Tag Archives: Google Chat

Request to join spaces in Google Chat

What’s changing

Currently, to join a private space in Google Chat, a space member must invite or add you to the space. To make it even easier to more broadly share information, build communities and foster discussion across your organization, we’re introducing the ability for users to request to join a space upon receiving a link to that space. 
Request to join page

Getting started 

  • Admins: There is no admin control for this feature. 
  • End users: 
    • To share a space, copy the space link by going to the space header > dropdown menu > ‘Copy link to this space’.
    • To request to join a space, click on the space link > ‘Request to join’.
    • Note that users outside of your organization will not be able to join a space in your domain, even with the shared link.
    • Space managers receive requests via a private message from the Google Chat App and have the option to approve or deny the request.
    • Visit the Help Center to learn more about joining a space in Google Chat.
Space managers see incoming request via private message


Rollout pace 

Web:
Mobile:

Availability 

  • Available to all Google Workspace customers and Workspace Individual Subscribers 

Resources 

Manage spaces at scale with new Chat API functionality

What’s changing

We are pleased to announce the  launch for additional features of Chat API via the Developer Preview Program, enabling space management at scale on behalf of admin users. These new features, which you can read more about down below, are available to all users currently enrolled in the Developer Preview Program. See here for more information on how to enroll in the Developer Preview program.

Who’s impacted

Admins and developers

Why you’d use it

In 2023, we launched the Space Management tool, which allowed admins to view all the spaces within their organization, understand the activity within those spaces, and perform essential  actions like deleting a space or assigning space managers. While finding the tool helpful, admins expressed a desire for more robust tools to perform these tasks faster and at scale, for example, with the help of APIs. Admins can now use the Chat API to find information and manage their spaces in bulk— specifically they’ll be able to:

  • Audit spaces: Admins can pull a list of all spaces in their organization, which includes detailed information about space settings and metadata like member counts, history setting status, the ability to invite external guests, and more. The list will be exported to a CSV file for further analysis and audit.

  • Delete inactive spaces in bulk: It’s common to create spaces for projects and initiatives that are only relevant for a specific period of time. As these projects move toward completion, activity in these spaces become inactive or abandoned altogether without deletion. This can result in a huge amount of clutter, making it for end users to navigate and search for relevant spaces, and for admins, making it difficult to audit and take action when managing your spaces. You can now easily detect and delete  all inactive or unused spaces, or create an automated cleanup task with the help of Chat API. 

However, there are some cases where less active spaces should not be deleted, such as spaces dedicated to quarterly or annual events. In these situations, admins can use the new API functionality to identify space managers so they can reach out and confirm whether a space should be deleted.

  • User onboarding and offboarding: When a new user joins an organization, it’s important that they’re connected to all relevant spaces, including organization wide spaces or spaces based on specific departments or job roles. Admins can use this functionality to automatically add users to relevant spaces based on specific attributes like their department, role, location, and more.
Conversely, it’s also important to ensure users are removed from spaces when they leave an organization or change roles. Admins can quickly identify all spaces where an outgoing user is a member of and remove them from spaces that are no longer relevant to them. 
  • Audit external members: To monitor and control access to organizations' data, admins can conduct an audit of membership for a specific user or group of users. Admins can use the Google Chat API to generate a list of all space members — this information, combined with a query to the People API, can assist in identifying a space’s external members. As a result, admins may choose to remove specific users from organization's conversations. This can be done on a space-by-space basis using the API directly or with the help of  your own scripts, adjusted to the unique process in your organization.

We plan to introduce more functionality for managing spaces in the future — stay tuned to the Workspace Updates blog for more information.


Getting started

  • End users: There is no end user impact or action required.


Rollout pace


Send emails to spaces in Google Chat

This announcement was part of Google Cloud Next ‘24. Visit the Workspace Blog to learn more about the next wave of innovations in Workspace, including enhancements to Gemini for Google Workspace.

