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This announcement was made at Google Cloud Next ‘23. Visit the Workspace Blog to learn more about the next wave of AI innovation in Workspace. This feature is exclusive to the Duet AI for Google Workspace Enterprise add-on.

What’s changing

We’re introducing AI-powered writing features that help you quickly refine existing work or get you started with something new in Google Docs and Gmail using Duet AI for Google Workspace. 

On web and mobile, you can draft and reply to messages in Gmail. Upon selecting the Help me write button, you can choose between the following options: 
  • Write your draft: Use your own words to describe the message you’d like to draft. Help me write also understands the context from previous messages in an email thread to craft reply drafts that are relevant to the conversation. 
  • Formalize your draft: Change the tone of your draft to be more formal. 
  • Elaborate on your draft: Add further detail to your email message to build on the draft. 
  • Shorten your draft: Decrease the length of your email draft. 
  • I’m feeling Lucky: Introduce fun variations on tone and style for content you’ve drafted. 

Whether you’re setting up a meeting with a prospective client or reworking an intro email for a new team member, Help me write in Gmail saves you the time by eliminating the tedious task of writing emails and provides the right tone and style for any message occasion.
Duet AI in Gmail formalizing notes into a polished email.
Duet AI in Gmail formalizing notes into a polished email.

Using Help me write in Docs, simply type a few words describing a topic you’d like to write about and a draft will be instantly generated for you. You can see suggestions as needed and refine the generated content further with the following options: 
  • Tone: Change the tone of the content to be more casual or more formal. 
  • Summarize: Generate a summary for an entire document or a section. 
  • Bulletize: Use bullets to represent your text. 
  • Elaborate: Add further detail to build on the generated text. 
  • Shorten: Make your content more concise by decreasing its length. 
  • Retry: Receive a different generated draft based on your description. 
  • Custom: Provide your own instruction to refine the generated content. 
Whether you’re a recruiter drafting a customized job description or an account executive drafting a sales pitch, Help me write saves you the time and effort of writing the first version of a document by enabling you to focus on bringing your ideas to life instead of conquering a blank page. 
Duet AI in Docs helping to write a job description.
Duet AI in Docs helping to write a job description.


We’re also combining the power of smart canvas with Help me write by weaving smart chips, variables, and building blocks into generated content. This combination will help if you need to include information like status or add variables for details you’d want to customize like your teammate’s names, job titles and more. By providing you with structured data and shortcuts to take action when creating comprehensive plans or messages, this update will help you go from concept to completion much faster without ever leaving your document. 


Who’s impacted 
End users 


Getting started 
Rollout pace 
Availability 

Resources 
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This announcement was made at Google Cloud Next ‘23. Visit the Workspace Blog to learn more about the next wave of AI innovation in Workspace. This feature is exclusive to the Duet AI for Google Workspace Enterprise add-on.

What’s changing
Google Docs offers several existing capabilities to help you write faster and with more confidence, such as grammar suggestions, smart compose, and smart reply. Today, we’re introducing the next generation of writing suggestions, powered by AI: Proofread.


In addition to spelling and grammar, Proofread will provide a list of suggestions you can review and accept, including:
  • Conciseness: Suggestions for making your writing more concise 
  • Active voice: Suggestions for making your writing more clear to readers
  • Wording: Suggestions for making words sound more dynamic or formal in context
  • Sentence Split: Suggestions for splitting up complex sentences to make your writing easier to read


Who’s impacted
End users


Why you’d use it
Proofread is our latest innovation that helps you more easily and quickly compose high-quality content in Google Docs. It can help improve conciseness and make your documents clearer and easier to read.  These suggestions are non-intrusive and won’t clutter your document as you compose and collaborate — you can easily review all suggestions directly from the Proofread sidebar whenever you’re ready and decide which suggestions are most appropriate for you to accept. Plus, you can customize the types of suggestions you’ll see via the filter option, helping ensure we’re giving you the most relevant suggestions.


Additional details
If you’re currently participating in alpha testing for Proofread, you’ll need to purchase the Duet AI for Workspace Enterprise add-on to continue using this feature. If not, you will no longer be able to access the feature beginning on August 29, 2023.


