Block off time to work on a task in Calendar

What’s changing 

Users can now easily block off time on their calendar to work on a specific task. On your calendar, select an empty slot > click task. From here, you can add the relevant task and description, and customize details like visibility and do not disturb settings. Now you can work on a specific task without any disruptions. You'll also see the task on your task list and get reminded until the task is completed 


Getting started 

  • Admins: This feature will be available by default. There are no admin controls for this feature. 
  • End users: This feature will be available by default. Use our Help Center to learn how to reserve time for Tasks on Calendar. 

Rollout pace 


Availability 

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

Resources 

Block off time to work on a task in Calendar

What’s changing 

Users can now easily block off time on their calendar to work on a specific task. On your calendar, select an empty slot > click task. From here, you can add the relevant task and description, and customize details like visibility and do not disturb settings. Now you can work on a specific task without any disruptions. You'll also see the task on your task list and get reminded until the task is completed 


Getting started 

  • Admins: This feature will be available by default. There are no admin controls for this feature. 
  • End users: This feature will be available by default. Use our Help Center to learn how to reserve time for Tasks on Calendar. 

Rollout pace 


Availability 

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

Resources 

Block off time to work on a task in Calendar

What’s changing 

Users can now easily block off time on their calendar to work on a specific task. On your calendar, select an empty slot > click task. From here, you can add the relevant task and description, and customize details like visibility and do not disturb settings. Now you can work on a specific task without any disruptions. You'll also see the task on your task list and get reminded until the task is completed 


Getting started 

  • Admins: This feature will be available by default. There are no admin controls for this feature. 
  • End users: This feature will be available by default. Use our Help Center to learn how to reserve time for Tasks on Calendar. 

Rollout pace 


Availability 

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

Resources 

Block off time to work on a task in Calendar

What’s changing 

Users can now easily block off time on their calendar to work on a specific task. On your calendar, select an empty slot > click task. From here, you can add the relevant task and description, and customize details like visibility and do not disturb settings. Now you can work on a specific task without any disruptions. You'll also see the task on your task list and get reminded until the task is completed 


Getting started 

  • Admins: This feature will be available by default. There are no admin controls for this feature. 
  • End users: This feature will be available by default. Use our Help Center to learn how to reserve time for Tasks on Calendar. 

Rollout pace 


Availability 

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

Resources 

Adding context to your Search Console data with custom annotations

We're always looking for new ways to help you understand your data and make smarter decisions when it comes to Google Search. That's why we're happy to announce a new feature within the Search Console performance reports: Custom annotations. This feature is designed to empower you to add your own contextual notes directly to your performance charts. Think of it as a personal notebook for your Search data.

Adding context to your Search Console data with custom annotations

We're always looking for new ways to help you understand your data and make smarter decisions when it comes to Google Search. That's why we're happy to announce a new feature within the Search Console performance reports: Custom annotations. This feature is designed to empower you to add your own contextual notes directly to your performance charts. Think of it as a personal notebook for your Search data.

Google Workspace Updates Weekly Recap – November 14, 2025

 

A summary of announcements from the last week:
The announcements below were published on the Workspace Updates blog over the last week. Please refer to the original blog posts for complete details.

Leverage the power of Gemini models to apply data classification labels in Google Drive - beta applications now open
Earlier this year, we announced a series of changes to AI classification for Google Drive, including a revamped user interface, an on-demand model training process, and support for multiple custom-trained models. Today, we’re excited to share the next step in the product’s evolution: Gemini-based models for data classification, now available in closed beta.  | Learn more about using Gemini with data classification labels. 

New AI-powered audio overviews for PDFs in Google Drive
We’re introducing AI-powered audio overviews for PDFs in Google Drive. This new Gemini for Google Workspace feature allows your users to instantly convert long, text-heavy PDFs—such as industry reports, contracts, or lengthy meeting transcripts—into a conversational, podcast-style audio summary. | Learn more about AI audio overviews in Drive. 

Available in open beta: Migrate files from Dropbox to Google Drive
Beginning today, the new Data Migration Service can be used to migrate files and folders from Dropbox to Google Drive. This allows organizations to transition easily from Dropbox to Google Workspace, by copying over files, folders and associated permissions securely. | Learn more about the Dropbox migration beta. 