What’s changing

We’re introducing a new way to manage your communication, including emails, in Google Chat. 

After a space manager generates an email address for a space, members (or anyone in your domain with the email address) can send or forward any email to that space. This provides a great way for teams to easily triage or discuss email content with stakeholders within the space. The email will appear as a clickable card showing a snippet of the email in the designated space. 
Generate email in space settings

Generate email in space settings
Email card in the space

Email card in the space



Who’s impacted 

End users 


Why you’d use it 

Email integration into spaces allows you to choose the communication style that works best for your team. Once the email content is present, members can discuss content or take various actions like triaging and assigning them to different members of the space. 


Getting started 

  • Admins: There is no admin control for this feature. 
  • End users: 
    • As a space manager, you can create the space’s email address by clicking the name of the space in the top left corner > Space settings > Email section > select Generate email 
    • Once the email address is created by a space manager, all space members can send/forward emails to the space 
    • To send an email to the space, include the space email address in the “to” field of your email composer (in Gmail, Outlook, etc.) 
    • Click on ‘View message’ to view the entire email message in Google Groups 
    • You can change the email address for your space by going to advanced settings. 
    • Visit the Help Center to learn more about sending emails to spaces in Chat. 

Rollout pace

Availability 

  • Available to all Google Workspace customers 

Resources 

Send emails to spaces in Google Chat

This announcement was part of Google Cloud Next ‘24. Visit the Workspace Blog to learn more about the next wave of innovations in Workspace, including enhancements to Gemini for Google Workspace.

What’s changing

We’re introducing a new way to manage your communication, including emails, in Google Chat. 

After a space manager generates an email address for a space, members (or anyone in your domain with the email address) can send or forward any email to that space. This provides a great way for teams to easily triage or discuss email content with stakeholders within the space. The email will appear as a clickable card showing a snippet of the email in the designated space. 
Generate email in space settings

Generate email in space settings
Email card in the space

Email card in the space



Who’s impacted 

End users 


Why you’d use it 

Email integration into spaces allows you to choose the communication style that works best for your team. Once the email content is present, members can discuss content or take various actions like triaging and assigning them to different members of the space. 


Getting started 

  • Admins: There is no admin control for this feature. 
  • End users: 
    • As a space manager, you can create the space’s email address by clicking the name of the space in the top left corner > Space settings > Email section > select Generate email 
    • Once the email address is created by a space manager, all space members can send/forward emails to the space 
    • To send an email to the space, include the space email address in the “to” field of your email composer (in Gmail, Outlook, etc.) 
    • Click on ‘View message’ to view the entire email message in Google Groups 
    • You can change the email address for your space by going to advanced settings. 
    • Visit the Help Center to learn more about sending emails to spaces in Chat. 

Rollout pace

Availability 

  • Available to all Google Workspace customers 

Resources 

Send emails to spaces in Google Chat

This announcement was part of Google Cloud Next ‘24. Visit the Workspace Blog to learn more about the next wave of innovations in Workspace, including enhancements to Gemini for Google Workspace.

What’s changing

We’re introducing a new way to manage your communication, including emails, in Google Chat. 

After a space manager generates an email address for a space, members (or anyone in your domain with the email address) can send or forward any email to that space. This provides a great way for teams to easily triage or discuss email content with stakeholders within the space. The email will appear as a clickable card showing a snippet of the email in the designated space. 
Generate email in space settings

Generate email in space settings
Email card in the space

Email card in the space



Who’s impacted 

End users 


Why you’d use it 

Email integration into spaces allows you to choose the communication style that works best for your team. Once the email content is present, members can discuss content or take various actions like triaging and assigning them to different members of the space. 


Getting started 

  • Admins: There is no admin control for this feature. 
  • End users: 
    • As a space manager, you can create the space’s email address by clicking the name of the space in the top left corner > Space settings > Email section > select Generate email 
    • Once the email address is created by a space manager, all space members can send/forward emails to the space 
    • To send an email to the space, include the space email address in the “to” field of your email composer (in Gmail, Outlook, etc.) 
    • Click on ‘View message’ to view the entire email message in Google Groups 
    • You can change the email address for your space by going to advanced settings. 
    • Visit the Help Center to learn more about sending emails to spaces in Chat. 

