature: Gemini Enterprise* AI Meetings & Messaging* *As of January 15, 2025, we’re no longer offering the Gemini Enterprise add-ons for sale. Please refer to this announcement for more details. Resources Google Workspace Admin Help: Let Google Meet AI take notes for my users Google Help: Take notes with Gemini in Google Meet
What's changing We're excited to announce that you can now embed authenticated AppSheet applications as iframes directly within Google Sites pages. While previously only public apps could be added to Sites, now, apps that require sign-in can be embedded so that users can securely interact with the app directly on a Google Sites page. Key Benefits Streamlined user experience: Eliminate the need for users to navigate between multiple tabs. Users can now interact with authenticated AppSheet apps directly within Google Sites pages, boosting productivity and efficiency. Centralized workflows: Build powerful, interactive business applications like intranet portals and wikis by embedding key tools and information directly into Google Sites. Controlled by policy: Leverage AppSheet’s existing in-app authentication and policy rules, ensuring consistent and secure access to your applications. Creators have control to disable embedding functionality in their apps. Embed AppSheet Apps in Google Sites Overall, support for iframe embeds of authenticated apps in Sites enables secure, seamless integration of your enterprise-grade AppSheet applications and empowers you to create more robust and user-friendly Google Sites. Additional details Embedding authenticated (e.g. "sign-in required” or “restricted”) apps is only supported for Google Sites pages. “Public apps” continue to be embeddable in any website. Use a Chromium-based browser with third-party cookies enabled. Incognito mode and blocking cookies will prevent apps from functioning properly. We recommend ensuring the embedded AppSheet app (iframe) is fully visible. Partial visibility or excessive zoom may cause interaction issues. Getting started End users: To get started, visit the AppSheet Help Center for more information on running a app in an iFrame on a website. Rollout pace Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains: Available now. Availability Available to all Google Workspace editions with AppSheet Core Resources AppSheet Help: Run an app in an iframe on a website AppSheet Help: Require sign-in: The Essentials AppSheet Help: Share: The Essentials Google Workspace Admin Help: Google Workspace editions that include AppSheet Core
What’s changing Starting today, transcripts in Google Meet are available in seven additional languages: French German Italian Japanese Korean Portuguese Spanish Additionally, captions included with a meeting recording will be available in three additional languages: Italian Korean Japanese Getting started Admins: There is no admin control for this feature. End users: Visit the Help Center to learn more about using recorded captions and transcripts in Google Meet. Rollout pace Rapid and Scheduled Release domains: Extended rollout (potentially longer than 15 days for feature visibility) starting on March 12, 2025. Note: This update will be rolling out at a much slower pace than usual as we carefully monitor performance and quality. We'll update this post when the rollout for each language is complete. Availability Transcripts are available for Google Workspace: Business Standard and Plus Enterprise Starter, Standard, and Plus Education Plus and the Teaching & Learning Add-on Workspace Individual Subscribers Captions included in a meeting recording are available for Google Workspace: Business Plus and Standard Education Plus for users with a "Staff" or "Student" license, and the Teaching & Learning add-on Enterprise Essentials and Essentials Enterprise Starter, Standard, and Plus Workspace Individual Subscribers Google One subscribers with 2 TB or more storage space Resources Google Help: Record a video meeting Google Help: Use Transcripts with Google Meet
What’s changing Launching in beta, you can now export client-side encrypted Google Docs to Word files. This means you'll continue to own the encryption keys that protect your files to prevent unauthorized access from any third party (including Google or foreign governments) but convert your files as needed. Eligible Google Workspace admins can use this form to request access to the beta. We’ll share more specific instructions once you’re accepted into the beta. In Google Docs, navigate to File > Download and decrypt. Getting started Admins: Client-side encryption can be enabled at the domain, OU, and Group levels (Admin console > Data > Compliance > Client-side encryption). Visit our Help Center to learn more about client-side encryption. End users: To export your client-side encrypted Google Doc to a Microsoft Word file go to File > Download and decrypt > Microsoft Word (.docx). Rollout pace The feature will be available immediately once you're accepted into the beta. Availability Available to Google Workspace Enterprise Plus, Education Standard and Education Plus customers Resources Beta application Google Workspace Admin Help: About client-side encryption Google Help: Get started with encrypted files in Drive, Docs, Sheets & Slides
What’s changing Earlier this year, we announced that we’re including the best of Google AI in Workspace Business and Enterprise plans without the need to purchase a separate Gemini add-on. Beginning today, additional AI-powered features are available for Business and Enterprise editions: For Google Meet: Generated background images: With Gemini in Meet, you can generate unique and bespoke meeting backgrounds. Meeting backgrounds can help obscure your surroundings during a meeting or they can enhance the meeting itself. Users will also benefit from our latest model upgrade for background generation, as well as additional style options, like a professional office, library, or home office to help refine their custom backgrounds. Studio look: Gemini in Meet uses machine learning to detect and enhance (if necessary) the quality of your portrait by reducing noise and increasing sharpness, bringing you into focus so you can look your best in meetings. Studio lighting: Using machine learning, Gemini in Meet will simulate studio-quality lighting and adjust light position and brightness in your video feed, so you're perfectly lit for your meeting. Note: Studio lighting is only available on devices that meet certain browser and processor requirements. Visit the Help Center to learn more about device requirements for studio lighting. Studio sound: Gemini in Meet will automatically recreate and balance missing or distorted frequencies helping to make your voice come through crisp and clear. This can be especially useful when dialing in via phone or using bluetooth headsets for example. For Google Chat: Translate for me: Chat will automatically detect and translate over 120 languages to a user’s preferred language while keeping the original message available for review. Instead of navigating outside of Chat to translate a message, this reduces friction and improves collaboration with colleagues, partners and customers in other parts of the world. For Google Drawings: Background image removal: Gemini’s image background removal functionality (also available in Slides and Vids) is now available in Google Drawings. Getting started Admins: Visit the Help Center to learn more about managing access to Gemini features in Workspace services. End users: Background generation: When enabled by your admin, visit the Help Center to learn more about creating background images with Gemini in Google Meet. Studio lighting and look: Visit the Help Center to learn more about improving your video experience. Studio sound: Studio sound is automatically active for dial-in and web when noise cancellation is enabled. Background image removal: Click an image in a drawing in Google Drawings > Edit image > Remove background. Visit the Help center to learn more about removing image backgrounds in Google Drawings, Slides & Vids. Translate for me: Automatic translation via translate for me will be OFF by default. Turn ON the automatic translation setting at chat.google.com (web) or on your Android or iOS device by going to Settings > Automatic Translation > select the box for ‘Translate messages to your preferred language. Visit the Help Center to learn more about using Automatic Translation in Chat. Rollout pace Custom background images, studio lighting, and studio sound in Google Meet: Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on March 11, 2025 Studio look in Google Meet: Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains: Extended rollout (potentially longer than 15 days for feature visibility) starting on March 18, 2025 Translate for me in Google Chat and background image removal in Google Drawings: Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains: Available now. Availability Available for Google Workspace: Business Standard and Plus Enterprise Standard and Plus These features are already available to Gemini for Workspace add-on customers. Note that as of January 15, 2025, Gemini Business, Gemini Enterprise, AI Meetings & Messaging, and AI Security add-ons are no longer available for purchase. Please refer to this announcement for more details. Resources Google Workspace Admin Help: Let users apply backgrounds & special effects Google Help: Create background images with Gemini in Google Meet Google Help: Improve your video and audio experience Google Help: Enhance your video & audio with Gemini in Google Meet Google Help: Filter out noise from your meeting on Google Meet Google Help: Use Automatic Translation in Chat Google Workspace Updates Blog: The best of Google AI, now included in Workspace Business and Enterprise plans
What’s changing Beginning today, Gemini in the side panel of Google Docs, Google Sheets, Google Drive, and Gmail can be used in four additional languages: Greek Catalan Indonesian Malay With Gemini in the side panel of your Workspace apps, you can get help summarizing, brainstorming, and generating content by utilizing insights gathered from your emails, documents, and more—all without switching applications or tabs. Check out our original announcements for Gemini in the side panel of Docs, Sheets, and Drive, and Gmail for even more information. Image generation is supported in these languages as well. Additional details Users may see the “Alpha” badge as we bring more features into Gemini in the side panel of Google Workspace. Image generation of people is not supported in these additional languages at this time. Getting started Admins: The default setting for Gemini features in Workspace services is on. See how you can manage access to AI features in Workspace services. End users: Gemini in the side panel will work according to the language you set in your Google account (myaccount.google.com/language). If you’re accessing other Gemini for Google Workspace features that are supported in English only, you will need to set your Google Account language to English. You can access the side panel by clicking on “Ask Gemini” (spark button) in the top right corner of Docs, Sheets, Drive, and Gmail on the web. Visit the Help Center to learn more about collaborating with Gemini in the side panel of Docs, Sheets, Drive, and Gmail. Rollout pace Rapid Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on March 10, 2025 Scheduled Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on March 18, 2025 Availability Gemini in the side panel of Docs, Sheets, Drive is available to Google Workspace: Business Standard and Plus Enterprise Standard and Plus Customers with the Gemini Education or Gemini Education Premium add-on Customers with the Gemini Business or Gemini Enterprise add-on* Gemini in the side panel of Gmail is available to Google Workspace: Business Starter, Standard and Plus Enterprise Starter, Standard and Plus Customers with the Gemini Education or Gemini Education Premium add-on Customers with the Gemini Business or Gemini Enterprise add-on* *As of January 15, 2025, we’re no longer offering the Gemini Business and Gemini Enterprise add-ons for sale. Please refer to this announcement for more details. Resources Google Help: Supported languages for Gemini for Google Workspace Google Help: Use the side panel to collaborate with Gemini