Getting started
  • Admins: There is no admin control for this feature. This feature is exclusive to Google Workspace customers with the Duet AI for Workspace Enterprise add-on. Use this link to get started with a trial for Duet AI.
  • End users: 
    • This feature will be ON by default and can be turned off in Docs by going to Tools > Proofread. Visit the Help Center to learn more about using Proofread in Docs.
    • You can open the Proofread sidebar by selecting this icon:


    • There will be a bluedot alongside this icon when there are writing suggestions for your document: 

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2 New updates 

Unless otherwise indicated, the features below are available to all Google Workspace customers, and are fully launched or in the process of rolling out. Rollouts should take no more than 15 business days to complete if launching to both Rapid and Scheduled Release at the same time. If not, each stage of rollout should take no more than 15 business days to complete.


Get started with smart canvas in Google Sheets 
When opening a new spreadsheet or tab in Google Sheets, you will now see “Type @ to insert” to help you start using the smart canvas features available in Sheets. 
Get started with smart canvas in Google Sheets

A new look for Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides apps on Android devices 
We’re introducing a modernized visual design for the Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides apps on Android devices. In the coming weeks, Android users will notice a refreshed look for things like the editing toolbar, icons, background colors, and more. 
A new look for Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides apps on Android devices


Previous announcements

The announcements below were published on the Workspace Updates blog earlier this week. Please refer to the original blog posts for complete details.


Programmatically read and write working locations with the Calendar API, now generally available 
Previously available in beta through our Developer Preview Program, the ability to read and write a user’s working location using the Calendar API is now generally available. | Available to Google Workspace Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Fundamentals, Education Plus, Education Standard, the Teaching and Learning Upgrade and Nonprofits customers, as well as legacy G Suite Business customers only. | Learn more about Calendar API. 

Google Voice users can manage incoming calls across individuals and groups 
Admins can now designate specific Voice users as managers of a ring group, allowing them to make changes from voice.google.com instead of the Admin console. | Available to Google Voice Starter, Standard and Premier customers only. | Learn more about managing incoming calls. 

Resolve conflict accounts faster with the new Conflict Accounts Management tool 
We’re introducing an automated workflow to help reduce the manual effort needed to turn unmanaged accounts into managed accounts. Unmanaged accounts are users who independently created a Google account using one of your organization's domains. | Learn more about the new Conflict Accounts Management tool. 


Completed rollouts

The features below completed their rollouts to Rapid Release domains, Scheduled Release domains, or both. Please refer to the original blog posts for additional details.


Rapid Release Domains: 
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What’s changing 
In June 2022, we began alpha testing the ability to request and capture eSignatures in Google Docs. Based on the feedback we received, we’re ready to move this feature to the next level: 
  • eSignature is now available as an open beta for Google Workspace Individual subscribers — no additional sign-up is required to use the feature. 
  • eSignature will be available in beta for select Google Workspace customers — see the “Additional details” section below for more information.
eSignature in Google Drive

eSignature in Google Docs





Who’s impacted
Admins and end users


Why you’d use it
For solopreneurs and small businesses, keeping track of contracts, customer agreements, and other binding documents can be challenging. To help streamline this workflow, we’re natively integrating eSignature in Google Docs, allowing you to request and add Signatures to official contracts, directly in Google Docs. 

eSignature makes it easier to:
  • Quickly request signatures, see the status of pending signatures, and find completed contracts.
  • Sign an official contract right from Google Drive without having to switch apps or tabs.
  • Create a new copy of the contract for each request so that you can use your document as a template and initiate multiple eSignatures requests. 

Additional details
Later this year, we will introduce support for the following new eSignature capabilities:
  • Audit trail: all completed contracts will automatically contain an audit trail report.
  • Multi-signer: the ability to request a signature from more than one user.
  • Non-Gmail users: the ability to request an eSignature from non-Gmail users
  • Initiating eSignature on PDF: the ability to initiate an eSignature on PDF files stored in Drive

Beta availability for Google Workspace customers
Select Google Workspace editions (see the “Availability” section below) can apply to beta test eSignature using this form. This feature will be available as part of a larger beta, which includes access to new custom email layouts in Gmail. These new email layouts allow users to customize existing templates, reuse a custom layout in multiple email campaigns, or create a brand new layout from scratch. Once you sign up for the beta you will see the eSignature and new Gmail features in the coming weeks.


