2025 at Google

Learn more about Google’s launches, milestones and more from 2025.

Source: AI


Call queuing now available for select Google Voice plans

What’s happening

Google Voice is introducing call queuing for ring groups.

Currently, when all members of a ring group are busy, incoming calls are often sent to voicemail or, in some cases, disconnected by the carrier. With this update, when a caller dials a ring group, they will be automatically placed on hold in a queue to wait for the next available person.

This new feature allows administrators to customize several aspects of the caller experience, including:

  • Music and periodic announcements to be played while callers are on hold
  • A maximum number of callers allowed in the queue
  • A maximum time a caller can wait in the queue before being routed elsewhere
  • A "wrap-up time" to give agents a brief pause after a call before they receive the next one from the queue


Why it's important 

This feature is designed to solve common frustrations for both businesses and their customers. With this update, you can:

  • Capture more calls: By placing callers in a queue instead of sending them to voicemail, businesses can significantly reduce the number of unanswered calls and ensure more inbound inquiries reach an agent.
  • Boost sales: For sales-focused teams, call queuing ensures that no potential lead is lost due to a busy line. For support teams, it provides a structured way to handle high call volumes, especially during peak hour
  • Improve customer experience: Call queuing prevents callers from being abruptly disconnected and reduces their frustration, which is particularly helpful for businesses that experience high call volumes or have customers in regions with carrier-imposed ring time limits.

Getting started

  • Admins: This feature can be enabled or disabled per ring group. Visit the Help Center to learn more.

Rollout pace

Availability

  • Available for Google Workspace customers with the Voice Standard and Voice Premier add-ons

Resources


Call queuing now available for select Google Voice plans

What’s happening

Google Voice is introducing call queuing for ring groups.

Currently, when all members of a ring group are busy, incoming calls are often sent to voicemail or, in some cases, disconnected by the carrier. With this update, when a caller dials a ring group, they will be automatically placed on hold in a queue to wait for the next available person.

This new feature allows administrators to customize several aspects of the caller experience, including:

  • Music and periodic announcements to be played while callers are on hold
  • A maximum number of callers allowed in the queue
  • A maximum time a caller can wait in the queue before being routed elsewhere
  • A "wrap-up time" to give agents a brief pause after a call before they receive the next one from the queue


Why it's important 

This feature is designed to solve common frustrations for both businesses and their customers. With this update, you can:

  • Capture more calls: By placing callers in a queue instead of sending them to voicemail, businesses can significantly reduce the number of unanswered calls and ensure more inbound inquiries reach an agent.
  • Boost sales: For sales-focused teams, call queuing ensures that no potential lead is lost due to a busy line. For support teams, it provides a structured way to handle high call volumes, especially during peak hour
  • Improve customer experience: Call queuing prevents callers from being abruptly disconnected and reduces their frustration, which is particularly helpful for businesses that experience high call volumes or have customers in regions with carrier-imposed ring time limits.

Getting started

  • Admins: This feature can be enabled or disabled per ring group. Visit the Help Center to learn more.

Rollout pace

Availability

  • Available for Google Workspace customers with the Voice Standard and Voice Premier add-ons

Resources


#WeArePlay: How Miksapix Interactive is bringing ancient Sámi Mythology to gamers worldwide

Posted by Robbie McLachlan, Developer Marketing



In our latest #WeArePlay film, which celebrates the people behind apps and games on Google Play, we meet Mikkel - the founder and CEO of Miksapix Interactive. Mikkel is on a mission to share the rich stories and culture of the Sámi people through gaming. Discover how he is building a powerful platform for cultural preservation using a superheroine.


You went from a career in broadcasting to becoming a founder in the games industry. What inspired that leap?

I've had an interest in games for a long time and always found the medium interesting. While I was working for a broadcast corporation in Karasjok, I was thinking, "Why aren't there any Sámi games or games with Sámi content?". Sámi culture is quite rich in lore and mythology. I wanted to bring that to a global stage. That's how Miksapix Interactive was born.



Your game, Raanaa - The Shaman Girl, is deeply rooted in Sámi culture. What is the significance of telling these specific stories?

