Tag Archives: Google Sheets

Use Gemini in the side panel of Workspace apps in four more languages

What’s changing

Beginning today, Gemini in the side panel of Google Docs, Google Sheets, Google Drive, and Gmail can be used in four additional languages: 
  • Greek 
  • Catalan 
  • Indonesian 
  • Malay 

With Gemini in the side panel of your Workspace apps, you can get help summarizing, brainstorming, and generating content by utilizing insights gathered from your emails, documents, and more—all without switching applications or tabs. Check out our original announcements for Gemini in the side panel of Docs, Sheets, and Drive, and Gmail for even more information. Image generation is supported in these languages as well. 


Additional details 

  • Users may see the “Alpha” badge as we bring more features into Gemini in the side panel of Google Workspace.
  • Image generation of people is not supported in these additional languages at this time.

Getting started 


Rollout pace


Availability 

Gemini in the side panel of Docs, Sheets, Drive is available to Google Workspace: 
  • Business Standard and Plus 
  • Enterprise Standard and Plus 
  • Customers with the Gemini Education or Gemini Education Premium add-on 
  • Customers with the Gemini Business or Gemini Enterprise add-on* 
Gemini in the side panel of Gmail is available to Google Workspace:
  • Business Starter, Standard and Plus 
  • Enterprise Starter, Standard and Plus 
  • Customers with the Gemini Education or Gemini Education Premium add-on 
  • Customers with the Gemini Business or Gemini Enterprise add-on* 
*As of January 15, 2025, we’re no longer offering the Gemini Business and Gemini Enterprise add-ons for sale. Please refer to this announcement for more details.

Resources 

Google Workspace Updates Weekly Recap – March 7, 2025

2 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.



Advanced formatting for tables in Google Sheets
Following the improvements made to tables in Google Sheets in August and September, we’re excited to introduce advanced formatting for tables. Now, users have access to a new table formatting sub menu that allows them to toggle on and off gridlines, alternating colors, condense view, and include a table footer. | Rolling out to Rapid Release domains now; launch to Scheduled Release domains planned for March 31, 2025. | Available to all Google Workspace customers, Workspace Individual Subscribers, and users with personal Google accounts. | Visit the Help Center to learn more about using tables in Google Sheets.
Advanced formatting for tables in Google Sheets

“Extensions” in Gemini are now “apps” and we’ve upgraded the model powering apps to 2.0 Flash
There are two updates for the Gemini app on web and mobile: 
  • “Extensions” in the Gemini app are now referred to as “apps”. Although there are no changes to functionality, please be mindful of this update. Gemini can connect to Google Workspace apps, like Drive or Gmail, to help provide more contextual and relevant responses to your prompts and allow you to take certain actions. 
  • The model powering apps in Gemini upgraded to 2.0 Flash Thinking (experimental). Built on the foundation of 2.0 Flash, this model delivers improved performance and better advanced reasoning capabilities with efficiency and speed. 
Rollout to Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains is complete. | Available to all Google Workspace users accessing the Gemini app or Gemini Advanced. | Admins can visit the Help Center to learn more about turning Workspace extensions on or off for their organization, and end users should use this Help Center article to learn more about using apps connected to Gemini with a work or school Google Account.




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.


Improving Google Calendar's interoperability with Microsoft Outlook
Calendar now reliably processes calendaring emails sent using the Microsoft-specific format for rich text emails called Transport Neutral Encapsulation Format (TNEF). | Learn more about Calendar's interoperability with Microsoft Outlook.

Introducing the Salesforce for Gemini extension in Gmail
You can now install the Salesforce extension for Gemini in Google Workspace, which will allow you to get information from Salesforce and create leads and contacts directly from Gemini in the side panel of Gmail. | Learn more about the Salesforce for Gemini extension in Gmail.

Use Gemini in the side panel of Google Slides in seven new languages 
You can now use Gemini in the side panel of Google Slides, which includes the ability to generate images, in the following seven new languages: French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese and Spanish. | Learn more about using Gemini in Slides in new languages.

