Google Workspace Changes

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.

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.

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.

Updated emoji experience in Google Chat with Emoji 13.1 and improved personalization.

Google Chat is updating its emoji experience across web and mobile platforms. The update includes the adoption of the Emoji 13.1 set, the introduction of gender-neutral options for gender-modifiable emojis, and the ability to save skin tone and gender preferences for individual emojis.