Google Workspace Changes

Gemini-powered rubric generation lets educators instantly create Classroom-ready rubrics during assignment creation.

Educators can now generate a new Classroom-ready rubric with Gemini based on assignment context, convert existing rubric files, or draft rubrics via the Gemini tab and export to Sheets/Docs. This streamlines rubric creation and grading setup, saving prep time. The feature rolls out to Rapid and Scheduled Release domains starting August 5, 2026, for Education Fundamentals, Standard, and Plus customers.

Gemini in Google Classroom expands to K-12 and higher education students of all ages, adding contextualized starter prompts and Learn with Gemini features.

Starting August 10, 2026, Gemini in Google Classroom will be available to K-12 and higher education students of all ages who have been granted access by their admin. Students can access the Gemini tab to transform class materials into flashcards, practice quizzes, interactive study guides, audio overviews, infographics, and more. New contextualized starter prompts pull class and assignment details directly from Classroom to tailor Gemini interactions, and a 'Learn with Gemini' feature appears on the redesigned Classroom homepage for guided help. Admin controls let admins manage access via the Gemini in Classroom control, with rollout beginning in Rapid Release domains on August 10 (web) and August 17 (mobile) and proceeding to Scheduled Release domains.

Google Meet now automatically captures and includes screenshots of presented content in meeting notes.

The ‘Take notes for me’ feature in Google Meet is enhanced to automatically capture screenshots of presented content and add them to meeting notes, providing visual context alongside transcripts. Admins can configure screenshot capture settings in the Admin console to either always allow screenshots or only when a recording is enabled, and end users see a notification when presenting. Rollout begins August 3, 2026 for both Rapid and Scheduled Release domains, with a gradual rollout over up to 15 days, and is available for Business Standard and Plus, Enterprise Standard and Plus, and Google AI Pro for Education.

Timestamped comments for videos in Google Drive on the web let users anchor feedback to specific time marks.

Google Drive now supports timestamped comments for video files on the web, enabling reviewers to attach comments to exact moments in a video. Each comment appears as a marker on the video timeline; clicking jumps to that point and highlights the note. Standard commenting features like editing, resolving, replying, and @ mentions remain fully supported. The feature works across Rapid and Scheduled Release domains and is available immediately for all Google Workspace customers, Workspace Individual subscribers, and personal Google accounts.

Gemini in Google Forms now enables users to generate quizzes via natural‑language prompts, optionally pulling content from Google Drive files.

With the new Help me create feature in Google Forms, users can describe the quiz they want in a prompt, reference Docs, Slides or PDFs stored in Drive, and Gemini will generate a complete quiz—including question types, correct answers, and appropriate settings. The generated quiz can be previewed and edited before finalizing. The feature is rolling out to Rapid Release domains starting July 24, 2026 (visible within 15 days) and to Scheduled Release domains starting August 5, 2026 (also visible within 15 days). It is available for Business Standard/Plus, Enterprise Standard/Plus, Education Plus, and various consumer and education add‑on plans.

Google Sheets now supports creating and editing scatter charts with multiple independent x‑series, preserving Excel compatibility.

Google Sheets now supports creating and editing scatter charts with multiple independent x‑axis series, allowing each data series to be mapped to its own unique horizontal axis rather than forcing all series to share a single x‑axis. The update also improves compatibility with Microsoft Excel: scatter charts that contain multiple x‑series are preserved when importing or exporting between Google Sheets and Excel, preventing the loss of extra axes that previously occurred. There are no admin controls; end users can learn more in the Help Center. The feature is rolling out gradually: Rapid Release domains see visibility up to 15 days starting July 29, 2026, and Scheduled Release domains see visibility up to 15 days starting August 14, 2026. It is available to all Google Workspace customers and personal Google account users.

Google Calendar introduces adjustable information density options (Responsive, Comfortable, Compact) to improve viewing on large monitors.

The update adds three density settings—Responsive, which scales events to fill larger screens; Comfortable, which maintains standard spacing; and Compact, which shows more events with tighter spacing—allowing users to tailor the calendar grid to their monitor size and preference. Admins have no control; end users can change settings via Appearance in Calendar on the web. Rollout begins July 29, 2026 for Rapid Release domains and August 10, 2026 for Scheduled Release domains, with extended visibility potentially exceeding 15 days.

Users can now create and edit images, diagrams, and infographics directly in Google Docs using Gemini.