Enhancements for custom and AI-generated backgrounds in Google Meet
We introduced two improvements for creating custom background images with Gemini in Google Meet. | Learn more about backgrounds in Meet. 


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).       

    Use Gemini in the side panel of Workspace apps in seventeen more languages

    What’s changing 

    Beginning today, Gemini in the side panel of Google Docs, Google Sheets, Google Drive, and Gmail can be used in seventeen additional languages: 
    • Arabic
    • Chinese
    • Czech
    • Danish
    • Dutch
    • Finnish
    • Hebrew
    • Hungarian
    • Norwegian
    • Polish
    • Romanian
    • Russian
    • Swedish
    • Thai
    • Turkish
    • Ukrainian
    • Vietnamese
    With Gemini in the side panel of your Workspace apps, you can get help summarizing, brainstorming, and generating content by utilizing insights gathered from your emails, documents, and more—all without switching applications or tabs. Check out our original announcements for Gemini in the side panel of Docs, Sheets, and Drive, and Gmail for even more information. Image generation is supported in these languages as well. 


    Additional details

    • While Gemini in the side panel of Docs, Sheets, Drive, and Gmail, is generally available in these additional languages - as we keep rolling out more Gemini alpha features in the side panel, end users with Gemini alpha features turned on may continue to see the “Alpha” badge. 
    • Gemini in the side panel of Slides and Chat is only available in English at this time.
    • Image generation of people is not supported in these additional languages at this time.

    Getting started

    Rollout pace

    Availability

    Available to Google Workspace:
    • Business Standard and Plus
    • Enterprise Standard and Plus
    • Customers with the Gemini Education or Gemini Education Premium add-on 
    • Customers with the Gemini Business or Gemini Enterprise add-on*

    Available for Gemini in the side panel of Gmail for:
    • Business Starter
    • Enterprise Starter
    *As of January 15, 2025, we’re no longer offering the Gemini Business and Gemini Enterprise add-ons for sale. Please refer to this announcement for more details.

    Resources


    Easily convert data to people chips and update chip format in Google Sheets

    What’s changing

    Similar to the functionality in Google Sheets that helps you easily convert data to dropdown chips, you can now use bulk chip conversion for people chips. If you have a column of data that includes a variety of emails, Sheets will show a “Convert to people chips” suggestion when you click into your data range. By hovering over that indicator, you can preview the suggestion and then convert your data to people chips in one click. 

    Convert to people chips” suggestion


    In addition to the default format of display name, within the Format menu, you will now be able to update the format of your people chips to one of the following: 
    • Last name, First name 
    • Email address 
    update the format of your people chips


    Getting started 

    • Admins: There is no admin control for this feature. 
    • End users: 
      • To insert people chips on your own, type “@” followed by a name or email address. To change the format of the people chips, select a cell or cells with people chips, go to Format > Smart chips > select the desired format. 
      • To turn off this feature, go to Tools > Suggestion controls > (deselect) Enable dropdown chip suggestions. 
      •  Visit the Help Center to learn more about inserting smart chips in your Google Sheets. 

    Rollout pace 

    People Chip Formats: 

    People Chip Suggestions: 

    Availability 

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

    Resources 

    Additional improvements to everyday actions in Google Sheets

    What’s changing

    Last year, we announced that we’ve doubled the calculation speed in Google Sheets, which improves the speed of actions like formulas, pivot tables, conditional formatting, and more, regardless of your file size. 

    Today, we’re excited to announce additional improvements available for everyday actions in Sheets:
    • Pasting data is now up to 50% faster when you’re pasting from one spreadsheet to another
    • Filter conditions can now be set up to 50% faster than before 
    • Spreadsheets now load existing data up to 30% faster 

    Who’s impacted 

    End users 


    Why it matters

    These changes help various users work faster and more efficiently in a variety of scenarios. For example: 
    • A data analyst can paste small or large quantities of data from an existing spreadsheet to a new one in a quicker manner. 
    • A campaign manager can add filtering conditions to better understand the performance of a campaign at a certain time faster. 
    • A small business owner can quickly see their data load. 