What’s changing You can now see participants who were invited to the meeting but have yet to join the call right on Google Meet hardware. These participants can be found under the “Also invited” heading. Additionally, you’ll also be able to see the RSVP status of everyone on the invite, including “optional” attendees. This feature makes it easier for you to start meetings more efficiently by quickly determining who has not joined or who has declined. Viewing the guest list in the people panel on a Series One Desk 27 device Viewing the guest list on a Meet hardware touch controller Additional Details Guest lists are hidden for events with more than 50 guests. Invited groups and their participants are not displayed on guest lists. Getting Started Admins: There is no admin control for this feature. End users: On Google Meet hardware devices for eligible Google Workspace editions, this feature will be available by default for Meet calls with a Calendar event. Visit the Help Center to learn more about viewing the Calendar guest list in Google Meet. Rollout pace Rapid Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on March 10, 2025 Scheduled Release domains: Extended rollout (potentially longer than 15 days for feature visibility) starting on March 17, 2025 Availability Available on Google Meet hardware devices for Google Workspace: Enterprise Standard and Plus Business Starter, Standard, and Plus Education Fundamentals, Standard, Plus and the Teaching & Learning add-on Nonprofits Resources Google Help: View Calendar guest list in Google Meet
What’s changing Since rolling out Gemini in the side panel of Google Drive, users have been able to summarize one or multiple documents, get quick facts about a project, interact with the Gemini side panel while viewing PDFs, and we most recently added folder support. Today, we’re excited to expand Gemini in Drive capabilities by introducing the ability to create new Google Docs, Sheets, Slides and folders in your Drive. As part of this update, we’re introducing support for two new types of prompts using Gemini in the side panel. “Create a new folder” (with or without specifying what to name it) “Create a new Google Doc, Sheet or Slide” (with or without specifying what to name it) Who’s impacted End users Why you’d use it This new capability will help you streamline your file and folder creation journeys without needing to leave the side panel to create new Docs, Sheets, Slides and folders. By typing in one of the supported prompts, Gemini will create the new, titled file or folder and provide you with a link. Getting started Admins: To access Gemini in the side panel of Workspace apps, users need to have smart features and personalization turned on. Admins can turn on default personalization setting for their users in the Admin console. End users: To get started, open Gemini in the side panel of Drive and type your action prompts. Visit the Help Center to learn more about collaborating with Gemini in Google Drive. Rollout pace Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on March 10, 2025 Availability Available for Google Workspace: Business Standard and Plus Enterprise Standard and Plus Customers with the Gemini Education or Gemini Education Premium add-on Google One AI Premium Anyone who previously purchased these add-ons will also receive this feature: Gemini Business* Gemini Enterprise* *As of January 15, 2025, we’re no longer offering the Gemini Business and Gemini Enterprise add-ons for sale. Please refer to this announcement for more details. Resources Google Workspace Admin Help: Turn on or off Gmail, Chat, and Meet smart features and personalization (Region specific) Google Help: Collaborate with Gemini in Google Drive The best of Google AI, now included in Workspace Business and Enterprise plans
What’s changing In addition to asking Gemini in Gmail to perform calendar related actions or answer questions about your calendar, you can now add an event to your calendar directly from an email. With this update, Gemini will automatically detect calendar related content in your email and an “Add to calendar” button will appear. Upon clicking this option, the side panel in Gmail will open to confirm the event has been added to your calendar. Getting started Admins: To access Gemini in the side panel of Workspace apps, users need to have smart features and personalization turned on. Admins can turn on default personalization setting for their users in the Admin console. End users: This feature is only available in English and on web at this time. The "Add to calendar" button will not appear for emails with already extracted events (like restaurants, flights, etc.). A calendar event created via the “Add to calendar” button will not include other guests. Visit the Help Center to learn more about collaborating with Gemini in Gmail. Rollout pace Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains: Extended rollout (potentially longer than 15 days for feature visibility) starting on March 10, with expected completion by mid April 2025. Availability Available for Google Workspace: Business Starter, Standard, and Plus Enterprise Starter, Standard, and Plus Customers with the Gemini Education or Gemini Education Premium add-on Google One AI Premium Anyone who previously purchased these add-ons will also receive this feature: Gemini Business* Gemini Enterprise* *As of January 15, 2025, we’re no longer offering the Gemini Business and Gemini Enterprise add-ons for sale. Please refer to this announcement for more details. Resources Google Help: Collaborate with Gemini in Gmail
2 New updates Unless otherwise indicated, the features below are available to all Google Workspace customers, and are fully launched or in the process of rolling out. Rollouts should take no more than 15 business days to complete if launching to both Rapid and Scheduled Release at the same time. If not, each stage of rollout should take no more than 15 business days to complete. Advanced formatting for tables in Google Sheets Following the improvements made to tables in Google Sheets in August and September, we’re excited to introduce advanced formatting for tables. Now, users have access to a new table formatting sub menu that allows them to toggle on and off gridlines, alternating colors, condense view, and include a table footer. | Rolling out to Rapid Release domains now; launch to Scheduled Release domains planned for March 31, 2025. | Available to all Google Workspace customers, Workspace Individual Subscribers, and users with personal Google accounts. | Visit the Help Center to learn more about using tables in Google Sheets. “Extensions” in Gemini are now “apps” and we’ve upgraded the model powering apps to 2.0 Flash There are two updates for the Gemini app on web and mobile: “Extensions” in the Gemini app are now referred to as “apps”. Although there are no changes to functionality, please be mindful of this update. Gemini can connect to Google Workspace apps, like Drive or Gmail, to help provide more contextual and relevant responses to your prompts and allow you to take certain actions. The model powering apps in Gemini upgraded to 2.0 Flash Thinking (experimental). Built on the foundation of 2.0 Flash, this model delivers improved performance and better advanced reasoning capabilities with efficiency and speed. Rollout to Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains is complete. | Available to all Google Workspace users accessing the Gemini app or Gemini Advanced. | Admins can visit the Help Center to learn more about turning Workspace extensions on or off for their organization, and end users should use this Help Center article to learn more about using apps connected to Gemini with a work or school Google Account. Previous announcements The announcements below were published on the Workspace Updates blog earlier this week. Please refer to the original blog posts for complete details. Improving Google Calendar's interoperability with Microsoft Outlook Calendar now reliably processes calendaring emails sent using the Microsoft-specific format for rich text emails called Transport Neutral Encapsulation Format (TNEF). | Learn more about Calendar's interoperability with Microsoft Outlook. Introducing the Salesforce for Gemini extension in Gmail You can now install the Salesforce extension for Gemini in Google Workspace, which will allow you to get information from Salesforce and create leads and contacts directly from Gemini in the side panel of Gmail. | Learn more about the Salesforce for Gemini extension in Gmail. Use Gemini in the side panel of Google Slides in seven new languages You can now use Gemini in the side panel of Google Slides, which includes the ability to generate images, in the following seven new languages: French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese and Spanish. | Learn more about using Gemini in Slides in new languages. Enhancements for custom and AI-generated backgrounds in Google Meet We introduced two improvements for creating custom background images with Gemini in Google Meet. | Learn more about backgrounds in Meet. Completed rollouts The features below completed their rollouts to Rapid Release domains, Scheduled Release domains, or both. Please refer to the original blog posts for additional details. Rapid Release Domains: Easily find and navigate your Google Chat conversations by organizing them into custom sections Scheduled Release Domains: Easily convert data to people chips and update chip format in Google Sheets (People Chip Suggestions) Use Gemini in the side panel of Workspace apps in seventeen more languages Create names for group direct messages in Google Chat (Web) Rapid and Scheduled Release Domains: Improving Google Chat app commands Improving the cover images experience in Google Docs Create names for group direct messages in Google Chat (Android) “Take notes for me” in Google Meet now captures “next steps” “Take notes for me” in Google Meet now captures citations to transcripts Google Voice now supports call delegation Expanding SIP Link for Google Voice to new countries Transferring your personal Google Voice number to a Google Workspace business account just got easier Google Vids is expanding its AI voiceovers with new options Extending file upload to Gemini app users Google Vids introduces new looping animations feature Summaries in Google Chat home now available for direct messages and read conversations Improving Google Calendar's interoperability with Microsoft Outlook Introducing the Salesforce for Gemini extension in Gmail For a recap of announcements in the past six months, check out What’s new in Google Workspace (recent releases).
What’s changing We’re introducing two improvements for creating custom background images with Gemini in Google Meet: First, we’ve upgraded the image generation model, which will significantly improve the visual appeal and quality of generated backgrounds, while also better representing user requests. Next, we’ve added several new preset styles to help you get started creating your own backgrounds. Specifically, you’ll see options for the following: Professional office Bookshelf Stylish living room Cozy living room Tropical beach Fantasy castle Sci-fi spaceship Getting started Admins: To enable or disable the ability to create backgrounds with Gemini, go to Admin console > Apps > Google Workspace > Settings for Google Meet > Meet video setting. Visit the Help Center to learn more about how to control whether users can change their backgrounds in Meet. End users: When enabled by your admin, visit the Help Center to learn more about creating background images with Gemini in Google Meet. Rollout pace Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on March 6, 2025 Availability Available for Google Workspace: Business Standard and Plus Enterprise Standard and Plus Also available with the Gemini Education or Gemini Education Premium add-on Anyone who previously purchased these add-ons will also receive this feature: Gemini Business* Gemini Enterprise* AI Meetings and Messages* *As of January 15, 2025, we’re no longer offering the Gemini Business and Gemini Enterprise add-ons for sale. Please refer to this announcement for more details. Resources Google Workspace Admin Help: Let users apply backgrounds & special effects Google Help: Create background images with Gemini in Google Meet
