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What’s changing
In 2023, we introduced the ability for admins to install Google Chat apps to direct messages on behalf of users within their domain from the Google Workspace Marketplace. Now, end users can also discover and install Google Chat apps from the Google Workspace Marketplace. 
Jira for Google Chat

Additionally, users can now open the Google Workspace Marketplace directly from within Chat. This will include an enhanced browsing experience with curated app categories such as “Intelligent apps”. Lastly, developers can start publishing Chat apps on the Google Workspace Marketplace, allowing users to more easily discover, install and use the apps.



Who’s impacted 
Admins, end users and developers 


Additional details 
Chat app users can now leave reviews and flag any inappropriate Chat apps directly from the Marketplace app listing. 
Chat apps reviews

Getting started 
Rollout pace 
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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.



New formatting sidebar in Google Docs, Slides and Sheets apps on Android Tablets 
This week, we’re further improving the Google Workspace experience on large screen Android devices by adding a new formatting sidebar in Google Docs, Slides and Sheets. In addition to meeting the Google Material Design 3 guidelines, this new sidebar reduces the number of taps needed to navigate to formatting options, enabling you to more easily arrange text, tables, images and more. | Rolling out to Rapid Release domains now; launch to Scheduled Release domains planned for March 6, 2024. | Available to all Google Workspace customers, Google Workspace Individual subscribers, and users with personal Google accounts. 
New formatting sidebar in Google Docs, Slides and Sheets apps on Android Tablets
New sidebar experience in Google Docs on an Android tablet 

Easily drag and drop an image to replace the background in Google Slides
Hovering over the border of an empty slide before dropping in an image (from your desktop, Content Library or another webpage) will now set the image as the background in Google Slides. Dropping the image anywhere else will simply insert the image onto the slide. | Rolling out to Rapid Release domains now; launch to Scheduled Release domains planned for February 26, 2024. | Available to all Google Workspace customers, Google Workspace Individual subscribers, and users with personal Google accounts. | Learn more about changing the theme, background, or layout in Google Slides.
Easily drag and drop an image to replace the background in Google Slides

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.


Google Meet “companion mode” is now supported on your mobile device for great hybrid meetings
Beginning this week, you’ll be able to use companion mode with your Android and iOS devices. | Learn more about Google Meet companion mode. 

Creating more immersive presentations in Google Slides
Starting this week, Speaker spotlight in Slides, an experience that lets presenters insert their video feed directly into their Slides content, is generally available for select Google Workspace editions. With Speaker spotlight, you can deliver your message with greater impact by embedding your camera feed directly into your Slides presentations. This feature helps keep your audience focused on you and can help make your content more compelling. | Available to Google Workspace Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Essentials Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, and Education Plus customers only. | Learn more about speaker spotlight.

Assign mobile device management admin privileges based on organizational unit
We’re giving admins more granular control over how mobile device management privileges are delegated. Specifically, admins can be assigned privileges for specific organizational units (OUs). | Learn more about mobile device management. 

Sort, filter and manage comments faster in Google Docs, Sheets and Slides
We’re introducing an improved comments experience in Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides to help you find and take action on comments easier than ever before. While you will continue to see and interact with the comments experience you’re familiar with, you’ll also notice updates to our comment cards, icons, and more. | Learn more about comments across Workspace. 


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

  
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What’s changing
We’re introducing an improved comments experience in Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides to help you find and take action on comments easier than ever before. While you will continue to see and interact with the comments experience you’re familiar with, you’ll also notice updates to our comment cards, icons, and more. 

You can explore new and familiar ways to interact with comments by going to View > Comments and selecting: 
  • Show all comments: opens up a full-length view to deep dive into multiple comments more easily in Docs, Sheets or Slides. Now you can use updated search and filter functionality to focus on the most relevant comments. You will also notice a curated ‘For you’ list, which surfaces all the comments you need to take action on. 
  • Expand comments (in Google Docs and Slides): shows comments next to the document or presentation content so you can review comments and content together. 
  • Minimize comments (in Google Docs and Sheets): reduces comments to icons so you can have a more focused view of your work in Docs and Sheets. This setting provides a quick preview with high level information about who is commenting when you hover over the minimized icons. 
  • Hide comments: hides comments from view when you want to focus solely on the content in Docs, Sheets or Slides. 
manage comments faster in Google Docs, Sheets and Slides

Who’s impacted 

End users 


Why you’d use it 
With this update, you can now find and organize comments more easily, enabling seamless collaboration with others on Google Docs, Sheets and Slides. 

Getting started 
  • Admins: There is no admin control for this feature. 
  • End users: This feature will be ON by default and cannot be disabled. To open the full-length panel, go to View > Comments > Show all comments. Visit the Help Center to learn more about using comments, action items, & emoji reactions 
Rollout pace 
Availability 
  • Available to all Google Workspace customers, Google Workspace Individual subscribers, and users with personal Google accounts
Resources 
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What’s changing

We’re giving admins more granular control over how mobile device management privileges are delegated. Specifically, admins can be assigned privileges for specific organizational units (OUs). This adds yet another layer of security by ensuring that access is scoped to the necessary OUs only. This feature is available as an open beta, which means you can use it without enrolling in a specific beta program.