    Getting started 

    • Admins: There is no admin control for this feature. 
    • End users: Visit the Help Center to learn more about Google Sheets.

    Rollout pace 


    Availability 

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

    Resources 

    Generate charts and valuable insights using Gemini in Google Sheets

    What’s changing 

    Building data visualizations and identifying trends in data is a critical business function, however it can be time consuming and oftentimes overwhelming. To improve upon this experience, we’re making it easier for Sheets users, ranging from small business owners to marketing analysts, to visualize and analyze data using Gemini in Sheets. 

    Starting today, Gemini in Sheets can perform actions or answer questions to address a wide variety of scenarios. Specifically, you can ask Gemini questions about your data and Gemini can provide valuable insights, such as contextual trends, patterns, and correlations between different variables in your data. Gemini will also generate charts based on your data that you can insert as static images over cells in your spreadsheet. For example: 
    • A marketing manager analyzing campaign performance can ask "Provide some insights on my top 3 performing channels by conversion rate" and can receive a detailed breakdown with supporting visualizations. 
    • A small business owner managing cash flow can ask "Predict my net income for the next quarter based on historical data" to proactively identify potential shortfalls. 
    • A financial analyst investigating inventory trends can ask "Identify any anomalies in inventory levels for Product X" to uncover potential supply chain issues or unusual demand patterns. 
    Ask Gemini in Sheets to share insights and trends from the data.
    Ask Gemini in Sheets to share insights and trends from the data.

    Ask Gemini in Sheets to visualize data with a chart or bar graph.
    Ask Gemini in Sheets to visualize data with a chart or bar graph.



    Who’s impacted 

    End users 


    Why you’d use it 

    This update reflects Gemini in Sheets’ enhanced intelligence as it now yields valuable outputs by transforming your requests into Python code, executing on them and then analyzing the results to perform multi-layered analysis. As a result, you’re able to do things like identify top-performing products and then instantly dive into their sales trends — all without writing a single line of code. 


    Additional details 

    • For the most accurate results, ensure your data is in a consistent format, with clear headers and no missing values. 
    • When asking Gemini in Sheets to analyze your data, be as specific as possible in your prompts to ensure Gemini understands your request. 
    • For complex analysis, Gemini in Sheet's performance is most consistent in files below 1 million cells. 
    • For some simpler questions about your data, Gemini in Sheets may still provide answers using formulas instead of Python code. 
    • Charts are generated as static images and can be easily inserted into your sheet. 
    • Charts are not linked to your sheet data, so they won't update automatically if your data changes. 
    • Once inserted, charts cannot be modified. If you need to make changes, you'll need to generate a new chart. 

    Getting started 

    Rollout pace 

    Availability 

    Available for Google Workspace:
    • Business Standard and Plus 
    • Enterprise Standard and Plus 
    • Customers with the Gemini Education or Gemini Education Premium add-on 
    • Google One AI Premium 
    Anyone who previously purchased these add-ons will also receive this feature: 
    • Gemini Business* 
    • Gemini Enterprise* 
    *As of January 15, 2025, we’re no longer offering the Gemini Business and Gemini Enterprise add-ons for sale. Please refer to this announcement for more details. 

    Resources 

    Now generally available: Policy visualization across Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, Vids and Drive

    What’s changing 

    Earlier this year, we introduced a beta for policy visualization across Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Drive. Today, we’re excited to announce this is now generally available, and as a result, users who are interacting with policy-protected content, such as those with data loss prevention (DLP) rules or trust rules, will now be informed about what actions are prevented by those policies. 

    For example, if a user is interacting with a document affected by DLP-enforced information rights management (IRM) and a trust rule, they will see a shield icon and side panel that informs them of the restricted actions. 

    Policy visualization across Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, Vids and Drive



    Who’s impacted

    End users 


    Why it matters 

    With this update, users will be made aware of which actions they are taking that are disabled on a document, spreadsheet, slides or file due to data protection controls. 