What’s changing Beginning today, you can use Gemini in the side panel of Google Slides, which includes the ability to generate images, in the following seven new languages: French German Italian Japanese Korean Portuguese Spanish With Gemini in the side panel of your Workspace apps, you can get help summarizing, brainstorming, and generating content by utilizing insights gathered from your emails, documents, and more—all without switching applications or tabs. Check out our original announcements for Gemini in the side panel of Slides, Docs, Sheets, and Drive, and Gmail for even more information. Additional details Users may see the “Alpha” badge as we bring more features into Gemini in the side panel of Google Workspace. Image generation of people is not supported in these additional languages at this time. Getting started Admins: The default setting for Gemini features in Workspace services is on. See how you can manage access to AI features in Workspace services. End users: Gemini in the side panel will work according to the language you set in your Google account (myaccount.google.com/language). If you’re accessing other Gemini for Google Workspace features that are supported in English only, you will need to set your Google Account language to English. You can access the side panel by clicking on “Ask Gemini” (spark button) in the top right corner of Slides on the web. Visit the Help Center to learn more about collaborating with Gemini in the side panel of Slides. Rollout pace Rapid Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on March 5, 2025 Scheduled Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on March 10, 2025 Availability Available to Google Workspace: Business Standard and Plus Enterprise Standard and Plus Customers with the Gemini Education or Gemini Education Premium add-on Customers with the Gemini Business or Gemini Enterprise add-on* *As of January 15, 2025, we’re no longer offering the Gemini Business and Gemini Enterprise add-ons for sale. Please refer to this announcement for more details. Resources Supported languages for Gemini for Google Workspace Google Help: Use the side panel to collaborate with Gemini
What’s changing Previously, we announced third party extensions for Salesforce and AI in Workspace. Beginning today, you can install the Salesforce extension for Gemini in Google Workspace, which will allow you to get information from Salesforce and create leads and contacts directly from Gemini in the side panel of Gmail. You can ask Gemini for help with Salesforce tasks directly from an email or your inbox. This includes things like “Create a lead in Salesforce”, “Create a contact in Salesforce” or “Show me the [Name] account in Salesforce” and more. You can also take more complex actions, like “Research a lead’s company” which will return a relevant summary of information. Or you can pull information directly from Salesforce into Gmail by using the “Take action on this sales inquiry” to generate a sales brief based on an email message or thread. Who’s impacted Admins and end users Why you’d use it The Salesforce extension for Gemini in Google Workspace enhances CRM interaction by connecting you directly to Salesforce data without the need to switch between Gmail and Salesforce. You can ask questions and receive immediate answers, and generate valuable insights, helping to uncover potential opportunities. Further, features like email summarization, quick actions to add leads, and suggested responses let you focus more on selling and less on searching for information and more time building stronger customer relationships. Additional details The extension is currently only available in English and when using Gmail in a browser. Getting started Admins: Admins will need to install or allowlist the Salesforce for Gemini extension before end users can access it. Visit the Help Center to learn more about managing the Marketplace app allowlist for your organization and controlling access to the Salesforce for Gemini extension. End users will need a Salesforce account to use this extension. End users: A Salesforce account is required to access this feature. Visit the Help Center to learn more about using the Salesforce for Gemini extension in Gmail. Rollout pace Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains: Available now. Availability Available to Google Workspace: Business Standard and Plus Enterprise Standard and Plus Customers with the Gemini Education or Gemini Education Premium add-on Anyone who previously purchased these add-ons will also receive this feature: Gemini Business* Gemini Enterprise* *As of January 15, 2025, we’re no longer offering the Gemini Business and Gemini Enterprise add-ons for sale. Please refer to this announcement for more details. Resources Google Help: Use the Salesforce for Gemini extension in Gmail Google Admin Help: Control access to the Salesforce for Gemini extension Google Workspace Marketplace: Salesforce for Gemini Extension
What’s changing We recently announced an improved syncing experience from Google Calendar to third-party calendars, like Microsoft Outlook, that allows event guests to enjoy a more reliable syncing experience with less calendar emails in their inbox. Building upon this, we’re excited to announce that Calendar now reliably processes calendaring emails sent using the Microsoft-specific format for rich text emails called Transport Neutral Encapsulation Format (TNEF). As a result, Calendar users and organizations that routinely collaborate with internal and external Outlook users will now benefit from a more reliable experience when receiving invitations and RSVPs from Outlook users. Getting started Admins and end users: There is no admin controls or end user setting for this feature. Rollout pace Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains: Available now. Availability Available to all Google Workspace customers, Workspace Individual Subscribers, and users with personal Google accounts Resources Google Workspace Admin Help: Set up Calendar Interop Google Help: About Calendar Interop
4 New updates Unless otherwise indicated, the features below are available to all Google Workspace customers, and are fully launched or in the process of rolling out. Rollouts should take no more than 15 business days to complete if launching to both Rapid and Scheduled Release at the same time. If not, each stage of rollout should take no more than 15 business days to complete. Summaries in Google Chat home now available for direct messages and read conversations Last year, we introduced the ability for Gemini in Google Chat to help you catch up on unread conversations in the Chat home view with summaries. In addition to being available for group conversations, spaces, or threads from home, we’re excited to announce summaries in home are now available for: Direct messages Read conversations. Prior to today, you could only review summaries for unread conversations. Now, you can review summaries regardless of read state. Upon navigating to a conversation in home, click the “Summarize” button to see a bulleted synopsis of the message content. This enables you to review recent activity across all active conversations to determine where best to focus your time and attention. | Rollout to Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains is complete. | Available to Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Standard and Enterprise Plus. | Visit the Help Center to learn more about summaries in home. Adding real-time Markdown styling and code formatting support in Google Chat Users can change the appearance of their Google Chat messages using the format menu or markdown, and today we’re excited to introduce support for real-time markdown styling and code formatting. With this update, markdown will be converted in the compose bar to formatted text as a user types, rather than being converted only once the message is sent. In addition, we’re adding support for code and code block in the compose bar. | Rolling out now to Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains. | Available to Google Workspace customers, Google Workspace Individual subscribers, and users with personal Google accounts. | Visit the Help Center to learn more about using markdown formatting in Google Chat. Markdown formatting as you type in the compose bar Extending file upload to Gemini app users We’re excited to announce that users of the Gemini app can now upload a variety of files from Google Drive or locally from their device into the Gemini app: Document files: DOC, DOCX, PDF, RTF, DOT, DOTX, HWP, HWPX Documents created in Google Docs Plain text files: TXT Presentation files: PPTX Presentations created with Google Slides Rollout to Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains is complete. | Available to all Google Workspace users 18+ accessing the Gemini app. | Visit the Help Center to learn more about uploading & analyzing files in Gemini Apps. Google Vids introduces new looping animations feature We’re introducing a feature that enables users to add looping animations to text, stickers, and other shapes in their videos. Looping animations play continuously between enter and exit animations, allowing users to add extra emphasis or style to callouts, supers, and other elements in their videos, which can help increase viewer engagement. | Rolling out now to Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains. | Available to Business Standard and Plus, Enterprise Standard and Plus, Essentials, Enterprise Essentials and Enterprise Essentials Plus and Education Plus. | Visit the Help Center to learn more about Google Vids. Previous announcements The announcements below were published on the Workspace Updates blog earlier this week. Please refer to the original blog posts for complete details. Enhancing video navigation and accessibility with Google Drive video transcripts Last year, we announced that users can automatically generate captions for any video uploaded to Google Drive, improving the accessibility of videos and saving users the effort of manually creating captions. To build upon this feature and make information discovery, referencing, and productivity with video content much more efficient, we’re excited to introduce video transcripts. | Learn more about video transcripts. Google Voice now supports call delegation Admins can assign delegates to handle other users' calls. When assigned, delegates can: 1) Answer calls on the delegator’s behalf, 2) Place calls on the delegator’s behalf, including transferring the call to the delegator once connected , 3) Transfer calls selectively to the delegator and 4) Listen to voicemail messages and view voicemail transcripts. | Learn more about call delegation. Transferring your personal Google Voice number to a Google Workspace business account just got easier We're pleased to introduce a significantly improved experience for transferring a personal Google Voice number to a Google Workspace account. | Learn more about transferring your personal number to a Workspace business account. New Google Drive Inventory Reporting enhancements provide even richer insights into file permissions We've enhanced Drive Inventory Reporting to include more detailed permission information for files and folders in My Drive. | Learn more about Drive Inventory Reporting. Expanding SIP Link for Google Voice to new countries We've launched Voice to new countries by expanding SIP Link availability. | Learn more about SIP Link. Integrating HubSpot with Google Chat Many utilize HubSpot, an AI-powered customer platform, to perform marketing, sales, customer service, content management, operations, and commerce tasks. This week, we’re excited to introduce an integration with HubSpot that enables users to see notifications and updates from HubSpot directly in Chat. | Learn more about the HubSpot integration. Google Vids is expanding its AI voiceovers with new options Users can now choose from a wider range of AI voices for their videos with the introduction of new options. | Learn more about new AI voiceovers in Vids. Completed rollouts The features below completed their rollouts to Rapid Release domains, Scheduled Release domains, or both. Please refer to the original blog posts for additional details. Rapid Release Domains: Use Gemini in the side panel of Workspace apps in seventeen more languages Enhancing video navigation and accessibility with Google Drive video transcripts Now generally available: improved syncing experience between Google Calendar and third-party calendars Scroll through live captions and translated captions in Google Meet Scheduled Release Domains: Pin conversations on your Google Group Rapid and Scheduled Release Domains: Logitech Android devices for Google Meet can now join Webex and Zoom calls The ability to generate images with people powered by Imagen 3 is now available across Workspace Data classification labels in Gmail are now available on all Android and iOS (IOS) Workspace data loss protection (DLP) for Gmail is now generally available Updating the access experience in Google Drive (Folders with limited access and API changes for Expansive Access) Improved experience for highlighting and annotating images for AppSheet apps on Android Integrating HubSpot with Google Chat More options now available to customize digital signage on your Google Meet hardware New Google Drive Inventory Reporting enhancements provide even richer insights into file permissions Layout selection now available between Google Meet hardware and Zoom Rooms calls Google Meet adds more screen reader options for in-meeting reactions For a recap of announcements in the past six months, check out What’s new in Google Workspace (recent releases).