Creating a custom role, which is assignable at the OU level.

Assigning permissions at the OU level



Example experience for an admin with OU level permissions





Getting started

Rollout pace

Availability
  • Available to all Google Workspace customers

Resources

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What’s changing
Starting today, speaker spotlight in Slides, an experience that lets presenters insert their video feed directly into their Slides content, is generally available for select Google Workspace editions. 

With speaker spotlight, you can deliver your message with greater impact by embedding your Meet video feed directly into your Slides presentations. This feature helps keep your audience focused on you and can help make your content more compelling. 

Users can insert a variety of speaker spotlight shapes directly into their slides and then format them to their liking. Once in slideshow mode, your camera feed will appear in that shape so you can deliver a captivating presentation. Speaker spotlight also integrates seamlessly with Meet and Slides Recordings for more engaging virtual or recorded presentations. 
speaker-spotlight in slides


Who’s impacted 
End users 


Why it’s important 
Speaker spotlight helps you better connect with audiences using video during live presentations, which is especially useful when working in a hybrid environment. 


Getting started 
  • Admins: There is no admin control for this feature. 
  • End users: To add the spotlight shape into Slides, go to Insert > speaker spotlight or click the speaker spotlight button in the toolbar. Visit the Help Center to learn more about using speaker spotlight. 

Rollout pace 
Availability 
  • Available to Google Workspace Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Essentials Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, and Education Plus 
Resources 
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What’s changing 
Companion mode in Google Meet is designed to seamlessly connect those in meeting rooms with their remote teammates, giving everyone access to interactive features and controls, while leveraging the best of in-room audio and video conferencing capabilities. Currently, you can use companion mode from a laptop or desktop device. Beginning today, you’ll be able to use companion mode with your Android and iOS devices. 


Using Companion mode from your mobile device is a quick, light-weight way to participate in meetings without opening a laptop. This can be particularly useful in meeting spaces where room for a laptop is limited, or as an easy, discreet way to participate during large in-person meetings, such as all hands or town halls. 


Specifically, you can use companion mode to:
  • Check-in to the room to be identified by name.
  • Share an emoji reaction without interrupting the speaker.
  • Raise your hand to indicate that you’d like to speak.
  • Turn on captions to view subtitles as everyone speaks during a meeting.
  • Exchange chat messages with other meeting participants.
  • View and zoom in on presented content to easily follow along with the presenter on your own device.

You can also use the room check-in feature on mobile as well, making it easier for other attendees to see your name alongside the conference room you’re joining from.


Share an emoji reaction without interrupting the speaker.


Raise your hand to indicate that you’d like to speak.

Turn on captions to view subtitles as everyone speaks during a meeting.

Exchange chat messages with other meeting participants.

View and zoom in on presented content to easily follow along with the presenter on your own device




Getting started
  • Admins: There is no admin control for this feature.
  • End users: 
    • This feature will be available by default. You can join a meeting using companion mode from the green room before your meeting. Use this Help Center article and video guide to learn more about using companion mode in Google Meet.
    • Note: Your audio and mic will automatically be muted—we recommend using meeting room hardware for audio and video to avoid feedback. 

Rollout pace

Note that the following minimum builds are required:

  • Minimum Android Build: 
    • Meet - 229. (Android Settings > Apps > Meet > [App Info > Version])
    • Gmail - 2024.01.28. (Android Settings > Apps > Gmail > [App Info > Version])

  • Minimum iOS Build: 
    • Meet - 225.0. (Meet App > Settings > About, terms, privacy)
    • Gmail - 6.0.231231. (Gmail App > Settings > About Gmail)

Availability
  • Available to all Google Workspace customers
  • Also available to Google Workspace Individual customers, as well as users with personal Google accounts

Resources



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New updates 

There are no new updates to share this week. Please see below for a recap of published announcements. 


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.


Google Meet hosts can pin multiple tiles for all meeting participants 
If you’re a meeting host or co-host, you can now pin up to three specific tiles for all meeting participants. By doing so, you can help ensure the meeting is focused on key presentations and speakers. | Learn more about pinning multiple tiles in Meet.

Share spaces smart chips in Google Chat
You now have the ability to search for and insert a smart chip that links to a space. These new smart chips will make it easier to share and collaborate on content related to specific spaces. | Learn more about space smart chips.


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: 

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

  
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What’s changing
Last year, we expanded smart canvas by introducing smart chips in Google Chat on web. Since then, you’ve been able to share information in a more usable, structured way by accessing and previewing rich, context-setting information and files directly in your message threads. 

Today, we’re announcing the ability to search for and insert a smart chip that links to a space. These new smart chips will make it easier to share and collaborate on content related to specific spaces. 