    Getting started

    • Admins: There is no admin control for this feature. 
    • End users: 
      • Any user will be able to see policy visualization if relevant restrictions apply to them. Security limitations can be applied by owners of a document, shared drive policies, or admin policies. 
      • A shield icon will automatically appear when security controls are present. Users can open the side panel to view all restrictions, either using the shield icon or by going to File > Security limitations. 
      • Visit the Help Center to learn more about Policy Visualization and the policies themselves: 

    Rollout pace 

    Availability

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

    Resources

    Google Workspace Updates Weekly Recap – November 29, 2024

    2 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.


    Drag and drop contacts in the addressee fields when composing an email on your Android device 
    When writing an email in the Gmail app on your Android device, you can now drag and drop contacts in the addressee fields. This makes it easier for you to move an email address between the "to," "cc," and “bcc” fields. | Rollout to Rapid Release domains and Scheduled Release domains is complete. | Available to all Google Workspace customers, Workspace Individual Subscribers, and users with personal Google accounts.
    Drag and drop contacts in the addressee fields when composing an email on your Android device

    Expanding row limits in Connected Sheets for Looker 
    Earlier this year, we increased the maximum number of rows of results returned from BigQuery to 100,000 for pivot tables. This week, we’re expanding this to Connected Sheets for Looker by increasing the maximum number of rows of results returned from Looker to 100,000 for pivot tables. With this update, users can analyze even more results in Sheets from the petabytes of data in Looker. | Rolling out to Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains now. | Available to all Google Workspace customers, Workspace Individual Subscribers, and users with personal Google accounts. | Visit the Help Center to learn more about Connected Sheets for Looker.


    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.


    The Gemini mobile app is now available for Google Workspace users
    The Gemini mobile app for Android and iOS devices is now available for Google Workspace users accessing Gemini as a core service. | Learn more about the Gemini mobile app.

    Introducing huddles: instant-on, audio-first meetings in Google Chat
    In continuing our effort to make Google Chat your home for team collaboration, we’re excited to introduce a fast and flexible way to connect: huddles. Powered by Google Meet, huddles let you start an audio-first meeting, making real-time collaboration easier than ever. Once the huddle has started, you can resize or drag the window, add video, or share your screen for a fuller meeting experience while multitasking in Chat. | Learn more about huddles in Chat.



    Table reference improvements in Google Sheets

    What’s changing

    Since introducing tables in Google Sheets, we’ve made numerous improvements to ensure users are equipped with the tools they need to accelerate spreadsheet building. Table references, a way to refer to a table or parts of a table in a formula, are just one example of how tables reduce time spent manually formatting data. 

    Today, we’re excited to announce updates to table references that enhance discoverability and usability. Specifically, users will now see: 
    • Improved table reference availability, which allows users to reference the items below across both single (e.g., =Table2[[#ALL],[Column 1]]) and multiple columns (e.g., =Table2[[#ALL],[Column 1]:[Column 2]] ): 
      • Full table columns, including column headers, data, and footers (#ALL) 
      • Table headers (#HEADERS) 
      • Table footers (#TOTALS) 
      • Table data, excluding headers and footers (#DATA) 
        Improved table reference availability
    • Formula suggestions, which help you identify formulas that could be more robust. For example, if a user types a working formula that overlaps with a table range, a table reference suggestion will show. 
    Formula suggestions
    • Formula corrections for table references, which show a formula correction with a proper table reference when a formula is written incorrectly. 
    Formula corrections

    Getting started 

    Rollout pace 

    Availability

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

    Resources 

    Google Workspace Updates Weekly Recap – November 8, 2024

    4 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.




    Import data into group chats using the Google Chat API 
    In September, we introduced a feature through the Google Workspace Developer Preview Program that enables developers to create group chats in import mode using the spaces.create method when migrating to Google Chat from other messaging platforms. This week, we’re excited to announce that this is now generally available for Google Workspace developers. | Roll out to Rapid Release domains and Scheduled Release domains is complete. | Available to all Google Workspace customers. | Learn more about import mode. 