What’s changing Since bringing Google Vids—our AI-powered video creation app for work—to general availability last year, users have engaged with Gemini features in Vids like AI voiceovers. Today, we’re excited to announce that users can now choose from a wider range of AI voices for their videos with the introduction of new options: Narrator (Default) - Smooth, medium pitch Educator - Friendly, higher pitch Teacher - Clear, low pitch Persuader - Engaging, low pitch Explainer - Lively, low pitch Coach - Lively, higher pitch Motivator - Energetic, medium pitch These high-quality voices offer more natural and expressive voiceovers that dynamically adjust pitch and tone to match your script, whether you wrote it yourself or used the Gemini-powered 'Help me create' to generate your script. Who’s impacted End users Why you’d use it Using AI voiceovers makes it easier to get started creating or updating video content in just a few clicks. Getting started Admins: Visit the Help Center to learn more about using Vids in your organization. End users: Visit the Help Center to learn more about creating scripts & voiceovers in Google Vids. You can use Vids on your computer with the two most recent versions of these browsers: Chrome Firefox Windows only: Microsoft Edge Other browsers may work, but you might not be able to use all of the features. You can access our always-on resources in the Google Workspace Learning Center to learn what you can do with Google Vids. Vids is available in the user's local language, but some AI features (including AI voiceovers) are currently only available in English. Note: View and collaborate access is available to anyone with a Google Workspace account, while create and copy access is available for select editions of Google Workspace customers. Rollout pace Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on February 28, 2025 Availability Available for Google Workspace: Business Standard and Plus Enterprise Standard and Plus Essentials, Enterprise Essentials and Enterprise Essentials Plus Education Plus* Customers with the Gemini Education* or Gemini Education Premium* add-on Customers with the Gemini Business* or Gemini Enterprise* add-on *As of January 15, 2025, we’re no longer offering the Gemini Business and Gemini Enterprise add-ons for sale. Please refer to this announcement for more details. *Please refer to the following Workspace Updates Blog to learn more about Vids availability for Google Workspace for Education customers. Resources Google Workspace Admin Help: Turn Vids on or off for users Google Help: Get started with Google Vids
What's changing In October 2024, we introduced Google Drive Inventory Reporting, which provides admins with key metadata about the files in their Drive corpus via a BigQuery report. These reports provide admins valuable insights into how data is classified, accessed, and used, which can help identify security risks, ensure compliance with regulatory requirements, and much more. Beginning today, we're pleased to announce that we've enhanced Drive Inventory Reporting to include more detailed permission information for files and folders in My Drive. This means you can now access the following schema fields concerning permission details for both shared drive and My Drive files: Inherited: A boolean indicating whether the permission is inherited. Permission Type: The permission type for the user. Role: The primary role for the user. This update builds on recent upgrades to the access experience in Drive, providing a more comprehensive and unified view of permissions across your entire Drive environment. Getting started Admins: Visit the Help Center to learn more about Drive inventory reporting. End users: There is no end user impact or action required. Rollout pace Rapid and Scheduled Release domains: Available now. Availability Available* for Google Workspace: Enterprise Standard and Plus Education Standard and Plus Enterprise Essentials Plus Cloud Identity Premium *Note that this availability refers to the ability to generate a report. All end users will be included in the report and are not limited to any specific Google Workspace edition. Resources Google Workspace Admin Help: Export your organization’s Drive inventory Google Workspace Updates Blog: Google Drive inventory reporting is now available in open beta
What’s changing In October 2022, we announced the ability for Google Voice Standard and Premier customers to connect a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) trunk with Voice. SIP Link allows phone numbers (PSTN services) from local carriers to be used for Google Voice through a secure set of certified Session Border Controllers (SBCs), such as Audiocodes, Cisco, Oracle, and Ribbon. For more information, check out our original launch announcement. Beginning today, we’re launching Voice to the following countries by expanding SIP Link availability: APAC Australia Hong Kong Indonesia Israel Malaysia New Zealand Philippines Taiwan Thailand Vietnam EMEA Finland Norway Romania South Africa LATAM Peru Customers in these countries will need to purchase the new SIP Link Standard or SIP Link Premier licenses to set up SIP Link, which they can do via their Google Workspace sales representative or through the Google Workspace Partner network. Getting started Admins: Once you’ve configured your SIP trunks and uploaded new phone numbers, you can assign them to your users, desk phones, auto-attendants, and ring groups. Visit the Help Center to learn more about SIP Link requirements. End users: There is no end user action required. Rollout pace Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) February 27, 2025 Availability Available to Google SIP Link Standard and Premier customers Note: Customers in countries above will need to purchase SIP Link Standard or SIP Link Premier licenses to set up SIP Link. Resources Google Workspace Admin Help: Check Voice SIP Link requirements Google Workspace Admin Help: Set up Google Voice Google Workspace Admin Help: Assign Voice numbers to users Google Workspace Admin Help: Set up Voice desk phones for your organization Google Workspace Admin Help: Set up an automated attendant Google Workspace Admin Help: Set up ring groups Cloud Blog: Introducing innovations in Google Workspace to help your organization thrive in hybrid work
What’s changing Many utilize HubSpot, an AI-powered customer platform, to perform marketing, sales, customer service, content management, operations, and commerce tasks. Today, we’re excited to introduce an integration with HubSpot that enables users to see notifications and updates from Hubspot directly in Chat. With this integration, users can: Receive HubSpot notifications in Chat for things like new leads, deal status updates, or changes in contact records. Improve customer response times by connecting their HubSpot inbox to spaces in Chat. More efficiently collaborate on support tickets, expedite ticket resolution, and boost customer satisfaction by connecting their help desk workspace to Chat spaces. Configure and send custom notifications to specific users and Chat spaces through HubSpot workflows, which ensures the right people are informed about any significant event. Summarize HubSpot records using Breeze Copilot directly from the notifications in Chat. Who’s impacted Admins and end users Why you’d use it This update enhances communication, productivity and efficiency for HubSpot customers that use Chat as their primary collaboration tool. Getting started Admins: Visit the ‘Before you get started’ section of the Hubspot Knowledge base to learn more about connecting HubSpot and Google Chat. Admins will need to allowlist the Hubspot app if your Marketplace user install setting is set to “Allow users to install and run allowlisted apps from the Marketplace.” Visit the Help Center to learn more about managing the Marketplace app allowlist for your organization. To enable the Hubspot app for all users in a domain, admins can domain-install the Hubspot app from the Google Workspace Marketplace. End users will need a Hubspot account to use this app, and can also search for the app using the plus button menu next to the Chat compose box. End users: Visit the Hubspot Help Center to connect Hubspot and Google Chat, add the app to any Chat space, set up notifications, and sync Help Desk tickets. Visit the HubSpot for Google Marketplace listing for more information. Rollout pace Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains: Available now. Availability Available to all Google Workspace customers, Workspace Individual Subscribers, and users with personal Google accounts Resources Google Workspace Admin Help: Install Marketplace apps for your organization Google Workspace Marketplace: HubSpot for Google Chat
What’s changing We know it’s important for our users to continue maintaining an established phone number and ensure that this number stays associated with them as they move to a Google Workspace business account. For example, a solopreneur with a Voice number might need to carry their number with them to a Workspace domain as their business grows. To solve for this, we’re pleased to introduce a significantly improved experience for transferring a personal Google Voice number to a Google Workspace account. When using Google Voice on the web, you can go directly to “Account Settings” and then to the "Transfer your number to another Voice account" section. Here, you can enter the Voice number you’d like to transfer and the Google Workspace email address it should now be associated with. Once submitted, your admin can accept the transfer. Getting started Admins: Admins will see number transfer requests in the Admin console under Apps > Google Workspace > Google Voice > Numbers. Admins must accept the transfer request in order for the number to be reassigned. Visit the Help Center to learn more about managing transfers of Google Voice phone numbers. End users: Visit the Help Center to learn more about transferring your Google Voice number. Rollout pace Rapid and Scheduled Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on February 26, 2025 Availability Available for Google Workspace customers using Google Voice Starter, Standard or Premier Resources Google Workspace Admin Help: Manage transfers of Google Voice phone numbers
What’s changing Beginning today, admins can assign delegates to handle other users' calls. When assigned, delegates can: Answer calls on the delegator’s behalf Place calls on the delegator’s behalf, including transferring the call to the delegator once connected Transfer calls selectively to the delegator Listen to voicemail messages and view voicemail transcripts This can be helpful for executives who delegate some of these tasks to colleagues. Who’s impacted Admins and end users Why it matters Call delegation is a top feature request from our customers and is critical for busy professionals and their support staff to effectively manage communications. Allowing designated individuals to handle calls on behalf of executives frees up executives' time while ensuring important communications are addressed promptly, ultimately boosting productivity for both executives and their support staff. In the future, we plan to expand this feature to include the ability for delegates to access call history, voicemail history, and inbox management. Getting started Admins: Visit the Help Center to learn more about setting up call delegation for your organization. End users: If configured by your admin, you'll be notified via email if you have been assigned a delegate and what actions they can take on your behalf. Rollout pace Rapid and Scheduled Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on February 25, 2025 Availability Available for Google Workspace customers with a Google Voice Standard and Premier subscription Resources Google Workspace Admin Help: Set up call delegation for your organization
What’s changing Last year, we announced that users can automatically generate captions for any video uploaded to Google Drive, improving the accessibility of videos and saving users the effort of manually creating captions. To build upon this feature and make information discovery, referencing, and productivity with video content much more efficient, we’re excited to introduce video transcripts. Starting today, Drive users can now view and search transcripts for their videos. The transcript appears in a sidebar next to the video player and highlights the currently spoken text. This update makes it easy to find specific moments, follow along with the content, or jump directly to the part of the video you need. Who’s impacted End users Why it matters Video transcripts can improve the accessibility of media stored in Drive and enables you to easily search and navigate to key moments within your video. Getting started Admins: There is no admin control for this feature. End users: Your video must have captions to access this feature. A video with captions will have the CC button in the bottom right corner of the video player set to active (not grayed out). You can add captions to a video by right-clicking the video in Drive > selecting Manage caption tracks > generate automatic captions. You can also generate captions when the video is playing by going to the three dot menu on top right > manage captions tracks > generate automatic captions. To access video transcripts, open a video with captions in Google Drive > click the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the video to open the video settings > select “Transcript” Visit the Help Center to learn more about turning on video transcripts. Rollout pace Rapid Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on February 24, 2025 Scheduled Release domains: Extended rollout (potentially longer than 15 days for feature visibility) starting on February 26, 2025, with expected completion by March 26, 2025 Availability Available to all Google Workspace customers, Google Workspace Individual subscribers, and users with personal Google accounts Note: Users with personal Google accounts can upload or request automatic captions after uploading a video to Drive. Resources Google Help: Automatically generated captions Google Help: Store & play video in Google Drive Google Help: Accessibility for Google Docs, Sheets, Slides & Drawings
