Google Workspace Changes

Google Calendar has been updated to improve interoperability with Microsoft Teams, Zoom, and Cisco Webex. For outgoing invitations, the conferencing URL is automatically placed in the event's Location field so external clients display it as a clickable button. For incoming invitations from external systems, Google Calendar extracts the meeting URL, ID, and passcode and surfaces a prominent 'Join video call' button on the event across Web, Android, and iOS. No admin controls are needed; the feature rolls out to Rapid and Scheduled Release domains starting August 27, 2026.

Administrators can now configure Context-Aware Access policies for Google Classroom directly from the Admin console at the organizational unit or group level. This allows them to restrict access based on attributes such as geographic region, device security status, and IP address, integrating Classroom into broader Workspace security frameworks to protect sensitive school and student data. The feature is available immediately for both Rapid and Scheduled Release domains for Education Standard and Plus editions.

Google Sheets now supports grouped field persistence for pivot tables. When you create custom groupings or work with grouped date, time, or numeric fields, these fields are retained directly in the pivot table editor sidebar as reusable source fields, allowing you to unassign them from your active table layout without losing their underlying configuration, making it easy to re-add or modify them at any time. Additionally, this update improves interoperability with Microsoft Excel (.xlsx) files by preserving grouped field configurations when importing/exporting spreadsheet files, eliminating the need to manually recreate groupings.

The migration planning utility, which helps customers with change management and data migration forecasting, has been extended to support Microsoft Teams. It offers migration timeline estimates and organizes user data into speed-optimized batches, simplifying discovery and enabling data-driven planning for large-scale enterprise migrations from Microsoft 365 to Google Workspace.

The migration planning utility helps administrators assess their source data corpus, estimate migration timelines, and improve change management planning. It offers a frictionless discovery experience and data-driven forecasts to streamline large-scale enterprise migrations from Microsoft 365 to Google Workspace.

Starting August 31, 2026, Google Meet hardware touch controllers will gain direct controls for the Gemini-powered 'Take notes for me' feature, allowing in-room participants to start, stop, and pause note-taking via a dedicated badge on the touchscreen without needing Companion mode. The rollout begins with Early Preview devices on August 31, followed by Rapid and Scheduled Release domains on September 8, with visibility expanding over up to 15 days. The feature is available for Business Standard/Plus, Enterprise Standard/Plus, Google AI Plus/Pro/Ultra, Frontline Plus, and Google AI Pro for Education add-ons, provided the organization has 'Take notes for me' enabled and the hardware license supports it.

The update introduces general availability of data import for Microsoft Teams, enabling admins to copy channel messages, group chats, and direct conversations from Teams to Workspace via a turnkey, scalable cloud-native solution accessible from the admin console, with faster migration speeds, no additional costs, and high fidelity import of both channels and private chats.

Google Workspace data import (advanced mode) is now generally available, allowing IT teams to import large volumes of files and permissions from Microsoft OneDrive directly via the admin console. The service supports concurrent batches, automatically adjusts speed to match Microsoft licensing tiers, and offers faster migration through parallelization and improved algorithms, all at no additional cost.

Google Chat introduces a new 'View members' setting for space owners and managers, allowing them to control who can see the full member list with four permission levels: Owners only, Owners & managers, All members (default), or Entire organization. This enhances privacy for sensitive, large-scale, or external collaboration spaces, similar to Google Groups membership controls. Regardless of the setting, users can always see the name and profile of anyone who sends a message in the space. No admin control is required; end users adjust the setting via Space Settings > Membership > View Members. The feature rolls out gradually over up to 15 days starting August 24, 2026, for both Rapid and Scheduled Release domains and is available to all Google Workspace customers.

Google Meet hardware touch controllers on Neat Pad and Poly TC8 devices receive a refreshed UI that simplifies access to key controls like mute and hand raise, organizes features under a 'More actions' menu, updates pre-call and in-meeting experiences, and aligns the look with the Google Meet UI on laptops and desktops. The update rolls out to Early Preview devices starting August 26, 2026, and to Rapid and Scheduled Release domains starting September 2, 2026.

Users can ask Gemini to show or visualize complex concepts, and the app will produce interactive visualizations such as 3D models, tables, grids, and simulations that can be rotated, zoomed, and explored directly within the chat. The feature is enabled by default for all organizations with Gemini turned on, with no end‑user setting required.

We are introducing a seamless way to record presentations in Google Slides using Google Vids directly from the Slides interface. A new Record option appears in the right-hand menu, guiding users through a streamlined workflow that outputs an immediately shareable link. The integration offers advanced creation capabilities such as transcript-based editing and voiceover generation, turning slide decks into polished video assets quickly. Existing Slides recording experience remains available via View > Slides Recording during the transition.

Admins can now access Google Chat usage metrics in the Gemini reports dashboard, allowing them to track active Gemini users in Google Chat, analyze usage trends, and identify who benefits most from Gemini-powered summarization and generation features at the organization level. At the user level, admins can view the level of Gemini adoption for specific users who actively engage with the app. This launch also updates a few Gemini summarization interactions in Chat to 'Active' as they are initiated by the user, which may result in updated metrics for active users and overall Chat usage.

Google Chat introduces a new admin setting that replaces the previous all-or-nothing creation restriction with three granular levels: no restrictions, restrict space creation only, or restrict all creation (DMs, gDMs, and spaces). Administrators can apply these settings at the domain, OU, or group level to manage space creation through approval workflows without disrupting everyday direct messaging. The feature began rolling out on August 14, 2026 for both Rapid and Scheduled Release domains, with visibility expected within up to 15 days.