Getting started

Rollout pace
  • eSignature for Workspace Individual users
    • Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on August 8, 2023
  • eSignature beta for Workspace customers:
    • We will be accepting beta applications and allowlisting customers over the next several weeks.

Availability
  • Available to Google Workspace individual subscribers
  • Eligible for beta: Google Workspace Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Starter, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Essentials Plus and Education Plus


Resources

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6 New updates 

Unless otherwise indicated, the features below are available to all Google Workspace customers, and are fully launched or in the process of rolling out. Rollouts should take no more than 15 business days to complete if launching to both Rapid and Scheduled Release at the same time. If not, each stage of rollout should take no more than 15 business days to complete.

Empty the entire trash folder of shared drives in Google Drive
In order to make it easier to manage shared drive files and eliminate the manual effort of removing items in the trash folder, we’ve added the ability to empty the entire trash folder of a shared drive. As a reminder, files and folders in Trash are deleted forever after 30 days. You can also delete files in Trash by selecting “Delete Forever”.

Linkable headings now available in Google Docs
To improve shareability of documents, especially longer ones, we’re adding the ability to copy links to headings in Google Docs. Simply, open a Google Doc on web > add a heading (type some content and set to “Heading 1”) > right-click the heading > click the “Copy heading link” button > paste the contents. 
Linkable headings now available in Google Docs
People chips in Google Sheets now available on mobile devices 
In 2021, we introduced people chips in Google Sheets. These chips allow you to quickly view more information about colleagues or contacts, including their location, job title, and contact information. We’re excited to announce that these smart chips are now available on iOS and Android devices. | Learn more about inserting smart chips in your Google Sheets. 
People chips in Google Sheets now available on mobile devices
Adding drag & drop to Google Drive multi-instance support on large screen Android devices
Earlier this year, we added the option for a single user to have two instances of the Google Drive app open side-by-side on a single device, which shows content from two different Google Accounts. Starting this week, you can now drag and drop between two instances of the Drive app, enabling you to quickly share files and folders between two different accounts. | Learn more about using Google Drive. 
Adding drag & drop to multi-instance support on the Google Drive Android app

Insert emojis into Google Sites 
You can now create more engaging content on Google Sites with the new option to insert emojis directly into text boxes and headings. Simply, create or open a Site > click any textbox and the emoji button will be visible in the toolbar > select the emoji button > choose an emoji. 
Insert emojis into Google Sites

Paste HTML into document on iOS 
Last month, we announced the ability to paste copied HTML elements into a document on Android. We’re excited to announce that this functionality is now available on iOS devices.

Previous announcements

The announcements below were published on the Workspace Updates blog earlier this week. Please refer to the original blog posts for complete details.

Bringing Collaborations in Canvas to Google Assignments 
We’re introducing a new feature exclusively for Canvas that allows users to create a Drive item and collaborate on it with other users in the course. | Available to Education Fundamentals, Education Standard, Education Plus, and the Teaching and Learning Upgrade only. | Learn more about the collaborative power of Google Workspace for Education to Canvas. 

Import and convert sensitive Excel files into client-side encrypted Google Sheets 
Launching in open beta, you can now import and convert sensitive Excel files into Google Sheets with client-side encryption. Your encrypted Excel file won’t be changed, even as you change the encrypted Sheets file. | Available to Google Workspace Enterprise Plus, Education Standard and Education Plus customers only. | Learn more about client-side encrypted Google Sheets. 

Google Classroom now supports grade export to Skyward Qmlativ 
Google Classroom teachers can now export their grades to Skyward Qmlativ, a third-party Student Information System (SIS) that helps education teams simplify student and business data management, and complete administrative tasks faster. | Available to Education Fundamentals, Education Standard, Education Plus, and the Teaching and Learning Upgrade only. | Learn more about grade export to Skyward Qmlativ. 