Rollout pace

Availability 

  • Available to all Google Workspace customers 

Resources 

Get notifications for all messages in a Google Chat space

What’s changing

In the last year, we’ve made numerous improvements to Google Chat that help you stay on top of the busy flow of communication and make it easier to prioritize and find the conversations that are most important to you. However, there are some conversations where you always need to be notified, like spaces dealing with customer support or operational issues. 

For conversations that require a higher level of attention, we’re introducing a new “notify all” functionality for in-line threaded spaces. If this option is selected, you will be notified of all new messages in the space. This includes receiving notifications for all @ mentions, threads followed, and even threads that you do not follow, allowing you to stay on top of everything happening in a conversation. 

The options within notification settings are being updated to: “All”, “Main conversations”, “For you”, and “None” so that you can better tailor your notifications preferences for in-line threaded spaces. 


Get notifications for all messages in a Google Chat space


Getting started 

  • Admins: There is no admin control for this feature. 
  • End users: To update your notification settings in a space, click the three dots (more options) next to the space name > Notification settings > select an option for notifications. Or you can click the space header > Notifications > select an option for notifications. Visit the Help Center to learn more about customizing notifications for a space with in-line threading. 

Rollout pace 

Web: 
  • Rapid Release domains: Extended rollout (potentially longer than 15 days for feature visibility) starting on May 10, 2024 
  • Scheduled Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on June 4, 2024 
Android: 
iOS: 

Availability 

  • Available to all Google Workspace customers and Workspace Individual Subscribers 

Resources 

Google Workspace Updates Weekly Recap – April 26, 2024

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.


Customizable Home tab for Google Chat apps 
Recently, we announced the availability of the "Home" tab for Google Chat apps through the Google Workspace Developer Preview Program. This feature allows developers to create a new tab in their Chat apps, known as “App Home”. App home can be customized to display user-specific dashboards, a list of open items and tasks, and more. We’re excited to announce this is now generally available for Google Workspace developers. | Rollout to Rapid Release domains and Scheduled Release domains is complete. | Available to all Google Workspace customers. | Learn more about sending an app home card message for a Google Chat app.
Customizable Home tab for Google Chat apps

Create Looker Studio reports from Google Sheets 
Looker Studio enables users to quickly build interactive reports and dashboards, and starting today they can now be created directly from Google Sheets. More specifically, users can: 
  • Pick which sheet or cell range to use in the generated report on Looker Studio. 
  • Transform the data in Sheets to an automatically generated Looker Studio report in a single click, and save and share the report with an individual or a team. 
The Looker Studio report remains connected to the Sheet, and can be refreshed to reflect data updates. | 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 how to create a Looker Studio report from Google Sheets. 

Create Looker Studio reports from Google Sheets

Export Gemini data for users in your organization 
Super admins can now export all of their users Gemini data, including prompts and Gemini’s responses to those prompts. Expanding takeout to include Gemini data continues to ensure that our customers have control over their organization’s data in order to manage their data privacy and compliance needs. | Rollout to Rapid Release domains and Scheduled Release domains is complete. | Available to Google Workspace customers with the Gemini Enterprise and Gemini Business add-on, as well as those customers with Gemini (gemini.google.com) enabled for their users. | Learn more about exporting Gemini data, exporting all of your organization’s data, and exporting data by organizational unit, group, or user. Additionally, you can use the Help Center to learn more about allowing your users to download their data.





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.


External participants can now join Google Meet client-side encrypted calls 
We’re enhancing the experience for client-side encrypted Google Meet calls to include support for inviting external participants, including users without a Google account. | Learn more about external participants joining CSE Meet calls. 