1 New update Unless otherwise indicated, the features below are available to all Google Workspace customers, and are fully launched or in the process of rolling out. Rollouts should take no more than 15 business days to complete if launching to both Rapid and Scheduled Release at the same time. If not, each stage of rollout should take no more than 15 business days to complete. Improved experience for highlighting and annotating images for AppSheet apps on Android We're pleased to introduce a new experience for marking up images within AppSheet apps on Android devices. Now, your users can add precise highlights and markings to images, making visual communication clearer and more effective: Add geometric shapes: Draw rectangles, ellipses, and arrows to highlight key areas Include text: Add labels and descriptions directly onto the image Move and edit: Reposition shapes and text annotations with ease Zoom: Zoom in and out before and after adding drawings for added precision This update makes it easier for users to direct attention to specific details, which is especially helpful when you need to require proof, like submitting an incident report, or submit documentation, like inventory checks. | Rollout to Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains is complete. | Available to AppSheet Free, AppSheet Core and AppSheet Enterprise Plus. Google Workspace editions that include AppSheet Core can be viewed here. | Visit the AppSheet community to learn more about this feature and check out the Help Center to get instructions for allowing users to draw on images. Previous announcements The announcements below were published on the Workspace Updates blog earlier this week. Please refer to the original blog posts for complete details. Workspace data loss protection (DLP) for Gmail is now generally available A big threat organizations must prepare for is the risk of data exfiltration through unwanted and/or unauthorized means. Whether it’s small-scale, unintended sharing, or a larger breach scenario, organizations need powerful defenses to protect themselves from these risks. To that end, we’re pleased to announce that today Data Loss Prevention (DLP) is generally available in Gmail, alongside Drive and Chat. | Learn more about DLP for Gmail. “Take notes for me” in Google Meet now captures “next steps” We’re pleased to announce that “take notes for me” will capture next steps discussed during the meeting in a new “suggested next steps” section. | Learn more about “next steps”. Scroll through live captions and translated captions in Google Meet We’re improving the live captions and translated captions experience in Google Meet by including the ability to scroll through the text. | Learn more about live captions and translated captions in Google Meet. Updating the access experience in Google Drive Last year, we introduced a beta that allows shared drive managers and My Drive owners to restrict folders to specific users. Today, we’re excited to announce the general availability of this feature in shared drives and My Drive, which means that users can restrict access to their My Drive folders using the two options outlined below, and by 2026, we will simplify and align the restricted access principles for My Drive and shared drives. | Learn more about access in Drive. Expanding data regions coverage to Google Classroom We previously added data regions coverage to Google Drive, Docs, Sheets, and Slides, and this week, we’re extending data region coverage to primary user data for Google Classroom for the U.S. and E.U. data regions. | Learn more about data regions coverage in Google Classroom. Use Gemini in the side panel of Workspace apps in seventeen more languages Gemini in the side panel of Google Docs, Google Sheets, Google Drive, and Gmail can be used in seventeen additional languages | Learn more about language availability. Updated design for Google Meet meeting controls on Android and iOS We are updating the location of some Google Meet meeting controls on Android and iOS devices, which are intended to organize features in a more intuitive way. | Learn more about meeting controls on mobile. Migrate data from Microsoft Teams channels to Google Chat spaces using CloudM Building on last year’s announcement of the general availability for Chat APIs to import data from messaging platforms to Google Chat, we’re excited to introduce a new migration solution from a Workspace partner, CloudM. | Learn more about migrating data to Chat. The Policy API is now generally available with support for auditing more security features We recently introduced the Policy API in open beta, letting super admins programmatically access information regarding how their Google Workspace environment service level settings and rules are configured. Beginning today, the Policy API is now generally available with more functionality. | Learn more about the Policy API. “Take notes for me” in Google Meet now captures citations to transcripts Recently, we announced that next steps will automatically be captured when using “take notes for me” in Google Meet. Building upon that momentum, your meeting notes document will now include citations, or timestamps, which correlate to the exact point in the meeting transcript that references the summarized notes. | Learn more about Meet citations to transcripts. Gemini Deep Research and most experimental models now available to Google Workspace users in Gemini Advanced We’re pleased to announce the launch of Deep Research and most experimental models to Google Workspace users with access to Gemini Advanced. | Learn more about Deep Research. New Chat Usage Analytics Updates for Admins and Developers Starting today, customerUsageReports.get and userUsageReports.get for Google Chat are available via the Admin SDK Reports API for customers to use in their own customized dashboards and reporting tools. This gives admins more ways to analyze Chat usage data. | Learn more about Chat Usage Analytics updates. Completed rollouts The features below completed their rollouts to Rapid Release domains, Scheduled Release domains, or both. Please refer to the original blog posts for additional details. Rapid Release Domains: Easily convert data to people chips and update chip format in Google Sheets (People Chip Suggestions) Pin conversations on your Google Group Create names for group direct messages in Google Chat (Web) Scheduled Release Domains: Improved comments experience in Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides on Android tablets (Docs) Easily convert data to people chips and update chip format in Google Sheets (People Chip Formats) Rapid and Scheduled Release Domains: Better understand app access with the new Access Evaluation log event 2.0 Flash is now the default model in the Gemini app for Workspace users Managing bills & finances using summary cards in the Gmail mobile app Now generally available: migrate messages from Microsoft Teams to Google Chat Expanding data regions coverage to Google Classroom Migrate data from Microsoft Teams channels to Google Chat spaces using CloudM The Policy API is now generally available with support for auditing more security features Generate charts and valuable insights using Gemini in Google Sheets New Chat Usage Analytics Updates for Admins and Developers Gemini Deep Research and most experimental models now available to Google Workspace users in Gemini Advanced For a recap of announcements in the past six months, check out What’s new in Google Workspace (recent releases).
What’s changing In December 2024, we introduced new, detailed usage reports for Google Chat. These reports help admins better understand how their teams are using Chat, allowing them to analyze engagement, drive adoption, configure safety features, and more. These reports aggregate data at the group and organization level, to provide relevant insights for Workspace admins while protecting individual privacy. Starting today, customerUsageReports.get and userUsageReports.get for Google Chat are available via the Admin SDK Reports API for customers to use in their own customized dashboards and reporting tools. This gives admins more ways to analyze Chat usage data. Please refer to the table below to learn about the metrics available to you: Category Variations # of messages sent by users of the organization Total number of messages Messages sent by conversation type (direct message, group chat, space) Messages sent by type (regular, voice, video, huddle) Messages sent with or without attachment Messages sent to conversations that contain or do not contain external users. # of spaces owned by organization Number of active spaces Number of spaces created # of active users in your organization by level of activity Number of engaged users (read at least one conversation or sent messages or reactions) Number of communicator users (sent at least one message or reaction) # of actions by specific users* Number of messages and reactions sent Number of attachments uploaded Number of spaces created Number of conversations read Most metrics are available for periods of 1, 7, and 28 days. *Available for 28 days only Additional details We’ve also added four new fields and one additional event available in Chat Audit Logs and surfaced in the Security Investigation Tool. In addition to providing even more context on Chat usage, admins can leverage these additional data points in their own custom reporting. The fields are: Conversation ownership indicates whether the conversation, where a specific Chat event occurs, is owned by the organization or by an external entity. These possible values include: Internally owned: conversation is owned by the admin’s organization Externally owned: conversation is owned by an external entity Conversation type indicates the type of conversation where the event occurs: User-to-user direct message User-to-app direct message Group chat Space Message type indicates type of the message in Message sent and Message edited events: Regular message Voice message Video message Huddle Attachment status indicates whether the message was sent with an attachment (image or file): Has attachment No attachment Additionally, we’ve added a new event, “Conversation Read”. Every time a user opens a conversation and reads one or more unread messages, an event will be logged. Getting started Admins: Visit the Help Center to learn more about understanding Chat usage with analytics, viewing Apps reports for your organization and using the security investigation tool. Developers: Check out our developer documentation for more information on Chat Audit Activity Events. and CustomerUsageReports.get and UserUsageReport.get. Rollout pace Available now. Availability New Chat usage metrics in Report API are available for all Google Workspace customers. The security investigation tool is available for Google Workspace Enterprise Standard and Plus Education Standard and Plus Enterprise Essentials Plus Frontline Standard And Cloud Identity Premium customers Resources Developer documentation: Reports API Overview Developer Documentation: Google Chat Parameters: CustomerUsageReports.get Developer Documentation: Google Chat PArameters: UserUsageReport.get Developer Documentation: Chat Audit Activity Events Developer Documentation: Admin SDK API developer platform release notes Google Workspace Admin Help: Understand Chat usage with analytics Google Workspace Admin Help: View Apps reports for your organization Google Workspace Admin Help: About the security investigation tool Workspace Updates Blog: New Google Chat usage reports provide deeper insights into user engagement
What’s changing We’re pleased to announce the launch of Deep Research and most experimental models to Google Workspace users with access to Gemini Advanced. Deep Research explores complex topics on your behalf and presents its findings in a comprehensive, easy-to-read report. Deep Research brings hours of research to your fingertips in mere minutes – some examples of how you can use Deep Research for your business or education institution include: Industry research: Deep Research can help you understand emerging trends in industries, such as sustainable battery technology, to inform your clean tech market analysis. Competitive research: Deep Research can quickly gather analyses of local competitors and recommend a suitable location for where to set up your small business. Customer research: Deep Research can help a salesperson prepare to meet a prospective client by creating a report on their products or services, management team and competitive environment. Educational research: Deep Research can help educators with grant writing, lesson planning, class projects, or presentations by creating a report on just about any topic based on analyzing hundreds of relevant articles and websites. Using Deep Research to catch up on the latest industry trends before a meeting with a prospective customer After you enter your prompt, you can review the proposed multi-step research plan and revise it as needed. Deep Research will then begin analyzing relevant information from across the web on your behalf, continuously refining its analysis as it learns. Once complete, a comprehensive report of the key findings is generated, which you can export to Google Docs and share with your colleagues. It’s neatly organized with links to the original sources, connecting you to relevant websites and organizations you might not have found otherwise so you can easily dive deeper to learn more. You can also ask follow up questions or refine the report further. Who’s impacted End users Why you’d use it Thorough research can take a lot of time between planning, searching, browsing, analyzing, and reporting. It can be tedious work and often difficult to even know where to start. Deep Research can save hours of work by browsing the web on your behalf, analyzing information in real-time, and developing comprehensive research reports in minutes to get you up to speed on just about anything. Additional details Currently, Deep Research is available in Gemini Advanced on the web, starting in English. Support for Deep Research in the Gemini mobile app will come at a later date. We’ll share more information via the Workspace Updates blog when available. Along with this update, you can now choose from several models depending on what version of the Gemini app you have: ModelGemini AdvancedGemini AppBest for 2.0 Flash (previously available) ✓✓Everyday tasks, like brainstorming and copy writing. 2.0 Flash Thinking Experimental✓✓ Multi-step reasoning, like project planning. Note: this is an experimental model 2.0 Pro Experimental✓ Complex tasks. Note: this is an experimental model 1.5 Pro with Deep Research✓ Get in-depth answers for questions like industry research, competitive research, customer research, and educational research. Note: The 2.0 Flash Thinking Experimental with apps model is not currently available in Gemini when using a work or school Google account. Getting started Admins: There is no admin control for this feature. End users: To get started, toggle the model drop-down to “1.5 Pro with Deep Research” and enter your research question. Visit the Help Center to learn more about using the Gemini web app for in-depth research. Click on the toggle to open the model drop-down menu Rollout pace Rapid and Scheduled Release domains: Extended rollout (potentially longer than 15 days for feature visibility) starting on February 20, 2025. Availability Access to 1.5 Pro with Deep Research and 2.0 Pro Experimental is available for Google Workspace: Business Standard and Plus Enterprise Standard and Plus Customers with the Gemini Education or Gemini Education Premium add-on Customers who previously purchased a Gemini Business* and Gemini Enterprise* add-on Access to 2.0 Flash Thinking Experimental is available to the Google Workspace editions and add-ons listed above as well as: Business Starter Enterprise Starter Frontline Starter and Standard Essentials, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Essentials Plus Google Workspace for Nonprofits Education Standard and Plus *As of January 15, 2025, we’re no longer offering the Gemini Business and Gemini Enterprise add-ons for sale. Please refer to this announcement for more details. Resources Google Help: Use the Gemini web app for in-depth research Google Help: Use Gemini Apps with a work or school Google Account The Keyword: Try Deep Research and our new experimental model in Gemini, your AI assistant