Q&A moderation now available for Google Meet 
Meeting hosts can now enable Q&A moderation, which will allow hosts to review and approve questions before they’re shared with meeting attendees. Question moderation can be used for meetings and in-domain live streams, on web and mobile devices. | Available to Google Workspace Essentials, Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Starter, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Essentials Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Plus, the Teaching and Learning Upgrade, and Nonprofits customers only. | Learn more about Q&A moderation for Google Meet. 

More granular control for Google Forms 
We’re introducing a new toggle in the Admin console that adds controls for who can access Google Forms features and services. When disabled, end users cannot create, edit or respond to Google Forms. | Learn more about Google Forms controls.


Completed rollouts

The features below completed their rollouts to Rapid Release domains, Scheduled Release domains, or both. Please refer to the original blog posts for additional details.


Rapid Release Domains: 

Scheduled Release Domains: 

Rapid and Scheduled Release Domains: 

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Update

[September, 8, 2023] Rollout has completed as of September 8, 2023.
[August 17, 2023] We have paused rollout for this feature for Scheduled Release domains only while we evaluate and optimize performance. We will provide an update once rollout resumes.


What’s changing 

In addition to previous updates that give you more control over formatting in Google Docs, such as viewing non-printing characters and enhancements to content organization, we’re introducing the option to display line numbers within Docs that are set to paged mode. 

The numbers are automatically calculated next to each line in the document, and can be configurable for the entire document, a page, or a specific section. Additionally, these numbers are preserved when printing. 

This feature makes it easier for you to reference specific content positions in documents, particularly when collaborating with others on long or complex content. 
Screenshot of an example document with a number associated with each line within a Google Doc

Getting started 
  • Admins: There is no admin control for this feature. 
  • End users: After adding content in a Google Doc, select Tools > Line numbers > “Show line numbers.” From there you can modify the line numbering mode and determine what portion of the Doc you want numbers applied to. Visit the Help Center to learn more about using line numbers in Google Docs.
Rollout pace 
  • Rapid Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on July 24, 2023 
  • Scheduled Release domains: Extended rollout (potentially longer than 15 days for feature visibility) starting on August 7, 2023 

Availability 
  • Available to all Google Workspace customers and users with personal Google Accounts 
Resources 
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2 New updates 

Unless otherwise indicated, the features below are available to all Google Workspace customers, and are fully launched or in the process of rolling out. Rollouts should take no more than 15 business days to complete if launching to both Rapid and Scheduled Release at the same time. If not, each stage of rollout should take no more than 15 business days to complete.



Including the Alt text option in the Image options sidebar of Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Drawings
Currently, users add alternative text to images in Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Drawings by right-clicking an image and selecting “Alt text,” which then opens a box for them to input the text. Starting this week, we’re making this feature more discoverable by adding it to the “Image options” sidebar. 
Screenshot of alt text options newly located in the image options sidebar

Reminder: delegators must re-approve contacts delegates by August 2023 
In May 2023, we announced that delegated users can manage contact labels on behalf of their delegator via contacts.google.com. As part of this update, delegators need to review existing delegates, as well as add new delegates. This must be completed by July 31, 2023 or delegates will lose access to manage contacts. Admins can also make these adjustments for users in their domain using the Admin SDK API to remove and re-add the contacts delegate privilege. | Learn more about managing contact labels. 


Previous announcements

The announcements below were published on the Workspace Updates blog earlier this week. Please refer to the original blog posts for complete details.


Ability to create spaces, memberships, group chats, and more using the Google Chat API is now generally available 
Last year, we announced that developers could use the Google Chat API to programmatically create new spaces and add members to those spaces through the Google Workspace Developer Preview Program. Those features are now generally available for all Google Workspace developers. | Learn more about Google Chat API. 

AppSheet Core licenses will be included by default for more Google Workspace editions, along with a new Admin security setting 
We’re expanding AppSheet Core license access to additional Google Workspace editions and also giving Admins a new org-level setting, which controls how users are able to use their AppSheet Core licenses, including whether app data can be shared externally. | AppSheet Core licenses are already included for domain-verified Google Workspace Enterprise Plus, Enterprise Essentials Plus, and Education Plus users. AppSheet Core licenses will now be included for domain-verified Google Workspace Business Starter, Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Starter, Enterprise Standard, Frontline Starter and Standard, Nonprofits, and Education Standard customers. | Learn more about AppSheet Core licenses. 

