Tag Archives: Google Chat

View additional Calendar statuses in Google Chat

What’s changing

In addition to seeing when someone is out of office, you can now see additional Google Calendar statuses like “In a meeting” or “In focus time” in Google Chat. 


Additional Calendar statuses on web




Additional Calendar statuses on mobile

Who’s impacted

Admins and end users


Why you’d use it

We hope by surfacing these additional statuses, this will make it easier for your colleagues to identify appropriate times to message you.


Additional details

Additionally, the Admin control for Calendar availability will be updated to include configuration options for displaying “In a meeting” or “In focus time” blocks.




See below for more information on availability. 


Getting started



Rollout pace

End user availability 

Android & iOS:


Web:

Admin setting
  • This feature is available now.

Availability

  • Available to all Google Workspace customers, as well as G Suite Basic and Business customers
  • Not available to Google Workspace Individual users or users with personal Google accounts

Resources


Define and manage Chat Spaces, space descriptions, and guidelines with a new “manager” role

What’s changing 


We're introducing several improvements for Spaces in Google Chat to help you better organize people, topics, and projects. 

These improvements include: 

  • Manager role so certain users have greater control over the management of a space. 
  • Space descriptions so users can set context for their spaces. 
  • Space guidelines to ensure safe and effective communication environments. 


Who’s impacted 

End users 

Why it’s important 

The Manager role provides tools to promote healthy conversations and control the availability of the space within an organization. Space creators will be managers by default and can assign other members in the space this role as well. 


Space managers will have a badge next to their name on the member list

 Space managers will have a badge next to their name on the member list


Managers can also add a description for spaces. This field can be used to describe the purpose of the space, such as ’a place to discuss all things asteroids,’ which is helpful context for members of the space.

You can add a space description when creating a space or by selecting “View space details” for an existing space on both web and mobile. Space descriptions can be viewed when a user is in the “Browse Spaces” view or by selecting “View space details.”


Adding a space decription


Adding a space description


Additionally, Managers can describe space guidelines that establish rules and expectations for members to create a safer community experience. 


Space guidelines

Space guidelines


We hope this feature makes it easier to share the purpose and guidelines for a particular space, making it easier for your collaborators to navigate quickly to the appropriate space. 


Getting started 


Rollout pace 

Space Roles: 

Mobile: 

  • Rapid and Scheduled Release domains: Extended rollout (potentially longer than 15 days for feature visibility) starting on February 28, 2022, with anticipated completion by March 14, 2022 

Web: 

Space Descriptions and Guidelines: 

  • We anticipate rollout for the descriptions and guidelines features to begin later this month. We’ll share an update on the Workspace Updates Blog when rollout begins. 


Availability 

  • Available to all Google Workspace customers, as well as G Suite Basic and Business customers 
  • Available to users with personal Google Accounts 

Resources 

Roadmap 

This feature was listed as an upcoming release.

Google Workspace Updates Weekly Recap – February 25, 2022

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 and G Suite customers.


AppSheet Support is now available through the Workspace Admin console
Available to all  AppSheet customers who have admin user access through Workspace Support. AppSheet Core is available as an add-on paid subscription to all Google Workspace editions. | Available to all  AppSheet customers who have admin user access through Workspace Support. AppSheet Core is available as an add-on paid subscription to all Google Workspace editions. | Learn more here. 



Updated emoji experience in Google Chat on web
Last year we updated the emoji experience on mobile.Now we have brought the ability to express yourself more authentically in Chat on Web. We’re making the following updates to the emoji experience: 
  • The Emoji set is updated to the latest version (Emoji 13.1), reflecting the latest emoji set and diversity and inclusion options.
  • Gender-neutral options for gender-modifiable emojis have been added.
  • Emoji skin tone and gender preferences are saved per individual emoji. 

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.


Classic Hangouts will be upgraded to Google Chat beginning March 22, 2022
Beginning March 22, 2022, we’ll turn on the “Chat preferred” setting for any customers who haven’t already done so, making Google Chat the default chat application. This means that when users visit classic Hangouts in Gmail on the web or the classic Hangouts mobile apps, they’ll be directed to Chat. Hangouts.google.com will continue to work. It is not possible to opt out of this change. | Learn more. 



Google Workspace Migrate is now generally available
Google Workspace Migrate, previously announced in beta in 2019, is now generally available for select Google Workspace Editions. This first-party, on-premise product helps admins assess and plan migration projects, and confidently migrate their users and large amounts of critical content directly into Google Workspace. | Available to Google Workspace Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Standard, Education Plus, and legacy G Suite Business customers only. | Learn more.


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

Classic Hangouts will be upgraded to Google Chat beginning March 22, 2022

What’s changing

 
We're now ready to move into the final phase of the migration from Classic Hangouts to Google Chat for Google Workspace customers. 

