Enhancing video navigation and accessibility with Google Drive video transcripts

What’s changing 

Last year, we announced that users can automatically generate captions for any video uploaded to Google Drive, improving the accessibility of videos and saving users the effort of manually creating captions. To build upon this feature and make information discovery, referencing, and productivity with video content much more efficient, we’re excited to introduce video transcripts. 


Starting today, Drive users can now view and search transcripts for their videos. The transcript appears in a sidebar next to the video player and highlights the currently spoken text. This update makes it easy to find specific moments, follow along with the content, or jump directly to the part of the video you need.

video transcripts in drive

Who’s impacted 

End users 


Why it matters 

Video transcripts can improve the accessibility of media stored in Drive and enables you to easily search and navigate to key moments within your video. 


Getting started 

  • Admins: There is no admin control for this feature. 
  • End users: 
    • Your video must have captions to access this feature. A video with captions will have the CC button in the bottom right corner of the video player set to active (not grayed out). 
      • You can add captions to a video by right-clicking the video in Drive > selecting Manage caption tracks > generate automatic captions. You can also generate captions when the video is playing by going to the three dot menu on top right > manage captions tracks > generate automatic captions. 
    • To access video transcripts, open a video with captions in Google Drive > click the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the video to open the video settings > select “Transcript” 
    • Visit the Help Center to learn more about turning on video transcripts.

Rollout pace

  • Rapid Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on February 24, 2025 
  • Scheduled Release domains: Extended rollout (potentially longer than 15 days for feature visibility) starting on February 26, 2025, with expected completion by March 26, 2025

Availability 

  • Available to all Google Workspace customers, Google Workspace Individual subscribers, and users with personal Google accounts 
    • Note: Users with personal Google accounts can upload or request automatic captions after uploading a video to Drive. 

Resources 

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Every now and then we get questions about robots.txt, robots meta tags, and the control functionality that they offer. Following our December series on crawling, we thought this would be the perfect time to put together a light refresher. So, if you're curious about these controls, follow along in this new blog post series!

Google Workspace Updates Weekly Recap – February 21, 2025

1 New update

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.



Improved experience for highlighting and annotating images for AppSheet apps on Android 
We're pleased to introduce a new experience for marking up images within AppSheet apps on Android devices. Now, your users can add precise highlights and markings to images, making visual communication clearer and more effective:
  • Add geometric shapes: Draw rectangles, ellipses, and arrows to highlight key areas 
  • Include text: Add labels and descriptions directly onto the image 
  • Move and edit: Reposition shapes and text annotations with ease 
  • Zoom: Zoom in and out before and after adding drawings for added precision 
Improved experience for highlighting and annotating images for AppSheet apps on Android
This update makes it easier for users to direct attention to specific details, which is especially helpful when you need to require proof, like submitting an incident report, or submit documentation, like inventory checks. | Rollout to Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains is complete. | Available to AppSheet Free, AppSheet Core and AppSheet Enterprise Plus. Google Workspace editions that include AppSheet Core can be viewed here. | Visit the AppSheet community to learn more about this feature and check out the Help Center to get instructions for allowing users to draw on images.




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.


Workspace data loss protection (DLP) for Gmail is now generally available
A big threat organizations must prepare for is the risk of data exfiltration through unwanted and/or unauthorized means. Whether it’s small-scale, unintended sharing, or a larger breach scenario, organizations need powerful defenses to protect themselves from these risks. To that end, we’re pleased to announce that today Data Loss Prevention (DLP) is generally available in Gmail, alongside Drive and Chat. | Learn more about DLP for Gmail. 

“Take notes for me” in Google Meet now captures “next steps” 
We’re pleased to announce that “take notes for me” will capture next steps discussed during the meeting in a new “suggested next steps” section. | Learn more about “next steps”.

Scroll through live captions and translated captions in Google Meet 
We’re improving the live captions and translated captions experience in Google Meet by including the ability to scroll through the text. | Learn more about live captions and translated captions in Google Meet. 

Updating the access experience in Google Drive 
Last year, we introduced a beta that allows shared drive managers and My Drive owners to restrict folders to specific users. Today, we’re excited to announce the general availability of this feature in shared drives and My Drive, which means that users can restrict access to their My Drive folders using the two options outlined below, and by 2026, we will simplify and align the restricted access principles for My Drive and shared drives. | Learn more about access in Drive. 

Expanding data regions coverage to Google Classroom 
We previously added data regions coverage to Google Drive, Docs, Sheets, and Slides, and this week, we’re extending data region coverage to primary user data for Google Classroom for the U.S. and E.U. data regions. | Learn more about data regions coverage in Google Classroom. 

Use Gemini in the side panel of Workspace apps in seventeen more languages 
Gemini in the side panel of Google Docs, Google Sheets, Google Drive, and Gmail can be used in seventeen additional languages | Learn more about language availability. 

Updated design for Google Meet meeting controls on Android and iOS 
We are updating the location of some Google Meet meeting controls on Android and iOS devices, which are intended to organize features in a more intuitive way. | Learn more about meeting controls on mobile.

Migrate data from Microsoft Teams channels to Google Chat spaces using CloudM
Building on last year’s announcement of the general availability for Chat APIs to import data from messaging platforms to Google Chat, we’re excited to introduce a new migration solution from a Workspace partner, CloudM. | Learn more about migrating data to Chat.

The Policy API is now generally available with support for auditing more security features
We recently introduced the Policy API in open beta, letting super admins programmatically access information regarding how their Google Workspace environment service level settings and rules are configured. Beginning today, the Policy API is now generally available with more functionality. | Learn more about the Policy API.

“Take notes for me” in Google Meet now captures citations to transcripts
Recently, we announced that next steps will automatically be captured when using “take notes for me” in Google Meet. Building upon that momentum, your meeting notes document will now include citations, or timestamps, which correlate to the exact point in the meeting transcript that references the summarized notes. | Learn more about Meet citations to transcripts. 

Gemini Deep Research and most experimental models now available to Google Workspace users in Gemini Advanced
We’re pleased to announce the launch of Deep Research and most experimental models to Google Workspace users with access to Gemini Advanced. | Learn more about Deep Research.

New Chat Usage Analytics Updates for Admins and Developers
Starting today, customerUsageReports.get and userUsageReports.get for Google Chat are available via the Admin SDK Reports API for customers to use in their own customized dashboards and reporting tools. This gives admins more ways to analyze Chat usage data. | Learn more about Chat Usage Analytics updates.


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).