Google Workspace Changes

New customization options and an improved Decisions section for 'Take notes for me' in Google Meet.

Google Meet is enhancing the 'Take notes for me' feature by allowing users to customize which sections are included in their meeting notes, such as Summary, Decisions, Next steps, and Details, via an in-call menu. The update also introduces a dedicated 'Decisions' section to track outcomes and their status (e.g., Aligned, Shelved), and provides a more concise and scannable improved summary section.

Introduction of comprehensive user device information in audit logs and reporting APIs.

Administrators can now access the 'User device info' attribute to gain context about the devices used to perform actions, including User device ID, OS version, and device type (e.g., DESKTOP_MAC). This information is available for numerous log sources and can be accessed via the Security Investigation tool, Admin SDK (Reports API), SecOps, and BigQuery.

Expanded coverage for resources and actor application info in security and audit tools.

Google is expanding two critical attributes in the Security Investigation and Audit and Investigation tools to provide a more complete view across Workspace services. The 'Resources' attribute is expanding to include Chrome, Voice, Vault, and Assignment log events, while 'Actor application info' is expanding to Chrome, Voice, Group, Meet, Assignments, and Admin data action log events.

Introduction of owner details for resource attributes in Workspace audit logs.

Google is adding a new 'Owner details' field to the 'Resources' attribute in Workspace audit logs to help administrators identify who owns a resource during security investigations. This field consists of 'Owner Type' (User, Customer, or Group) and 'Owner Identity' (IDs or email addresses) and will be available across various data sources including Gmail, Drive, Chat, and Meet.

Gemini can now generate formatted files like Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, PDFs, and Microsoft Office files directly from prompts.

Gemini now allows users to transform conversational prompts directly into thoughtfully formatted files, including Google Workspace files (Docs, Sheets, Slides), PDFs, Microsoft Word (.docx), Microsoft Excel (.xlsx), CSV, LaTeX, Plain Text, Rich Text Format, and Markdown. This feature reduces the need for copying and pasting by enabling the creation of functional, downloadable documents directly within the Gemini app.

Students in higher education (18+) can now create personal class notebooks with NotebookLM in Google Classroom.

Students in higher education aged 18 and older can now create their own personal class notebooks within Google Classroom using NotebookLM. These notebooks are grounded in materials provided by their educators, allowing students to generate custom study tools such as Audio Overviews, Video Overviews, study guides, flashcards, and interactive visual diagrams. Students can synthesize information across up to 50 source documents and receive grounded answers to questions via the Gemini tab, helping them better internalize and present their learning.

Integration of Gems into Google Workspace Studio flows via the 'Ask a Gem' step.

Google is integrating Gems into Google Workspace Studio, allowing users to add an 'Ask a Gem' step to their automation flows. This feature enables flows to send prompts to private Gems to automate tasks such as writing documents or creating summaries. The functionality is available for Gems that utilize Drive files in their knowledge base.

Create custom branded avatars in Google Vids using Nano Banana 2.

Google Vids now enables users to brand their custom AI-generated avatars by uploading a logo and utilizing the Nano Banana 2 model to refine the logo's sizing and placement. This feature ensures that AI presenters align with an organization's visual identity. Additionally, branded custom avatars can be saved within a Vid, allowing collaborators to use the same speaker for consistent branding across the project.

Beta program to double cell limits to 20 million

Google is introducing a beta program that allows organizations to double their cell limit in Google Sheets, increasing it from 10 million to 20 million cells. This increased capacity applies to new, existing, and imported files for participating organizations.

Gemini in Google Sheets now enables the creation and editing of complex spreadsheets using natural language.

Google has introduced advanced Gemini capabilities in Sheets that allow users to build entire spreadsheets, including data retrieval and formatting, from a single natural language prompt. The update features 'Workspace Intelligence' to synthesize data across Workspace apps, side-by-side editing for refining existing models, and advanced task fulfillment for creating pivot tables and complex formulas. Additionally, it incorporates advanced optimization powered by Google DeepMind and Google Research OR-Tools to solve complex optimization problems without requiring manual formula configuration.

Introducing Data Import for easier, faster, and higher-fidelity migration to Google Workspace.

Google is introducing Data Import, a new Google Workspace data migration tool for enterprises. This tool enables easier, faster, and higher-fidelity data migrations for emails, calendars, and contacts at no additional tool cost. It's a cloud-native solution accessible from the admin console, offering quicker migration speeds and no additional infrastructure costs. Additionally, a new migration planning utility is available to help with change management and forecasting for large-scale enterprise migrations from Microsoft 365 to Google Workspace.

AI Overviews in Gmail search allow users to ask natural language questions and receive concise summaries from across multiple emails.

Google is introducing AI Overviews in Gmail search, enabling users to type natural language questions into the search bar to get instant summaries and answers pulled from multiple conversations. This eliminates the need to manually sift through fragmented email threads for specific details. The feature is being expanded to business and education users with eligible licenses, following an initial launch for Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers.

Introducing Workspace Intelligence to ground Gemini in real-time Workspace data with admin controls.

Google has introduced Workspace Intelligence, an underlying AI system that provides Gemini with a real-time understanding of a user's work across Gmail, Chat, Calendar, and Drive (including Docs, Sheets, and Slides). This grounding eliminates the need for users to manually provide context for every query. Administrators can manage which data sources Workspace Intelligence can access via new settings in the Admin console, though users can still manually add specific files to prompts even if a general data source is disabled.

Ask Gemini in Drive is expanding language support to 28 additional languages.

Google is expanding the language support for Ask Gemini in Drive to include all 29 languages currently supported in the Gemini side panel, rolling out to Rapid and Scheduled release domains over the coming weeks.

Ask Gemini in Drive is now generally available for eligible Google Workspace and Google AI plans.

Ask Gemini in Drive provides an immersive workspace for high-context, multi-turn conversations to explore and understand content across Drive, Workspace apps, and the web. Key features include dedicated conversations for specific files and folders, 'Drive projects' for curating shared knowledge bases, and persistent conversation history. The tool is integrated into Drive's architecture to ensure it honors existing data protection, security controls, and access permissions.