What’s changing Recently, we announced that next steps will automatically be captured when using “take notes for me” in Google Meet. Building upon that momentum, your meeting notes document will now include citations, or timestamps, which correlate to the exact point in the meeting transcript that references the summarized notes. For example, you’ll see something like: “Sophie discussed the updated marketing plan (00:08:32)”. When you click on the timestamp, the meeting transcription tab in the document will open and take you to the moment that the discussion occurred. From here, you can drill into the details of the discussion for even more context. When you click on a timestamp, the transcription tab will open automatically to the specific point in the conversation Getting started Admins: Visit the Help Center to learn more about allowing Google Meet AI to take notes for my users. End users: Citations are available only when both “take notes for me” and transcriptions are enabled, ” If you deselect the transcription feature, your meeting notes will not contain citations. Visit the Help Center to learn more about taking notes with Gemini in Google Meet. Rollout pace Rapid Release domains: Extended rollout (potentially longer than 15 days for feature visibility) starting on February 20, 2025 This feature will be rolling out at a much slower pace than usual as we carefully monitor performance and quality. We will update this post when rollout for Rapid Release domains is complete and Scheduled Rollout is expected to begin. Availability Available to Google Workspace Business Standard, and Plus Enterprise Standard, and Plus Also available with the Gemini Education Premium add-on Anyone who previously purchased these add-ons will also receive this feature: Gemini Enterprise* AI Meetings & Messaging* *As of January 15, 2025, we’re no longer offering the Gemini Business and Gemini Enterprise add-ons for sale. Please refer to this announcement for more details. Resources Google Workspace Admin Help: Let Google Meet AI take notes for my users Google Help: Take notes with Gemini in Google Meet
What’s changing We recently introduced the Policy API in open beta, letting super admins programmatically access information regarding how their Google Workspace environment service level settings and rules are configured. Beginning today, the Policy API is now generally available with more functionality: Admins can now use the API to audit more settings, specifically: Calendar Gmail Multi-factor authentication settings (2-Step Verification) Refer to our developer documentation for a full list of settings that can be audited by the API. Who’s impacted Super admins Why it’s important Simplifying the management of Workspace settings continues to be a priority for us. The Policy API is an important new tool that helps streamline the process by providing a comprehensive view of security settings as needed, eliminating the need to navigate to numerous pages in the Admin console. In forthcoming releases, the Policy API will also include the ability to configure settings. Due to the increasing sophistication and scale of cyber threats, the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency’s Secure Cloud Business Applications (SCuBA) project provides guidance to help agencies secure their cloud business application environments. The general availability of Google’s Workspace Policy API marks a significant milestone, enabling CISA to expand Scuba Goggles’ capabilities in assessing Google Workspace environments against CISA’s SCuBA secure configuration baselines. This advancement helps organizations better align with industry-leading security practices while maintaining operational efficiency. ScuBA has published a new release to leverage the GWS Policy API with ScubaGoggles, an automated assessment tool that compares tenant configurations with CISA’s Google Workspace Secure Configuration Baselines. Getting started Admins: You must be a super admin to use the Policy API. Use our developer documentation to learn more about the Policy API. You can also use GAM, an open source tool for managing Workspace, which now supports the Policy API. End users: There is no end user impact or action required. Rollout pace Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains: Available now. Availability Available to all Google Workspace customers. Resources Policy API Overview Developer Documentation: REST Resource: policies Workspace Updates Blog: Audit security settings using the Policy API, now available in open beta
What’s changing Building on last year’s announcement of the general availability for Chat APIs to import data from messaging platforms to Google Chat, we’re excited to introduce a new migration solution from a Workspace partner, CloudM. Working with CloudM, you can move your Microsoft Teams channels into Chat spaces. This includes public and private channel messages, public channel attachments, reactions, and channel members mapped to the corresponding space. CloudM also migrates the data while maintaining historical timestamps to ensure users can continue conversations right where they left off. Who’s impacted Admins Why you’d use it This CloudM solution imports your team collaboration data and knowledge repository from Microsoft Teams channels into Google Chat spaces. Getting started Admins: Visit the CloudM knowledge base to learn how to get started with migrating Microsoft Teams to Chat. Rollout pace Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains: Available now. Availability Available to all Google Workspace customers. Note that a separate CloudM license is required to enable data migrations. Resources CloudM: Migrating Microsoft Teams to Spaces in Google Chat
What’s changing We are updating the location of some Google Meet meeting controls on Android and iOS devices, which are intended to organize features in a more intuitive way. This will help you to navigate the Meet layout faster and more intuitively. These are strictly design updates with no changes in functionality. 1. Emoji reactions are moving from the triple-dot overflow menu to the bottom bar. Simply tap the Emoji toggle to access or hide the reaction picker. Before After 2. The hand raise feature is moving from the bottom bar to the triple-dot overflow menu. This change applies to mobile devices only - if you’re using a larger screen device, such as a tablet, you’ll continue to see the Hand Raise icon in the main call controls menu. Before After 3. Host management controls will move from the overflow menu to the settings menu, under the “General” section. Before After 4. The option to report a problem is now in one location, in the Settings menu. Before After Finally, there is an additional change for iOS only: The end call button is moving from the left side to the right side of the primary controls, bringing the experience inline with Android. Before After Additional details The minimum build required for these updates are: Android: Meet: 291.0.722438190.duo.android_20250202.14 Gmail: 2025.02.02.722438226 iOS: Meet: 294.0 Gmail: 6.0.250209 Getting started Admins: There is no admin impact or action required. End users: You’ll notice these improvements automatically. Rollout pace These updates will rollout to Android devices first, followed by iOS. We will update this post as the respective rollouts complete. Android: Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains: Extended rollout (potentially longer than 15 days for feature visibility) starting on February 20, 2025 iOS: Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains: Extended rollout (potentially longer than 15 days for feature visibility) starting on February 24, 2025 Availability Available to all Google Workspace customers and users with personal Google accounts Resources Google Help: Use Reactions in Google Meet Google Help: Raise your hand in Google Meet Google Help: Add co-hosts in Google Meet Google Help: Turn captions on or off Google Help: Learn about call control changes in Google Meet
What’s changing Beginning today, Gemini in the side panel of Google Docs, Google Sheets, Google Drive, and Gmail can be used in seventeen additional languages: Arabic Chinese Czech Danish Dutch Finnish Hebrew Hungarian Norwegian Polish Romanian Russian Swedish Thai Turkish Ukrainian Vietnamese With Gemini in the side panel of your Workspace apps, you can get help summarizing, brainstorming, and generating content by utilizing insights gathered from your emails, documents, and more—all without switching applications or tabs. Check out our original announcements for Gemini in the side panel of Docs, Sheets, and Drive, and Gmail for even more information. Image generation is supported in these languages as well. Additional details While Gemini in the side panel of Docs, Sheets, Drive, and Gmail, is generally available in these additional languages - as we keep rolling out more Gemini alpha features in the side panel, end users with Gemini alpha features turned on may continue to see the “Alpha” badge. Gemini in the side panel of Slides and Chat is only available in English at this time. Image generation of people is not supported in these additional languages at this time. Getting started Admins: The default setting for Gemini features in Workspace services is on. See how you can manage access to AI features in Workspace services. End users: Gemini in the side panel will work according to the language you set in your Google account (myaccount.google.com/language). If you’re accessing other Gemini for Google Workspace features that are supported in English only, you will need to set your Google Account language to English. You can access the side panel by clicking on “Ask Gemini” (spark button) in the top right corner of Docs, Sheets, Drive, and Gmail on the web. Visit the Help Center to learn more about collaborating with Gemini in the side panel of Docs, Sheets, Drive, and Gmail. Rollout pace Rapid Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on February 19, 2025 Scheduled Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on February 26, 2025 Availability Available to Google Workspace: Business Standard and Plus Enterprise Standard and Plus Customers with the Gemini Education or Gemini Education Premium add-on Customers with the Gemini Business or Gemini Enterprise add-on* Available for Gemini in the side panel of Gmail for: Business Starter Enterprise Starter *As of January 15, 2025, we’re no longer offering the Gemini Business and Gemini Enterprise add-ons for sale. Please refer to this announcement for more details. Resources Google Help: Supported languages for Gemini for Google Workspace Google Help: Use the side panel to collaborate with Gemini
What’s changing Data regions for Google Workspace allows customers to choose a specific geographic location—in the U.S., in Europe, or globally distributed—for their covered data at rest to help meet organizational or compliance needs. We previously added data regions coverage to Google Drive, Docs, Sheets, and Slides, and today, we’re extending data region coverage to primary user data for Google Classroom for the U.S. and E.U. data regions. By expanding data regions coverage to Google Classroom user indices, we hope to better support our customers’ data location preferences and give them greater control. Getting started Admins: Visit the Help Center to learn how to choose a geographic location for your data and about data covered by data regions. Note: If Data Regions is already enabled for your organization, no additional action is required from you to enable the Google Classroom feature. End users: No end user impact. Rollout pace Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains: Available now. Availability Available for Google Workspace: Education Standard and Plus Resources Google Workspace Admin Help: Choose a geographic location for your data Google Workspace Admin Help: Data covered by data regions Product overview: Data regions
What’s changing Last year, we introduced a beta that allows shared drive managers and My Drive owners to restrict folders to specific users. Today, we’re excited to announce the general availability of this feature in shared drives and My Drive, which means that users can restrict access to their My Drive folders using the two options outlined below, and by 2026, we will simplify and align the restricted access principles for My Drive and shared drives. Current experience for My Drive folders & files (until February 2026): Users have two options to restrict access to files or folders in their My Drive: 1. Update item only: Go to your My Drive > choose a file or folder you want to limit access to for a specific user > Change the role of the specific user (e.g. from Commenter to Viewer) > click on "Update item only" 2. Limit folder access: Go to your My Drive > choose the folder you want to limit access > click the overflow menu > share > select share settings in the top right corner > click limit access to “Folder Name”. For My Drive folders & files after February 2026: By February 2026, we will stop allowing restricted access on specific files and folders as outlined in option 1 above (update item only), and limited access will be done consistently via the limited access folder setting as outlined in option 2 above (limit folder access). In the future, we will identify all the files and folders that are shared less broadly than their containing folder and enable limited access on them. This will not immediately change who has access to those items, but it will make it so that if someone were to share or unshare the item’s parent later, those changes will not apply to the item with limited access. We will provide an update in early 2026 before this process takes place. For shared drives: Only shared drive managers and content managers with sharing access can specify who can open a folder and see what's inside. Everyone else with regular access to the shared drive folder will be able to see that a "sensitive" file or folder exists, and can request access to it. This provides shared drive managers with greater flexibility to keep restricted and unrestricted content within a single shared drive, instead of having multiple folders for different access levels. Admins, end users and developers Why it’s important For My Drive, folders with limited access allow users to control the information viewed by others in their organization. For shared drives, folders with limited access allow users to organize files by project, in a single shared drive or shared folder, while ensuring that sensitive information is only accessible to the right team members. Additional details Drive’s public API We’re adding improvements to Drive’s public API that make it easier for developers to adopt the expansive access changes outlined above. Given these updates better align the behavior for items in My Drive and in shared drives, we recommend developers opt in to the expansive access API behavior in My Drive ahead of 2026. Visit this developer guide for more information on managing folders with limited and expansive access. “Editors can change permissions and share” setting As a result of this update, the “Editors can change permissions and share” setting will change by August 2025. Turning the setting off will still prevent users with Editor access from sharing the item directly, but if the owner places the item into a shared folder, any changes to the containing folder’s access will be applied on the item. Previously, those changes were only applied if the item’s owner was the one making the folder access change. By August 2025, we will apply limited access to items that have this setting turned off. Due to the limited access, the owner will still be the only person who can share those pre-existing items. Limited access will not be applied to items that have the setting turned off after August 2025. Admins: Admins need to set up shared drives for their organization in order for end users to access this feature. Visit the Help Center to learn more about folders with limited access. End users: As a shared drive manager or My Drive folder owner, go to your shared drive or My Drive folder > choose the folder you want to limit access > click the overflow menu > share > select share settings in the top right corner > click limited access to “Folder Name”. Folders with limited access can only be opened by people who have been added to it directly. People with general access to the shared drive or shared folder can see the restricted folder in Drive, but will not be able to open it. Folders with limited access are available in both shared drives and My Drive: Shared drive managers can always access folders with limited-access Folder owners can always access limited-access folders in their My Drive For users whose access has been limited, you will see the folder name, but the folder will be grayed out: Visit the Help Center to learn more about folders with limited access. Developers: Visit the Developer Documentation to learn more about managing folders with limited and expansive access. If you decide to opt into the expansive access API early, your app's behavior will not change when Drive stops allowing restricted access in 2026. Rollout pace Folders with limited access: Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on February 18, 2025 API changes for Expansive Access: Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on February 18, 2025 Availability Available to all Google Workspace customers, Workspace Individual Subscribers, and users with personal Google accounts Resources Google Workspace Admin Help: Set up shared drives for your organization Google Help: Learn about folders with limited access Google Help: Stop, limit, or change sharing