    Search for and reuse pre-defined queries from BigQuery in Connected Sheets
    Currently, users can define saved queries in BigQuery Studio and notebooks, but they cannot reuse those queries in Connected Sheets without copy/pasting them. This week, we’re excited to announce that users can now search for and reuse pre-defined queries directly from BigQuery to load Connected Sheets data. To do so, go to Connection Settings > Edit connection > Saved queries and query editor and search for your query by project. | Rolling out now to Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains at an extended rollout pace (potentially longer than 15 days for feature visibility), with expectation completion by December 6, 2024. | Available to all Google Workspace customers, Workspace Individual Subscribers, and users with personal Google accounts. | Visit the Help Center to learn more about writing & editing a query and getting started with BigQuery data in Google Sheets. 

    Search for and reuse pre-defined queries from BigQuery in Connected Sheets


    Launching to beta: Import sensitive Microsoft Word documents as client-side encrypted Google Docs. 
    Beginning this week, eligible customers can import and convert sensitive Microsoft Word files into Google Docs with client-side encryption. When collaborating with external and internal stakeholders, you may find yourself working across both Google Docs and Microsoft Word. This update keeps your work moving by layering interoperability on top of the confidentiality benefits of client-side encryption: customers are in direct control of their encryption keys and the identity service that they choose to authenticate for those keys. Eligible Google Workspace admins can use this form to request access to the beta. | Available to Google Workspace Enterprise Plus, Education Plus, and Education Standard customers. | Visit the Help Center to learn more about client-side encryption. More specific instructions will be shared once you’re accepted into the beta. 


    Select Google Chat settings can now be applied at the group level 
    Admins can now apply the following Google Chat settings at the group level: 
    While these settings can also be configured at the Organizational Unit (OU) level, this update provides more granular control for admins. This is critical for our customers, who frequently request more flexibility in how they apply settings, giving them more flexibility on how to configure settings based on the various needs of their users. | Roll out to Rapid Release domains and Scheduled Release domains is complete. | Available to all Google Workspace customers.


    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.


    View in-meeting chat messages in Google Meet live streams 
    Starting this week, when you’re viewing a Google Meet live stream, you will be able to see chat messages that are sent by participants who have joined via the meeting link. | Learn more about in-meeting chat messages in Meet live streams. 


    Now generally available: use Gemini in the side panel of Workspace apps in seven additional languages 
    Beginning this week, select users can use Gemini in the side panel of Google Docs, Google Sheets, Google Drive, and Gmail, in seven additional languages: French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese and Spanish. | Learn more about additional Gemini languages. 


    Announcing general availability of Google Vids: Our new AI-powered video creation app for work to help tell stories across your organization 
    Earlier this year, we announced Google Vids, the newest productivity app in our suite of Google Workspace products. Vids is an AI-powered video creation app for work designed to help teams in customer service, learning and development, project ops and marketing tell more engaging stories at work through video. This week, we’re excited to announce the general availability of Google Vids for select Workspace editions. | Learn more about Vids. 


    Google Vids is now available for Google Workspace for Education, providing easy video creation for teaching and learning 
    Earlier this year, we announced Google Vids would soon empower educators and students to easily create and collaborate with video. This week, we’re excited to announce the general availability of Google Vids for Education Plus and Gemini for Workspace customers. | Learn more about Vids for EDU.


    Introducing a refreshed library of high-quality Google Slides templates that elevate your presentations
    We’re introducing a new collection of modern, professionally designed templates in Google Slides to help users build presentations much faster. These new templates cater to a wide range of use cases that provide users with the perfect starting point for their presentations. | Learn more about Slides templates.


    Expanding access to the Gemini app for teen students in education
    Google Workspace for Education admins can now turn on the Gemini app with added data protection as an additional service for their teen users (ages 13+ or the applicable age in your country) in the following languages and countries. | Learn more about the Gemini app for teen students in education.


    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: 

    Paused rollouts

    We have paused the rollout for this feature while we evaluate performance and quality. We will provide an update with new rollout information as soon as possible.

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