Improved meeting room suggestions in Google Calendar 
To better optimize meeting rooms and foster greater collaboration, especially in a hybrid work environment, we’ve introduced an updated structured meeting room setting. The working location set by a user is taken into account for all room suggestions, and in cases where location data is unavailable, proposed meeting rooms will be based on frequently used rooms. | Available to Google Workspace Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Fundamentals, Education Plus, and Nonprofits only. | Learn more about room suggestions in Google Calendar. 

Introducing membership search and the option to add up to 50,000 members to spaces in Google Chat 
We’re increasing the number of users you can add to a space in Google Chat from 8,000 to 50,000. We’re also introducing the ability to easily search for members within a space. | Learn more about new capabilities in spaces. 

Programmatically read and write working locations for a portion of the day with the Calendar API 
Recently, we introduced the ability for users to set working locations in Calendar that indicate where they’re working for specific portions of the day. Now, we’re adding the ability to programmatically read and write working locations for specific portions of the day. This update expands on the existing reading and writing functionality announced earlier this year. | Available to Google Workspace Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Fundamentals, Education Plus, Education Standard, the Teaching and Learning Upgrade and Nonprofits customers only. | Learn more about the Google Calendar API.

Completed rollouts

The features below completed their rollouts to Rapid Release domains, Scheduled Release domains, or both. Please refer to the original blog posts for additional details.



Rapid Release Domains: 

For a recap of announcements in the past six months, check out What’s new in Google Workspace (recent releases).


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2 New updates

Unless otherwise indicated, the features below are fully launched or in the process of rolling out (rollouts should take no more than 15 business days to complete), launching to both Rapid and Scheduled Release at the same time (if not, each stage of rollout should take no more than 15 business days to complete), and available to all Google Workspace customers.



Easily convert email addresses and links into smart chips using the tab key in Google Sheets 
You will now have the option to insert a link and press the tab key to convert the link into a smart chip in Google Sheets. Access this feature when you copy and paste email addresses or links to Google Drive files, Google Maps places, or Youtube videos into a Sheet. | Learn more about inserting smart chips in your Google Sheets. 
Easily convert email addresses and links into smart chips using the tab key in Google Sheets

Revamping the "First Open Experience" in Docs on Android foldable and tablet devices
Last week, we announced  a more creation-focused experience when first opening the Sheets and Slides apps on Android devices. We’re extending this to the Docs app, which will now start in edit mode for foldable and tablet devices. Additionally, the formatting toolbar will be more visible, you will see an I-beam cursor, and tapping once exposes an on-screen keyboard unless a physical keyboard is attached.
Revamping the "First Open Experience" in Docs on Android devices

Previous announcements

The announcements below were published on the Workspace Updates blog earlier this week. Please refer to the original blog posts for complete details.


Pin links to the top of the navigation bar in the Admin console 
Admins can now pin up to five links to the top of the left-hand navigation menu. This is particularly helpful if there are areas of the admin console you navigate to more than others, helping to save clicks and navigate to relevant pages faster. | Learn more about the top of the navigation bar in the Admin console. 

Customize error messages for Google Chat data loss prevention rules, available in open beta 
For new and existing data protection rules for Google Chat, you can now customize the message shown to users when a message is blocked or intercepted. Previously, the message would be a standard warning, shared for all cases. Now, you can provide more context for users, including what they can do to unblock themselves or links to additional resources. | Available to Google Workspace Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Fundamentals, Education Standard, Education Plus, the Teaching & Learning Upgrade, and Frontline Standard customers only. | Learn more about customized error messages for Google Chat data loss prevention rules.

Client-side encryption for Google Calendar is now generally available on mobile 
Earlier this year, we expanded the client-side encryption beta to Google Calendar on mobile to help customers strengthen the confidentiality of their data while helping address a broad range of data sovereignty and compliance requirements. Today, we’re happy to announce that client-side encryption for Google Calendar is now generally available on Android and iOS devices for eligible Workspace editions. | Available to Google Workspace Enterprise Plus, Education Standard, and Education Plus customers only. | Learn more about client-side encryption for Google Calendar on mobile. 