Because these are our stories to tell! Our mission is to tell them to a global audience to create awareness about Sámi identity and culture. Most people in the world don't know about the Sámi and the Sámi cultures and lore. With our languages at risk, I hope to use storytelling as a way to inspire Sámi children to value their language, celebrate their identity, and take pride in their cultural heritage. Sámi mythology is rich with powerful matriarchs and goddesses, which inspired us to create a superheroine. Through her journey of self-discovery and empowerment, Raanaa finds her true strength — a story we hope will inspire hope and resilience in pre-teens and teens around the world. Through games like Raanaa - The Shaman Girl, we get to convey our stories in new formats.

How did growing up with rich storytelling affect your games?

I was raised in a reindeer herders family, which means we spent a lot of time in nature and the fields with the reindeers. Storytelling was a big part of the family. We would eat supper in the Lavvu tent sitting around a bonfire with relatives and parents telling stories. With Miksapix Interactive, I am taking my love for storytelling and bringing it to the world, using my first hand experience of the Sámi culture.


How has Google Play helped you achieve global reach from your base in the Arctic?

For us, Google Play was a no-brainer. It was the easiest part to just release it on Google Play, no hassle. We have more downloads from Google Play than anywhere else, and it has definitely helped us getting abroad in markets like Brazil, India and the US and beyond. The positive Play Store reviews motivated and inspired us during the development of Raanaa. We use Google products like Google Sheets for collaboration when we do a localization or translation. 

What is next for Miksapix Interactive?

Now, our sights are set on growth. We are very focused on the Raanaa IP. For the mobile game, we are looking into localizing it to different Sámi languages. In Norway, we have six Sámi languages, so we are now going to translate it to Lule Sámi and Southern Sámi. We're planning to have these new Sámi languages available this year.

Discover other inspiring app and game founders featured in #WeArePlay.

Invite external guests to Google Meet live streams or limit access for targeted internal live streaming

What’s changing

Additional access controls for Google Meet will now let hosts decide who can view their live streams. Live streams can now reach a wider audience with added flexibility for events like town halls, webinars, and large presentations. This allows for mixed internal/external audiences and better granularity for hosting restricted internal broadcasts.

  • External live streaming: Hosts can now also invite external users outside their own domain to join live streams. External viewers join live streams with their invited Google Account.
  • Targeted internal live streaming: Hosts can now optionally limit in-domain access to a live stream to only specific users or groups and not the entire domain.
  • New "Adaptive" meeting type: A new opt-in "Adaptive" meeting type setting provides access to these new controls. Existing meetings will keep their behaviors unchanged.



Getting started

  • Admins: There is no admin control for this feature.
  • End users (meeting hosts): The new Adaptive meeting type is available for meetings with a live stream. Visit the Help Center to learn more about hosting a live stream.

Rollout pace

Availability

Available for Google Workspace editions that support live stream hosting:

  • Enterprise Standard and Plus
  • Enterprise Essentials Plus
  • Education Plus and the Teaching and Learning add-on

Resources

 

Invite external guests to Google Meet live streams or limit access for targeted internal live streaming

What’s changing

Additional access controls for Google Meet will now let hosts decide who can view their live streams. Live streams can now reach a wider audience with added flexibility for events like town halls, webinars, and large presentations. This allows for mixed internal/external audiences and better granularity for hosting restricted internal broadcasts.

  • External live streaming: Hosts can now also invite external users outside their own domain to join live streams. External viewers join live streams with their invited Google Account.
  • Targeted internal live streaming: Hosts can now optionally limit in-domain access to a live stream to only specific users or groups and not the entire domain.
  • New "Adaptive" meeting type: A new opt-in "Adaptive" meeting type setting provides access to these new controls. Existing meetings will keep their behaviors unchanged.



Getting started

  • Admins: There is no admin control for this feature.
  • End users (meeting hosts): The new Adaptive meeting type is available for meetings with a live stream. Visit the Help Center to learn more about hosting a live stream.

Rollout pace

Availability

Available for Google Workspace editions that support live stream hosting:

  • Enterprise Standard and Plus
  • Enterprise Essentials Plus
  • Education Plus and the Teaching and Learning add-on

Resources