When composing a message in Chat, typing “@” will now display a list of suggested spaces to include as a smart chip, based on your membership. You can search for a space by typing the space name, and the results will be determined by spaces you’ve accessed most recently. Once a space is selected, you can insert the space smart chip into your message. You can also paste the link (URL) of a space into a message and press the Tab key to convert it into a space smart chip. 
Share spaces smart chips in Google Chat

Getting started 
  • Admins: There is no admin control for this feature. 
  • End users: 
    • In Google Chat on web, you can choose from the following options: 
      • Type “@” followed by a space name to search for the space and insert the space smart chip directly into a message. 
      • Paste a link to a space (or link to a message within the space) into a message and press the Tab key to instantly convert it into a space smart chip. 
    • Mobile users can receive and click on space smart chips, but cannot insert them on the Chat mobile app at this time. 
    • You must be a member of a space to search for and share that space smart chip. 
    • A recipient of the space smart chip must be a member of the space to access it. If they are not a member, they will not have access.  
Rollout pace 

Availability 
  • Available to all Google Workspace customers, Google Workspace Individual subscribers, and users with personal Google accounts

Resources
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What’s changing 
If you’re a meeting host or co-host, you can now pin up to three specific tiles for all meeting participants. By doing so, you can help ensure the meeting is focused on key presentations and speakers. This is especially helpful for large meeting scenarios like webinars where hosts need to focus everyone on particular content. Note that meeting participants can unpin these tiles on their screen if they wish.



This feature will be available for Google Meet on the web and mobile devices.

Getting started

Rollout pace

Availability
  • Available to all Google Workspace customers

Resources

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3 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.


New ways to work with filters in Connected Sheets for Looker and Connected Sheets for BigQuery 
  • With Looker: Connected Sheets for Looker users will now be able to see whether Looker-defined filters, always_filters and conditionally_filters, are applied in their Google Sheets. | Rolling out to Rapid Release domains and Scheduled Release domains now. | Available to all Google Workspace customers, Google Workspace Individual subscribers, and users with personal Google accounts. | Learn more about always_filter and conditionally_filter in Looker. 
  • With BigQuery: Connected Sheets for BigQuery users can now right-click any value in the Connected Sheets preview and filter rows in the preview on that specific value. As a result, a new query will be sent to BigQuery to re-fetch the preview. This new option provides an additional way to easily explore data in the Connected Sheets preview for BigQuery. | This is now available to all Google Workspace customers, Google Workspace Individual subscribers, and users with personal Google accounts. | Learn more about sorting & filtering BigQuery data in Google Sheets.

Latest improvement for page setup in Google Docs 
We’re introducing a new menu item within the Format option that enables you to easily switch between pageless and pages mode in Google Docs. | Rollout to Rapid Release domains is complete; launch to Scheduled Release domains planned for February 5, 2024. | Available to all Google Workspace customers, Google Workspace Individual subscribers, and users with personal Google accounts. | Learn more about changing a document’s page setup. 
Latest improvement for page setup in Google Docs


Developers can now choose which calendar events to be notified about 
Developers using the Calendar API can now subscribe to specific changes in users’ calendars — this includes event types such as working location, out-of-office, or focus time. This update reduces the amount of notifications down to those that are most relevant to the developer. | Use our Developer Documentation for more information about subscribing to alerts for specific calendar event changes. | Rolling out now to Rapid Release domains and Scheduled Release domains. | The Calendar API is available to all Google Workspace customers, however Calendar features may vary across Google Workspace editions.



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.


For Google Meet Hardware, ‘Auto-Update Expiration (AUE)’ will now be referred to as 'end of Meet support' 
We’re making changes to the terminology that refers to when a Meet hardware device is no longer supported. | This update impacts all Google Workspace customers with Meet hardware devices. | Learn more about 'end of Meet support'.

Local data storage exports your organization's Workspace data into the geographic location of your choice, launching in beta 
We’re introducing Google Workspace’s new feature, local data storage. This feature allows admins to export their organization’s Workspace data into the geographic location or locations of their choice. | Available to Google Workspace Enterprise Plus customers with Assured Controls add-on only. | Learn more about the local data storage exports beta.

Improving the Google Calendar appointment scheduling experience with new features 
We’re improving upon the current appointment scheduling experience with four new features. | Co-hosts, secondary calendars and delegate access features are 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. Check Calendars for availability feature is available to Google Workspace Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Fundamentals, Education Standard, Education Plus, the Teaching and Learning Upgrade, Nonprofits, Google Workspace Individual subscribers, and users with personal Google accounts only. | Learn more about the appointment scheduling features. 

Shareable class templates and classwork in Google Classroom are now generally available 
Last year, we announced a Google Classroom beta that simplifies lesson planning with shareable class templates and classwork. We’re excited to announce that this is now globally available for Google Workspace for Education Plus customers in English, Spanish, Portuguese and Japanese. | Available to Education Plus only. | Learn more about shareable class materials. 

Pin chat messages in Google Meet 
You can now pin messages to the top of the meeting chat. Pinned messages will appear for all users, even if they join the meeting after the message was initially sent. | Learn more about messaging pinning.


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: 

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

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