Beginning March 22, 2022, we’ll turn on the “Chat preferred” setting for any customers who haven’t already done so, making Google Chat the default chat application. This means that when users visit classic Hangouts in Gmail on the web or the classic Hangouts mobile apps, they’ll be directed to Chat. Hangouts.google.com will continue to work. It is not possible to opt out of this change. If you’d like to export your classic Hangouts and Chat data, learn about exporting your organization’s data. 

NOTE: This phase does not affect the personal use of Hangouts with a Google Account. 


See below for more information and timing. 


Who’s impacted 

Admins and end users 

Why it matters 

Starting March 22, 2022, classic Hangouts users with the following domain settings will be migrated to Google Chat:

Admin console setting

Automatic upgrade timeline

Chat and classic Hangouts

Access groups with both Google Chat and classic Hangouts turned on

Over the course of three weeks starting March 22, 2022

Classic Hangouts only

Access groups with only classic Hangouts enabled

Over the course of five weeks starting April 4, 2022



After domains are upgraded to “Chat preferred,” all classic Hangouts applications, except hangouts.google.com, will be disabled. Additionally, the “Chat and classic Hangouts” and “Classic Hangouts only” settings will be removed from the Admin console. 

Additional details 

  • Vault users: Messages sent in classic Hangouts will continue to be retained and held according to policies set for Chat, and searchable and exportable with Gmail search in Vault. Messages sent in Chat are subject to retention rules and holds you set for Chat, and searchable and exportable with Chat search in Vault.
  • Conversation history: Except for a few special cases, all the conversation history from Hangouts will be available in Google Chat. However, starting mid-March 2022, any newly created spaces in Google Chat within your domain will not appear in classic Hangouts. This means that messages sent in these spaces will only appear in Google Chat for your affected users. You can learn more about Chat and classic Hangouts interoperability. 


Getting started 

  • Admins: 
    •  If you currently have the “Classic Hangouts only” or “Chat and classic Hangouts” Admin console setting enabled for your entire domain or specific access groups, you’ll be automatically upgraded to the “Chat preferred” setting, per the dates listed above. You can upgrade all of your users to “Chat preferred” prior to those dates if you choose. 
    • If you don’t have the “Classic Hangouts only” or “Chat and classic Hangouts” setting selected, you don’t need to do anything. 
  • End user: There is no end user setting for this feature. Visit the Help Center to learn more about the switch from classic Hangouts to Google Chat. 

Availability 

  • Available to all Google Workspace customers, as well as legacy G Suite Basic and Business customers

Resources 

Improved search experience in Google Chat on Web

What’s changing 

We’ve improved the search experience in Google Chat, making it easier and more intuitive for you to surface and navigate to relevant conversations and spaces. 

Some improvements you’ll notice are: 

  • People suggestions based on your chat activity when you click into the search bar. 
  • Intelligent suggestions for people, spaces and group messages when you begin typing in the search bar.

Search suggestions in Google chat on Web

This update will be available only on Google Chat on the web (chat.google.com). 

Who’s impacted 

End users 

Why it’s important 

Suggestions as you type help reduce time spent on finding the right people and spaces you want to engage with. Additionally, this update brings the search experience inline with Google Chat on mobile and other Google Workspace apps such as Gmail or Google Drive. 

Getting started 

  • Admins: There is no admin control for this feature. 
  • End users: Visit the Help Center to learn more about searching for messages or a space in Google Chat.

Rollout pace 

This feature is currently available 

Availability 

  • Available to all Google Workspace customers, as well as G Suite Basic and Business customers 
  • Available to users with personal Google Accounts 

Resources 

Google Workspace Updates Weekly Recap – February 22, 2022

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 and legacy G Suite customers. 



Japanese grammar suggestions for Google Docs 
You'll now see grammar suggestions as you type in Japanese in Docs. Grammar suggestions can help you write faster and more accurately. | Learn more.



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. 



Manage overdue tasks in Google Calendar You can now easily see and manage your overdue tasks in Google Calendar. 
If you have uncompleted tasks that were due in the past 30 days, you will have an all day entry that will tell you how many tasks are pending from that timeframe. | Learn more. 



Participate in Google Meet polls and Q&As on Chromebase for meetings 
You can now participate in Google Meet polls and Q&As when joining from a Chromebase for meetings all-in-one touchscreen device. | Learn more.



The future of Currents and the next generation of collaboration in Spaces 
With Spaces now available, starting in 2023 we are planning to wind down Google Currents and bring remaining content and communities over to the new Spaces experience. | Learn more here and here. 



Google Voice calls between many European numbers are now included in Google Voice licenses
Beginning February 8, 2022, calls from European Google Voice numbers to mobile and landline numbers in many European countries will be included with the cost of the Google Voice license. | Learn more. 



