Google Workspace Changes

View embedded Microsoft Office files in Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides

Users can now view embedded Microsoft Office files when working with Office files in Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides. This feature allows users to preview embedded files, copy them directly to Google Drive, or download them, providing a more seamless experience when accessing embedded content within Office documents.

Google Calendar introduces Time Insights to help users analyze how their time is spent in meetings.

Time Insights in Google Calendar provides a personalized, analytical experience on the web that allows users to see a breakdown of their time spent in meetings, identify meeting-heavy days, and see which collaborators they spend the most time with. This data is private to the user and helps in better planning and priority assessment.

Google Chat PWA can now be set to run automatically at system startup.

Users on Windows, MAC OS, and Linux can now configure the Google Chat Progressive Web Application (PWA) to launch automatically when they sign into their computer. This is done by navigating to chrome://apps, right-clicking the Google Chat app, and selecting 'Start app when you sign in.' This feature is not supported on Chrome OS and is available to all Google Workspace, G Suite Basic, and Business customers.

New intelligent, context-aware suggestions for formulas and functions in Google Sheets.

Google Sheets now offers in-line, sequential, and context-aware suggestions for formulas and functions as users begin typing. These suggestions are designed to help users write formulas more accurately and speed up data analysis. Users can access additional incremental suggestions via a drop-down menu, and the feature can be disabled through the Tools menu or the suggestion dialog box.

Replace your background with a video in Google Meet on iOS

Google Meet users on iOS can now replace their backgrounds with video instead of just static images. Currently, three Google-made video backgrounds—a classroom, a party, and a forest—are available, with more options expected soon. This feature expands the video background capability already available on the web version of Google Meet.

View corresponding Google Chat messages from the Tasks tab in a Chat room

Users can now quickly navigate back to the original Google Chat message where a task was created or indicated by using the 'View in Chat' icon within the Tasks tab of a Google Chat room. This feature is available on the web by hovering over the task and on mobile by selecting the task, helping users surface context and re-engage stakeholders more efficiently.

Smart Reply is now available for comments in Google Docs.

Google Docs has introduced Smart Reply for comment threads in English, providing users with suggested relevant responses to save time. This feature complements Smart Compose and spelling autocorrect, allowing users to either select a suggested reply or write their own. It is enabled by default but can be turned off via Tools > Preferences.

Security groups are now generally available for Google Workspace admins.

Security groups are now generally available, allowing administrators to regulate, audit, and monitor groups used for permission and access control. This feature enables admins to apply a security label to groups to distinguish them from standard email-list groups, providing guarantees that external groups cannot be added as members and that security labels cannot be removed once assigned.

Google Meet now notifies users when their system is causing an echo during video calls.

Google Meet is introducing a feature to help users identify and fix audio echoes. When a notable echo is detected from a user's system, a red dot will appear on the 'more options' button along with a text notification. Clicking the notification directs users to the Help Center for troubleshooting steps to prevent echo.

Dark mode is now available for Google Chat on the web and the Progressive Web App (PWA).

Users can now enable dark mode for Google Chat on the web (chat.google.com) and the Google Chat Progressive Web App (PWA) by navigating to Settings > Theme settings. This feature aims to provide a better viewing experience in low-light conditions by reducing brightness and potentially decreasing eye strain.

Limit external chat to only users in domains that you trust in Google Chat.

Admins can now limit external chat to people in trusted domains for their entire organization, or set different policies for different OUs. This gives admins more fine grained control over external chat in their organization and can help prevent inappropriate or undesired external chats.

Limit external messaging to trusted domains in Google Chat

Google Chat now allows administrators to limit external chat communication to only users within specific trusted domains. Previously, admins could only choose to allow or disallow external chat entirely; now, they can set more granular policies for the entire organization or specific organizational units (OUs) to ensure users only communicate with approved external stakeholders.

Users can now indicate their working location directly on their Google Calendar.

Starting August 30, 2021, Google Calendar users can set a weekly working location routine (such as working from home or the office) to help colleagues plan in-person collaboration in hybrid workplaces. Anyone with free/busy access to the user's calendar can view these locations, and the feature can be managed by admins at the domain or organizational unit level.

Easily customize and identify theme colors in Google Sheets and Slides.

Google has updated the color picker in Sheets and Slides to make theme colors easier to find and select. The theme colors section is now located at the top of the color picker, and the theme placeholder now displays the name of the active theme, allowing users to more easily identify and apply company brand colors.

Upload customized audio prompts and greetings to Google Voice automated attendant

Admins can now upload their own pre-recorded audio prompts and greetings when setting up an automated attendant in Google Voice, providing an alternative to the standard text-to-speech option. This update allows for greater customization and includes immediate playback and automatic transcriptions to help admins manage their uploads.