What’s changing We’re improving the live captions and translated captions experience in Google Meet by including the ability to scroll through the text. Previously, captions were displayed in real-time, but disappeared once they were no longer relevant to the current conversation. This update makes it possible to scroll back and review the last 30 minutes of captions at your own pace. This can be particularly helpful if you’ve missed a portion of the conversation or you want to review specific details mentioned earlier in the conversation. Scrolling through the caption history in Google Meet You can use “Jump to the bottom” to see the latest real-time captions Getting started Admins: There is no admin control for this feature. End users: Visit the Help Center to learn more about using live captions in Google Meet, as well as a list of available languages for captions and translated captions. Rollout pace Rapid Release domains: Full rollout (1–3 days for feature visibility) starting on February 18, 2025 Scheduled Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on February 24, 2025 Availability Available for all Google Workspace customers, as well as users with personal Google accounts Resources Google Help: Use live captions in Google Meet Google Help: Use translated captions in Google Meet
What’s changing In August 2024, we introduced “take notes for me” in Google Meet. When turned on, this Gemini in Meet feature is designed to boost meeting productivity by automatically capturing key discussion points and sending a recap email, helping keep everyone informed. Today, we’re pleased to announce that “take notes for me” will capture next steps discussed during the meeting in a new “suggested next steps” section. Powered by AI, these next steps and follow-ups will automatically be identified and organized within the meeting notes document. You can review and edit the next steps and follow-ups as needed, and even assign the task to someone. This latest note-taking enhancement will help ensure important follow-ups aren’t missed and keeps everyone aligned on what happens next after your meeting. Suggested next steps will be included in the meeting notes document Getting started Admins: Visit the Help Center to learn more about allowing Google Meet AI to take notes for my users. End users: Visit the Help Center to learn more about using "Take notes for me" in Google Meet. Rollout pace Rapid Release domains: Extended rollout (potentially longer than 15 days for feature visibility) starting on February 18, 2025 This feature will be rolling out at a much slower pace than usual as we carefully monitor performance and quality. We will update this post when rollout for Rapid Release domains is complete and Scheduled Rollout is expected to begin. Availability Available to Google Workspace Business Standard and Plus Enterprise Standard and Plus Also available with the Gemini Education Premium add-on Anyone who previously purchased these add-ons will also receive this feature: Gemini Enterprise* AI Meetings & Messaging* *As of January 15, 2025, we’re no longer offering the Gemini Enterprise add-ons for sale. Please refer to this announcement for more details. Resources Google Workspace Admin Help: Let Google Meet AI take notes for my users Google Help: Take notes with Gemini in Google Meet Google Workspace Updates Blog: “Take notes for me” in Google Meet is now available
What’s changing A big threat organizations must prepare for is the risk of data exfiltration through unwanted and/or unauthorized means. Whether it’s small-scale, unintended sharing, or a larger breach scenario, organizations need powerful defenses to protect themselves from these risks. To that end, we’re pleased to announce that today Data Loss Prevention (DLP) is generally available in Gmail, alongside Drive and Chat. DLP is one of the most powerful ways organizations can protect themselves from these risks. With DLP capabilities in Gmail, organizations can identify, monitor, and control the sharing of sensitive data. It works through a series of easy to apply data protection rules that can be implemented to instantly detect sensitive content in outgoing messages, including body content, attachments, headers, and subject lines. Additional details How does DLP in Gmail compare to Content Compliance rules? To prevent the exfiltration of sensitive data from Gmail, data protection rules with DLP are recommended. These rules offer a rich set of predefined detectors and the ability to build flexible conditions. Additionally, organizations can tailor warning messages based on their organization's data governance requirements, terminology, and processes; these messages will help educate users on their organization's specific security and data protection policies to prevent sharing sensitive content. Other features, such as content compliance, can still be used for different purposes, like evaluating inbound messages and routing them internally to relevant departments. For more information, please refer to our initial open beta announcement. DLP within the Google Workspace ecosystem As part of Google Workspace ecosystem, DLP for Gmail comes with capabilities available across other applications, such as Drive and Chat, so admins can configure, implement and investigate Data Loss Prevention incidents using unified tools, such as Security Investigation Tool, or build custom dashboards using unified audit logs or export to BigQuery. Taken together, DLP capabilities across Workspace provide powerful protections for organizations to reduce the risk of data breaches, comply with regulatory requirements, and protect their reputation and intellectual property. Getting started Admins: Data loss prevention rules can be configured at the domain, OU, or group level. DLP rules can be enabled in Gmail in the Admin console under Security > Access and data control > Data protection. Visit the Help Center to learn more about controlling sensitive data shared in Gmail. Note that you can modify existing DLP rules for Drive and Chat to also apply to Gmail. DLP events can be reviewed in the Security Investigation Tool or Security > Alert Center, if alerts are configured in rules. With DLP for Gmail, data protection rules can be scanned synchronously or asynchronously. Visit our Help Center for more information. For new rules, we recommend starting with “Audit only” mode. This allows you to thoroughly test and monitor the rule's performance and ensure it correctly identifies the intended data without interrupting email flow for users. Once you've validated the rule's behavior and are confident in its accuracy, you can then implement actions such as blocking or warning users as needed. End users: Depending on your admin configuration, you’ll be notified if your message contains information that violates DLP rules. Rollout pace Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains: Full rollout (1–3 days for feature visibility) starting on February 18, 2025 Availability Available to Google Workspace: Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus Education Fundamentals, Standard, Plus, and the Teaching & Learning add-on Frontline Standard Cloud Identity Premium customers Resources Google Workspace Admin Help: Gmail DLP & automatic classification labels Google Workspace Admin Help: Protect sensitive information using DLP Google Workspace Admin Help: How does DLP interact with other email rules? Workspace Updates Blog: Beta update: Data Loss Prevention enforcement in Gmail is now instantaneous Workspace Updates Blog: Workspace Data Protection rules are now available for Gmail in Beta
4 New updates Unless otherwise indicated, the features below are available to all Google Workspace customers, and are fully launched or in the process of rolling out. Rollouts should take no more than 15 business days to complete if launching to both Rapid and Scheduled Release at the same time. If not, each stage of rollout should take no more than 15 business days to complete. 2.0 Flash is now the default model in the Gemini app and Gemini Advanced for Workspace users The Gemini app is now operating on 2.0 Flash, which features improved response quality, speed, and efficiency. This update is applicable when using Gemini or Gemini Advanced on web or mobile. | Rollout to Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains is complete. | Available to all Google Workspace users accessing the Gemini app or Gemini Advanced. | Visit the Help Center to learn more about accessing the Gemini app with your Workspace account. Pin conversations on your Google Group Users can already star, mark as read/unread, report, delete, or lock a conversation in a Google Group. Today, we’re excited to reintroduce the additional ability to pin a conversation, which can be useful to highlight a conversation for other users in a group. The ability to pin messages is limited to users who have permissions to “moderate” a group. | Rolling out now to Rapid Release domains is complete; launch to Scheduled Release domains planned for February 18, 2025. | Available to Google Workspace customers, Google Workspace Individual subscribers, and users with personal Google accounts. | Visit the Help Center to learn more about pinning conversations. Managing bills & finances using summary cards in the Gmail mobile app Following last month's announcement of event summary cards, we're excited to introduce updated summary cards that enable you to view and pay bills, or set a reminder to pay later using Google Tasks. | Rolling out now to Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains on Android and iOS devices. | Available to Google Workspace customers, Google Workspace Individual subscribers, and users with personal Google accounts. | Visit the Help Center to learn more about using summary cards in Gmail. Now generally available: migrate messages from Microsoft Teams to Google Chat In December 2024, we introduced the ability for Google Workspace admins to migrate conversations from channels in Microsoft Teams to spaces in Google Chat in open beta. Beginning today, this functionality is generally available for all Google Workspace customers, making it easier for organizations to onboard and deploy Chat in their organizations. | Rollout to Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains is complete. | Available for all Google Workspace customers. | For detailed information, please refer to our original announcement, as well as our Help Center. Example of a completed migration Previous announcements The announcements below were published on the Workspace Updates blog earlier this week. Please refer to the original blog posts for complete details. Google Meet Learning Tools Interoperability™ update: control when meeting recordings are shared with a new toggle Instructors using Meet LTI™ to create and host meetings can control how meeting recordings are shared. | Learn more about Google Meet Learning Tools Interoperability™. Create and vote on polls directly in Google Chat In order to provide users with an easy way to gather feedback directly in their Google Chat conversations, we’re introducing a new Poll app. | Learn more about the poll app. Improving the cover images experience in Google Docs We’re introducing improvements to adding and working with cover images in Google Docs. | Learn more about the cover image improvements. Data classification labels in Gmail are now available on all Android and iOS devices In November 2024, we launched an open beta for data classification labels in Gmail. Beginning this week, data classification labels will be available when using the Gmail app on mobile Android and iOS devices. | Learn more about Data classification labels in Gmail. Create names for group direct messages in Google Chat Users can now create names for existing and new group direct messages. | Learn more about naming group messages in Chat. Introducing the board tab in Google Chat In our continuing effort to improve the ways Google Chat helps teams communicate and collaborate, we’re excited to introduce board in Google Chat. This feature, which can be thought of as a virtual bulletin board, organizes important information and helps keep your team on the same page. | Learn more about board in Chat. Completed rollouts The features below completed their rollouts to Rapid Release domains, Scheduled Release domains, or both. Please refer to the original blog posts for additional details. Rapid Release Domains: Easily convert data to people chips and update chip format in Google Sheets (People chip formats only) Rapid and Scheduled Release Domains: Introducing Colab Pro and Colab Pro+ for Google Workspace Know who an event is shared with when using shared Google Calendars Now generally available: Easily migrate files from Microsoft OneDrive to Google Drive NotebookLM and NotebookLM Plus now available as a Google Workspace core service with enterprise-grade data protection Google Vault now supports the Gemini app Insert responses from Gemini directly into email drafts in the Gmail app Create and vote on polls directly in Google Chat Data classification labels in Gmail are now available on all Android and iOS (Android only) Google Meet Learning Tools Interoperability™ update: control when meeting recordings are shared with a new toggle For a recap of announcements in the past six months, check out What’s new in Google Workspace (recent releases).