Adding more flexibility to working locations in Google Calendar 
We’re introducing the option to set working locations in Calendar that indicate where you’re working for specific portions of the day. This will help you more accurately reflect your availability based on the physical location you set, which can change throughout the day. | Available to Google Workspace Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Fundamentals, Education Standard, Education Plus, the Teaching and Learning Upgrade, and Nonprofits only. | Learn more about adding your working location for part of a day.

Completed rollouts

The features below completed their rollouts to Rapid Release domains, Scheduled Release domains, or both. Please refer to the original blog post for additional details.


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3 New updates

Unless otherwise indicated, the features below are fully launched or in the process of rolling out (rollouts should take no more than 15 business days to complete), launching to both Rapid and Scheduled Release at the same time (if not, each stage of rollout should take no more than 15 business days to complete), and available to all Google Workspace customers.


Revamping the "First Open Experience" in Sheets and Slides on Android foldable and tablet devices
In addition to the recent announcement that documents on tablet and foldables will now be in paginated mode upon first open, there will now be a more creation-focused experience when first opening the Sheets and Slides apps on Android devices. For example:

In the Sheets app, there will be larger tap targets and tapping once exposes the formula bar, tab bar, and a contextual formatting toolbar. 
Revamping the "First Open Experience" in Sheets
In the Slides app, you will now see the filmstrip on the left-hand side and selecting an object exposes the contextual toolbar and an on-screen keyboard. 
Revamping the "First Open Experience" in Slides on Android devices

Paste HTML into document on Android 
In continuing our mission to provide a top-class user experience on large screen devices, we’re introducing the ability for users to paste copied HTML elements into a document on Android. You can now copy HTML elements to clipboard and paste the elements into a Doc, all while maintaining the formatting elements. 


Easily duplicate groups and objects in Google Sites 
Currently, Google Site editors can duplicate a section of their Site, and the duplicated section appears directly below the section it was duplicated from. Starting this week, we’re extending the duplicate feature by enabling you to easily duplicate objects (images, buttons, text boxes) and groups when editing a Site. | Learn more about adding or editing text & images in Google Sites. 
Easily duplicate groups and objects in Google Sites


Previous announcements

The announcements below were published on the Workspace Updates blog earlier this week. Please refer to the original blog posts for complete details.


Quickly access more features during meetings, available for Google Meet on the web 
We’ve introduced a new quick action to access popular features in Google Meet. By hovering the mouse on top of your own video feed, you can access video effects such as immersive backgrounds or fun filters to bring more fun to your meetings and a reframing option to improve your visibility. | Learn more about features in Google Meet. 

Apply background blur when joining a call using a virtual desktop 
If you’re using a virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) to join a Google Meet meeting, you can now use background blur and light adjustment. Background blur will intelligently separate you from the background, blurring your surroundings while keeping you clear and in focus. | Available to Workspace Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, and Individual customers only. | Learn more about background blur in Google Meet. 

Google Sheets now integrated with mail merge in Gmail 
Mail merge will support Google Sheets in the web version of Gmail. This integration will allow you to link a Sheet with up to 1,500 recipients and use any data column from your Sheet as a mail merge tag. | Available to Google Workspace Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Standard, Education Plus customers and Nonprofits only. | Learn more about mail merge with Sheets in Gmail. 

Simplified access controls coming to Google Meet beginning July 17, 2023 
We’re introducing simplified controls for meeting access in Google Meet. These will replace the existing Quick access meeting settings and the admin setting to turn Quick access on or off by default will be removed. This update will begin rolling out on July 17, 2023. | Learn more about access controls coming to Google Meet. 

Use polls or Q&As during Google Meet live streams 
If you’re live streaming a video meeting, meeting hosts can now enable the Q&A and poll features, which previously were only offered in traditional Meet meetings. Expanding these features to live streamed meetings will help take your meetings to the next level with a more feature-rich, collaborative experience. | Available to Google Workspace Enterprise Essentials Plus, Enterprise Starter, Enterprise Plus, Enterprise Standard, Education Plus, and the Teaching and Learning upgrade customers. | Learn more about polls and Q&As during Google Meet live streams. 