Client-side encryption can now be selected as a data loss prevention condition 
You can now use client-side encryption as a condition for a data loss prevention (DLP) rule. | Learn more about the DLP rule. 


Seamlessly transfer between devices during a Google Meet call 
You can now smoothly transfer between devices while on a Google Meet call without hanging up and rejoining. | Learn more about transferring between devices during a Google Meet call. 


Import data from Slack to Google Chat using CloudFuze 
With the CloudFuze integration, you can move messages and memberships from Slack channels into Chat spaces. CloudFuze also imports data while maintaining historical timestamps to ensure users can start using spaces right where they left off. | Learn more about Google Chat and CloudFuze.


Get notified about application load failures for your Google Meet Hardware devices 
You can now opt-in to receive email or text message notifications when application load failures occur. Subscribing to alerts can help you stay on-top of what’s happening across your hardware fleet and quickly take action to resolve these issues. | Learn more about application load failure notifications.


Workspace Data Protection rules are now available for Gmail in Beta
Launching first to beta, we’re introducing data loss prevention rules for Gmail. Data protection rules help admins and security experts build a stronger framework around sensitive data to prevent personal or proprietary information from ending up in the wrong hands. | Learn more about Data Protection rules.



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).   

Import data from Slack to Google Chat using CloudFuze

What’s changing

We recently announced the ability to import data from other messaging platforms using the Google Chat API. To build upon this, we’re excited to announce a new migration solution from CloudFuze that enables you to import data from Slack into Google Chat. 

With this integration, you can move messages and memberships from Slack channels into Chat spaces. CloudFuze also imports data while maintaining historical timestamps to ensure users can start using spaces right where they left off.
Import data from Slack to Google Chat using CloudFuze


Who’s impacted 

Admins and developers 


Why you’d use it 

Developed in collaboration with Google Workspace, CloudFuze imports your knowledge repository from Slack into Google Chat. 


Additional details 

To import user data from other messaging platforms into Google Chat, please review the original blog post on how to create a Chat app to migrate data. 

Visit the CloudFuze resource page to learn more about user integrity preservation, optimum Cloud Authentication, migration security and more. 


Getting started 


Rollout pace 


Availability 

  • Available to all Google Workspace customers. Note that a separate CloudFuze licensing is required to enable data migrations. 

Resources 

Now generally available: Chat interoperability between Google Chat and other messaging platforms

This announcement was part of Google Cloud Next ‘24. Visit the Workspace Blog to learn more about the next wave of innovations in Workspace, including enhancements to Gemini for Google Workspace.

What’s changing

At Google Cloud Next 2023, we announced interoperability between Google Chat, Microsoft Teams and Slack— powered by Mio and previously available to Workspace customers through a Beta program. We’re pleased to announce that as of today, this solution is generally available for Google Workspace customers. 


Interoperability will enable organizations that use Google Chat and other messaging platforms within their domain to provide a more seamless experience for their users.




Getting started

  • Admins: Learn more about Mio and visit the Mio Help Center for more information.
  • End users: There is no end user action required.

Rollout pace


Availability

  • Available to all Google Workspace customers. Note that separate Mio licensing is required to enable interoperability.


Google Chat apps can now subscribe to event notifications

This announcement was part of Google Cloud Next ‘24. Visit the Workspace Blog to learn more about the next wave of innovations in Workspace, including enhancements to Gemini for Google Workspace.


What’s changing

Google Workspace developers registered in our Developer Preview Program have been able to build Chat apps that can subscribe to Chat events using the Google Workspace Events API. We’re pleased to announce that as of today, this functionality is now available to all Workspace developers.


Chat apps can receive events about the following types of changes in Google Chat:

  • New memberships
  • New or removed reactions to a message
  • New, updated, or removed members in a space
  • Changes to a space, such as the space name or description

Subscribing to these notifications allows Chat apps to respond to important actions in real-time. For details, see subscribe to Google Chat events in the Google Workspace Events API documentation.


Getting started


Rollout pace


Availability