What’s changing In our continuing effort to improve the ways Google Chat helps teams communicate and collaborate, we’re excited to introduce board in Google Chat. This feature, which can be thought of as a virtual bulletin board, organizes important information and helps keep your team on the same page by enabling anyone to: Pin and share crucial messages, files, and links for quick access Use intelligent suggestions to quickly find and add relevant resources Maintain an organized workspace by displaying the board next to your conversation stream when needed and hidden at other times The board in Chat helps you stay focused and reduces context-switching. By gathering relevant assets in a consistent, accessible location, this feature helps with common tasks: A project manager can maintain a single source of truth for all project-related files and resources shared with their team A workgroup leader can provide one location to find relevant information and resources used on a regular basis A new team member can quickly find resources to get up to speed on their role and responsibilities so they can contribute to the team as soon as possible Who’s impacted End users Why it’s important Save time and keep assets and conversations organized with the board in Chat, a place where any team member can pin important messages, files and web links. Curating a repository of relevant information for a team or workgroup can be highly beneficial, but ongoing management can be time consuming and cumbersome. The board in Chat solves for this by providing a dynamic, customizable, and visually appealing way to consolidate important information, with file suggestions from Gemini to ensure that all relevant assets are included. Getting started Admins: There is no admin control for this feature. End users: The board is for everyone in a conversation to use and reference. However, space managers can restrict who can update a board by going to space settings > Modify space board and details. The board tab will appear in all direct messages, group messages and spaces. Clicking on it will open a dedicated right panel displaying the board alongside the message stream. By default, all users can pin, add resources, edit, and delete information from the board with the exception of announcement spaces. For spaces, a space manager has the ability to restrict board modification access. For announcement spaces, only space managers can edit a Board by default. Managers can change this default if needed to allow all members to edit it. The board will feature sections for pinned messages and pinned resources. Visit the Help Center to learn more about the Board tab in Chat. Rollout pace Rapid Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on February 13, 2025 Scheduled Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on March 3, 2025 Availability Available to all Google Workspace customers, Workspace Individual Subscribers, and users with personal Google accounts Resources Pin messages, files & links in spaces & messages
What’s changing Spaces in Google Chat are meant to focus a conversation around a topic, project, or shared interest with multiple people. However, we know there are times when users prefer to message a group instead of a space. In order to manage discussions more easily and find conversations quicker, users can now create names for existing and new group direct messages. Name any group direct messages with the new option in the Chat menu Getting started Admins: There is no admin control for this feature. End users: Named group direct messages will continue to show in the direct messages section of Chat. Named group direct messages are still private to the members of the group. The group name will be visible to all members of the group direct message. Visit the Help Center to learn more about naming a group direct message. Rollout pace Web: Rapid Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on February 13, 2025 Scheduled Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on February 28, 2025 Android: Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on February 27, 2025 iOS: Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on March 4, 2025 Availability Available to all Google Workspace customers, Workspace Individual Subscribers, and users with personal Google accounts Resources Google Help: Name a group direct message or convert it into a space
What’s changing In November 2024, we launched an open beta for data classification labels in Gmail. Beginning today, data classification labels will be available when using the Gmail app on mobile Android and iOS devices. Expanding data classification labels to mobile enables organizations to protect their data whether their users are sharing and accessing information from desktop devices or from mobile devices in the field or on-the-go. Classification labels on mobile when composing a message, reading a message, and a message thread. Additionally, these protections provide an automated way to enhance data security. For more information on data classification labels in Gmail, please refer to our original announcement. Getting started Admins: If there are classification labels enabled for Gmail, users will start seeing classification fields in the compose flow on iOS and Android. If you’re new to classification labels, they can be enabled at the domain, group level, or individual user level. Visit the Help Center to learn more about getting started with classification labels, Gmail DLP & automatic classification labels, and preventing data leaks in email and attachments. Since this feature is still in an open beta period, and with the introduction of mobile support, we strongly encourage you to continue providing feedback so we can optimize the feature for general availability. End users: If configured by your admin, you’ll see the “Classification” option when composing a new messaging or replying to or forwarding an existing message on mobile. When you open the menu, you can select labels relevant to your message. Visit the Help Center to learn more about adding classification labels in Gmail. Rollout pace Android: Available now iOS: Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on February 11, 2025 Availability The Label Manager and manual classification is available to Google Workspace: Frontline Starter and Standard Business Standard and Plus Enterprise Standard and Plus Education Standard and Education Plus Essentials, Enterprise Essentials, and Enterprise Essentials Plus Data loss prevention rules with labels as a condition or labels as an action are available to: Enterprise Standard and Plus Education Fundamentals, Standard, Plus, and the Teaching & Learning Upgrade Frontline Standard Cloud Identity Premium (in combination with a Workspace Edition eligible for Gmail) Resources Google Workspace Admin Help: Gmail DLP & automatic classification labels (beta) Google Workspace Admin Help: Get started as a classification labels admin Google Workspace Admin Help: Prevent data leaks in email & attachments (beta) Google Help: Add classification labels in Gmail
What’s changing Last year, we made it easier for you to personalize and differentiate documents with full-bleed cover images that extend from one edge of your document to the other. Since then, many users have added cover images to help set the tone for a document, and today we’re announcing the following updates: In addition to the “Choose from stock photos” and “Upload from computer”, insertion options, users can now add images via: Searching the web Uploading from Drive Importing from Google Photos Pasting a URL The addition of 100+ new stock images to provide users with more options. The stock image gallery will also include filtering options for categories like art, food, and abstract When clicking the “Cover image” chip at the top of your Doc, a placeholder image will appear, followed by the menu with options to create with Gemini or insert a different image via the options outlined in #1. Additional details Cover images can only be added to documents set to pageless mode, allowing the image to span the entire width of the document. To set up the more immersive experience of pageless mode, go to File > Page setup > Pageless or Format > Switch to Pageless format. Getting started Admins: There is no admin control for this feature. End users: A stock cover image is not AI-generated and automatically uploads to your document. You can update or change the image. Visit the Help Center to learn more about adding a cover image to your document. Rollout pace Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains: Extended rollout (potentially longer than 15 days for feature visibility) starting on February 11, 2025 Availability Available to all Google Workspace customers, Workspace Individual Subscribers, and users with personal Google accounts Resources Google Help: Insert or delete images & videos
What’s changing In order to provide users with an easy way to gather feedback directly in their Google Chat conversations, we’re introducing a new Poll app. Through a simple creation process, teams and groups can share questions for feedback. This feature can be useful in scenarios in which you need to poll colleagues about an upcoming event, meeting time or team outing. The Poll app provides the ability to see results instantly, along with options to make polls multi-choice or anonymous. Using the Poll app, teams can arrive at faster, more inclusive decisions while keeping the conversation flowing. Creating a poll Seeing the results of a poll Additional details Some poll questions that ask where to eat, grab coffee, meet may have special icons. Getting started Admins: Admins will need to allowlist the Poll app if your Marketplace user install setting is set to “Allow users to install and run allowlisted apps from the Marketplace.” Visit the Help Center to learn more about managing the Marketplace app allowlist for your organization. To enable the Poll app for all users in a domain, admins can domain install the Poll app from the Google Workspace Marketplace. End users: Create a new poll by typing “/poll” in any chat conversation and clicking enter. You can also access the Poll app by typing “@Poll” or use the recently announced quick command and click the plus button menu in the compose box and search for “Poll.” Users outside of your domain cannot vote on polls posted in spaces with external members. Visit the Help Center to learn more creating polls in Google Chat. Rollout pace Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains: Available now. Availability Available to all Google Workspace customers that have enabled Chat apps in their domain, Workspace Individual Subscribers, and users with personal Google accounts Resources Google Help: Create polls in Google Chat Google Workspace Admin Help: Manage the Marketplace app allowlist for your organization
What’s changing Instructors using Meet LTI™ to create and host meetings can control how meeting recordings are shared. Previously, everyone in the meeting could access the recording after the meeting. Now, instructors can control when recordings are shared with students. From Meet LTI, select the “Meet artifacts” tab to toggle the “Share recordings with students” settings We plan to introduce similar controls for other meeting artifacts, like Meeting transcripts, in the future. We’ll share more here on the Workspace Updates blog when more controls become available. Getting started Admins: Visit the Help Center for an overview of Google Workspace LTI™ as well as turning Meet recording ON or OFF for your organization. End users: Visit the Help Center to learn more about creating, editing, and deleting meetings, opening meeting artifacts, as well as using Google Meet LTI™ in general. Rollout pace Rapid and Scheduled Release domains: Full rollout (1–3 days for feature visibility) starting on February 10, 2025 Availability Available for Google Workspace Education Fundamentals, Standard, Plus, and the Teaching & Learning add-on Resources Google Workspace Admin Help: Google Workspace LTI Help Google Workspace Admin Help: Turn Meet recording on or off for your organization Google Meet LTI™ Help: Instructors: Create, edit & delete meetings Google Meet LTI™ Help: Open Meet artifacts
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