Making focus time more productive with new Google Calendar setting 
To increase concentration and bridge the gap between do not disturb and focus time, you can now mute notifications for the duration of your focus time directly in Calendar. | Available to Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Business Standard, Business Plus, Education Standard, Education Plus, and Nonprofits only. | Learn more about the new Google Calendar setting. 

See read receipts for messages in Google Chat group direct messages 
We’re introducing read receipts in group direct messages. With this feature, you can now quickly identify if other members of a group have read your latest message within a Chat stream. | Learn more about read receipts in Google Chat.

Improvements for client-side encryption in Gmail 
We’ve introduced two new features for client-side encryption in Gmail which will help you quickly identify ineligible recipients and any attachments that may be blocked. | Available to Google Workspace Enterprise Plus, Education Plus, and Education Standard customers. | Learn more about client-side encryption in Gmail.


Completed rollouts

The features below completed their rollouts to Rapid Release domains, Scheduled Release domains, or both. Please refer to the original blog post for additional details.


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2 New updates

Unless otherwise indicated, the features below are fully launched or in the process of rolling out (rollouts should take no more than 15 business days to complete), launching to both Rapid and Scheduled Release at the same time (if not, each stage of rollout should take no more than 15 business days to complete), and available to all Google Workspace customers.



Adding flexibility to email collection in Google Forms 
Previously, when creating or modifying a Google Form and editing the “Responses” section, form creators only had the option to toggle the "Collect email addresses" option on or off. If enabled, this meant when users filled out the form, their email was automatically collected with their form submission. To add flexibility, we’ve introduced the ability to choose between the following email collection options:
  • Verified email collection (previously known as automatic email collection)
  • Responder input (previously known as manual email collection)
  • Do not collect
The verified collection option will now require a user to click a checkbox to confirm which email address is being collected upon submission. | Learn more about viewing & managing form responses. 

Adding flexibility to email collection in Google Forms
Gain consensus from collaborators quickly with voting chips in Google Docs 
You can now add smart chips that contain emojis to use as voting indicators in Google Docs. This feature helps teams express themselves while they’re collaborating in Docs by allowing you to rank or compare ideas. | Available to Google Workspace Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Plus customers and Nonprofits only. | Learn more about inserting smart chips & building blocks in your Google Doc. 
Voting chips in Google Docs


Previous announcements

The announcements below were published on the Workspace Updates blog earlier this week. Please refer to the original blog posts for complete details.


Launching in beta: programmatically write working locations with the Calendar API 
Available now in beta through our Developer Preview Program, you can write a user’s working location using the Calendar API. | Available to Google Workspace Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Fundamentals, Education Plus, Education Standard, the Teaching and Learning Upgrade and Nonprofits customers only. | Learn more about writing working locations with the Calendar API. 

Enhancing Google Vault file retention capabilities using Google Drive Labels 
Google Vault now supports custom retention rules based on Drive labels. | Available to Google Workspace Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Essentials Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Standard, and Education Plus customers only. | Learn more about Vault file retention using Google Drive Labels. 

Respond to access requests for Google Workspace files more efficiently 
Users can now review and respond to requests from within the file. Approvers will see a notification dot on the “Share” button if they have a pending access request and a new banner at the top of the sharing dialog. | Learn more about responding to access requests. 

Monitor additional Google Meet hardware issues in the Admin console 
You can now use the Admin console to detect and monitor additional Meet hardware issues, such as: missing display, missing controller, missing default camera, missing default microphone, missing default speaker, and missing default whiteboard camera. | Learn more about monitoring Google Meet hardware issues. 

Use companion mode to check-in to a Google Meet conference room, so everyone can know you by name
If you’re joining a meeting from a conference room, you can use companion mode on your personal device to check in to that specific room. Room check-in allows everyone on the call to easily identify who is in the conference room, rather than simply seeing the conference room name. | Learn more about companion mode check-in with Google Meet.


Completed rollouts

The features below completed their rollouts to Rapid Release domains, Scheduled Release domains, or both. Please refer to the original blog post for additional details.

Scheduled Release Domains:
Rapid and Scheduled Release Domains:


    For a recap of announcements in the past six months, check out What’s new in Google Workspace (recent releases).
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