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

New integrated view for Gmail features email, Google Meet, Google Chat and Spaces in one place

What’s changing 

We’re introducing a new, integrated view for Gmail, making it easy to move between critical applications like Gmail, Chat and Meet in one unified location.





We’ll introduce this new experience according to this timeline:



Beginning February 8, 2022: 
  • Users can opt-in to test the new experience, allowing them to try it out and become more accustomed to it. Users can revert to classic Gmail via settings. 
  • We will share an update on the Workspace Updates Blog, along with Help Center content, once rollout begins.

By April 2022: 
  • Users who have not opted-in will begin seeing the new experience by default, but can revert to classic Gmail via settings.

By the end of Q2 2022: 
  • This will become the standard experience for Gmail, with no option to revert back.
  • Around the same time, users will also begin seeing the new streamlined navigation experience on Chat web (mail.google.com/chat). 
  • Important Note: This also means users will not have the option to configure Chat to display on the right side of Gmail.




We will share more information on the exact timing of these phases on the Workspace Updates blog. See below for more information.



Who’s impacted

End users



Why you’d use it 

When enabled, the new navigation menu allows you to easily switch between your inbox, important conversations, and join meetings without having to switch between tabs or open a new window. 


Notification bubbles make it easy to stay on top of what immediately needs your attention. When working in Chat and Spaces, you can view a full list of conversations and Spaces within a single screen, making it easier to navigate to and engage. 


When working in your inbox, you’ll be able to view the full array of Mail and Label options currently available in Gmail today. 


In the coming months, you will also see email and chat results when using the search bar, making it easier to find what you need by eliminating the need to search within a specific product.



We hope this new experience makes it easier for you to stay on top of what’s important and get work done faster in a single, focused location. Further, this will help reduce the need to switch between various applications, windows, or tabs.


Getting started

  • Admins: There is no admin control for this feature.
  • End users: This feature will be OFF by default and can be enabled by the user from their Gmail settings. 

Rollout pace

  • Rapid Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on February 8, 2022
  • Scheduled Release domains: Extended rollout (potentially longer than 15 days for feature visibility starting on February 22, 2022

Note: We will share an update on the Workspace Updates Blog, along with Help Center content, once rollout begins.


Availability

  • Available to Google Workspace Business Starter, Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Fundamentals, Education Plus, Frontline, and Nonprofits, as well as G Suite Basic and Business customers
  • Not available to Google Workspace Essentials customers

See when a message is deleted in a Google Chat space

What’s changing 

Now when a user deletes a message in an unthreaded Google Chat Space, a message and timestamp will be added to the conversation indicating the deletion. When a message has been deleted, both the content and the replies are deleted. 



Notification when a message is deleted

Notification when a message is deleted

When a reply is deleted, only that reply and responses to it are removed. 


Notification when a reply is deleted

Notification when a reply is deleted

Who’s impacted 

End users 


Why it’s important 

This update makes it easier to keep track of who deleted a message and when, helping improve the readability and flow of a conversation, and provide additional context for users. 

Getting started 

Rollout pace 

Availability 

  • Available to all Google Workspace customers, as well as G Suite Basic and Business customers 

Resources 

Improved editing experience in Google Chat on the web

What’s changing 

You now can add rich formatting to Chat messages, such as bold, italics, or underlines. Rich text can also be accessed using standard keyboard shortcuts. 

Simply press the "A" icon in the chat compose bar to expand the formatting toolbar. 


Activating rich text editing from the compose bar

Activating rich text editing from the compose bar


Rich text editing is open and applied


Rich text editing is open and applied


Who’s impacted 

End users 

Why you’d use it 

Previously, Chat supported plain text or markdown characters only. With this update, users can easily format their text as needed directly in the compose bar. 

Getting started 

Rollout pace 

Availability 

  • Available to all Google Workspace customers, as well as G Suite Basic and Business customers 

Resources 

Quicker access to more Workspace integrations in Google Chat

Quick launch summary 

While you’re having a conversation in Google Chat, you can now more easily take actions in other Google Workspace products. Simply hover over the + icon to the start of the text box to quickly see and access the menu of options. These options vary by context, and can include Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Photos, and Calendar. 

This will make it easier to take action across Google Workspace and enable a faster and more seamless workflow. This feature will be initially available on the Web and Android, with iOS available in early 2022. We’ll announce on the Workspace Updates Blog when the feature becomes available to iOS users.

Using compose on web

Using compose on web


Using compose on Android


Using compose on Android



Getting started 

  • Admins: There is no admin control for this feature. 
  • End users: There is no end user setting for this feature. Visit the Help Center to learn more about how to use Google Chat. 

Rollout pace 

Availability 

  • Available to all Google Workspace customers 

Resources