Option for longer meeting notes with “take notes for me” in Google Meet
Meeting participants can now configure the length of their meeting notes when using the "take notes for me" feature in Google Meet. By selecting the "Longer" option from the "Notes Length" menu, you can generate notes that are roughly twice as long as the standard document to help capture all the important details. | Learn more about expanded options for taking notes. 

Analyze large-scale .csv files in Google Sheets with a new direct-to-BigQuery import
We're making it easier than ever to analyze massive datasets by more seamlessly connecting Google Sheets and BigQuery. Now, users will see a new option to import .csv files containing datasets of any size directly to BigQuery while opening large .csv files. | Learn more about the improved integration with BigQuery. 

Desk phone support and on-demand call recording now available in the Google Voice Starter plan
We’re expanding the capabilities of our Google Voice Starter plan by adding two highly requested features already available in Voice Standard and Voice Premier plans today: Desk phone and analog telephone adapter (ATA) support, and On-demand call recording. | Learn more about the new Google Voice features. 

Help me create in Google Forms now available in seven additional languages
Earlier this year, we announced Help me create in Google Forms. Now, it is also available to users in Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese, Korean, French, Italian, and German. | Learn more about the new languages for Help me create in Forms. 

More than speed: Building a network for all of life’s biggest moments

The Game Day Difference

Game day. For millions of people, it's about the excitement, the big plays, and the drama unfolding on the field (or for most of us, on the screen). For our teams at GFiber, it's a real-world test of everything we've built. The traffic from major live events, like the September 5 NFL game in São Paulo, isn't like a normal day's usage. We anticipated this sudden surge and were ready.
This is where the GFiber difference comes in. We’re not just building for peak speed tests. We’re building a network that can handle the unpredictable, high-stakes moments that matter most to our customers. And we're doing it with some smart, behind-the-scenes engineering.
Engineering Deep Dive: Our "Secret Sauce" for Live Events

In the world of networking, big live-streamed events are a unique challenge. Many companies use their backbone network—the internet's "highways"—to deliver that content to customers. But we've taken a different approach. We are the first to host Google's live-optimized caching servers, which act like local content hubs right on our network.
During the São Paulo game, this approach proved its worth. At the traffic peak, our combined caches delivered over 750 Gbps of content, which accounted for more than 54% of the total. This massive cache delivery ensured our customers’ experience was seamless and reliable by keeping traffic local. Specifically, the new live-optimized node we deployed in Kansas City alone served over 280 Gbps. More recently, the total traffic served by Google's ecosystem (including platforms like YouTube and YouTube TV) hit a higher peak on September 30, with 1.67 Tbps of data served. Again, we were ready to meet the demand. Over 1 Tbps, or 62% of the traffic, was served by our cache servers. That’s a testament to the hard work of our engineering team.
But this story isn't just about handling a couple weeks of surging data; it's about our long-term strategy. 
The Data Check: What This Means for Your Experience

While peak speeds get the headlines, a network’s true quality is measured by its consistency and reliability. A network that delivers a smooth, buffer-free stream during the most intense moments is a network you can trust.
This is why we closely monitor data from third-party validators like Ookla. Our commitment to symmetrical fiber is evident in their speedtest data: nationally, our customers experience 684% faster uploads than the US average. Moreover, our latency is 41% better than the US average, giving you a more responsive, lag-free experience for everything from competitive gaming to video calls. That’s the result of our behind-the-scenes work on caching and network management. We’re obsessed with these metrics because they tell the real story of our network's performance.
Looking Ahead

Our work to provide a best-in-class network is never truly finished. We are not just building for tomorrow; we’re delivering it today. Virtually all GFiber customers currently have access to multi-gig speeds and roughly 90% of homes in our network are enabled for speeds up to 20 Gig. We are always looking ahead, paving the way for 50 Gig fiber connections and incorporating new technologies like Wi-Fi 7 and network slicing to ensure multi-gig speeds are delivered seamlessly whether you are gaming or streaming video. Watch this space, because we plan to share more insight into how these advancements are shaping the network of the future at GFiber.
Posted by John Keib, Chief Technology and Product Officer