Gemini in Google Docs enables users to generate rich visuals such as infographics and diagrams from document context, refine existing graphics with natural language prompts (e.g., change aspect ratio or style), and create or edit multiple visuals at once. The feature is accessible via the bottom bar or Gemini side panel, is web‑only, and rolls out gradually over up to 15 days starting July 28, 2026 for both Rapid and Scheduled Release domains.

Google Meet will soon add visual screenshots of presented content to meeting notes generated by the 'Take notes for me' feature, with admin controls to allow screenshots always or only when recording is enabled.

Starting in the coming weeks, Google Meet will roll out visual screenshots that automatically capture slides, diagrams, and charts during meetings and embed them into the meeting notes document created by the 'Take notes for me' feature. Administrators can pre‑configure whether screenshots are allowed always or only when a meeting recording is enabled, and presenters receive on‑screen notifications when capture begins. End users can manage or disable the capture from the Meet notes panel, and all captured screenshots are protected by Google Workspace enterprise‑grade data protections. Admin console settings are available now for both Rapid and Scheduled Release domains, while the end‑user feature will begin a gradual rollout (up to 15 days for visibility) in Q3 2026.

Google Calendar now displays a new icon next to leaders who have calendar delegates in the guest list, showing delegate info and enabling direct chat.

When viewing a guest list in Google Calendar on the web, users will see a new icon beside leaders that have a calendar delegate assisting with scheduling. Hovering over the icon reveals the delegate’s information and allows users to start a chat directly. The icon appears in event details view, full-screen creation, and side-by-side scheduling view, helping users quickly identify and contact the appropriate scheduling support.

Google Meet now automatically organizes meeting notes, transcripts, and recordings into a dedicated 'Google Meet' folder in Google Drive, with subfolders per meeting and shortcuts for attendees.

After a meeting, Google Meet uploads notes, transcripts, and recordings to a new 'Google Meet' folder in the host's My Drive, organizing them into meeting-specific subfolders (recurring meetings share a folder). Attendees with access see shortcuts to these files in their own 'Google Meet' folder. Previously, these files were only uploaded to the host's Drive and were not organized. Existing 'Meet Recordings' folders will be moved and renamed to 'Legacy Meet Recordings' during the transition. The feature rolls out to Rapid Release domains starting July 22, 2026 (full visibility within 1–3 days) and to Scheduled Release domains starting July 30, 2026 (full visibility within 1–3 days), and is available to all Google Workspace customers.

Google Meet introduces a redesigned homepage that centralizes meeting agendas, notes, recordings, and transcripts for easier preparation and follow‑up.

The new Google Meet homepage on the web provides a single view of upcoming meeting descriptions and calendar attachments, as well as quick access to past meeting notes, recordings, and transcripts. It also adds week and month navigators to browse schedules. The feature rolls out to Rapid Release domains starting July 21, 2026 (visible within 15 days) and to Scheduled Release domains starting August 17, 2026 (also visible within 15 days), with no admin controls required.

Google Classroom homepage redesigned with role‑based views for teachers, students, and administrators.

The updated Google Classroom homepage becomes a dynamic, centralized hub that surfaces role‑specific content: teachers receive a dashboard with actionable insights, student work tracking, and a feature spotlight; students see an ‘Enrolled’ view highlighting upcoming due work; administrators gain access to performance analytics, admin shortcuts, and relevant tools. All modules are collapsible, users can switch between role views, and the redesign rolls out globally starting July 27, 2026 for both Rapid and Scheduled Release domains, available to all Google Workspace editions, Workspace Individual subscribers, and personal Google accounts.

Google Sheets adds new combo chart types and improves Excel import compatibility, preserving secondary axis.

Google Sheets now offers enhanced support for combo charts, providing a more seamless experience when creating multi-series visualizations. Users can create new “Combo” chart types, including Clustered Column - Line, Clustered Column - Line on Secondary Axis, and Custom Combo, enabling complex dataset visualization with different scales and metrics without manual re-plotting. Additionally, Sheets combo chart support includes improved Microsoft Excel import compatibility, ensuring that secondary axis configurations and combo chart types are preserved during file import.

Gemini Omni now available in Google Vids for higher-quality AI video generation and text-based video editing.

Users can generate higher quality AI video clips with improved text rendering, physics, and realism using Gemini Omni within Google Vids. Additionally, they can edit any existing video by typing natural language instructions—such as adjusting color grading, restyling visuals in anime style, or removing unwanted background elements—directly in Vids. The feature rolls out gradually to Rapid Release domains starting July 16, 2026 and to Scheduled Release domains starting August 5, 2026, with availability across various Business, Enterprise, Education, and Consumer editions.