Tag Archives: Rapid Release

Google Slides introduces proportional scaling for objects to maintain visual clarity

What’s changing 

When multiple objects are selected in Google Slides, resizing your selection will now scale everything proportionally and maintain visual clarity. This ensures fonts, borders, shadows, and other attributes scale seamlessly and eliminates the hassle of adjusting elements individually. 
scale everything proportionally in google slides

In addition, we’re making it easier to select specific items on slides with many overlapping objects. When hovering over an object, users will now see an outline appear, making it easier to select objects that are layered. 
select specific items on slides with many overlapping objects.


Who’s impacted 

End users 


Why you’d use it 

This update helps you spend less time getting objects to fit on a slide with proportional scaling. 


Getting started 

  • Admins: There is no admin control for this feature. 
  • End users: Please note these features will work while you are in edit mode in Slides, not when you are presenting them. In addition, proportional scaling will only apply to object groups and selections of multiple objects using the corner handles (side handles will still function as they do today). Additionally, an object selection can be scaled by using the format options sidebar resize controls.Visit the Help Center to learn more about inserting and arranging text, shapes, diagrams, and lines.

Rollout pace


Availability 

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

Resources 

Get started with Gemini in Google Drive quickly with new “nudges”

What’s changing 

You can use Gemini in the side panel of Google Drive to summarize one or multiple documents, get quick facts about a project, interact with PDFs, have focused conversations about a specific Drive folder, create files and folders and more. 

To help you get started with Gemini in Drive even faster, you’ll notice the following clickable “nudges” at the top of your Drive homepage and folders. These will continue to evolve, and can include nudges to: 
  • Learn about Gemini in Drive 
  • Summarize a folder in Drive 
  • Learn about a file in Drive

nudges in drive home

Nudges in Drive home
nudges in drive folder
Nudges in a Drive folder



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.

Help me write in Gmail now available in three additional languages

What’s changing

Help me write is an AI-powered writing feature in Gmail that helps draft new email content or refine existing text. Upon selecting the Help me write button in Gmail, you can choose between the following options: 
  • Write your draft: Use your own words to describe the message you’d like to draft. Help me write also understands the context from previous messages in an email thread to craft reply drafts that are relevant to the conversation. 
  • Formalize your draft: Change the tone of your draft to be more formal. 
  • Elaborate on your draft: Add further detail to your email message to build on the draft. 
  • Shorten your draft: Decrease the length of your email draft. 

Today, we’re excited to announce that Help me write is now available across web and mobile devices in three additional languages: 
  • Italian 
  • French 
  • German 

Who’s impacted 

End users 


Additional details 

In addition to English, this feature is already available in Portuguese and Spanish. 


Why you’d use it 

Whether you’re setting up a meeting with a prospective client or reworking an intro email for a new team member, Help me write in Gmail saves you the time drafting emails and provides the right tone and style for any message occasion. 


Getting started 


Rollout pace 

Web & Android: 
iOS 

Availability 

Available for Google Workspace: 
  • Business Starter, Standard and Plus 
  • Enterprise Starter, Standard and Plus 
  • Google One AI Premium 
  • Customers with the Gemini Education or Gemini Education Premium add-on 

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 

Use the Google Classroom Mobile App in additional languages

What’s changing

We’re excited to announce that we’re expanding the language availability for the Google Classroom mobile app on Android and iOS to the following languages:

  • Afrikaans 
  • Assamese 
  • French Canadian 
  • Icelandic 
  • Kazakh 
  • Swahili 


Additional details 

The languages above will be available on the web version of Google Classroom in the coming weeks. We will provide an update on the Workspace Updates Blog when this feature becomes generally available. 


Getting started 

Rollout pace 

Availability 

Available for Google Workspace: 
  • Education Fundamentals, Standard, Plus, and the Teaching and Learning add-on, Endpoint Education add-on 
  • Customers with the Gemini Education or Gemini Education Premium add-on 

Resources 

The ability to run Google Drive on Arm-compatible Windows PCs is now generally available

What’s changing

Last year, we introduced a new beta that supports running Google Drive on Arm-compatible Windows PCs, and today we’re excited to announce this is now generally available. 


Compiled for ARM64, this release enables users to easily sync and store files online from Windows PCs powered by Snapdragon processors. 


Getting started 

  • Admins: There is no admin control for this feature. 
  • End users: 
    • This feature is only available on devices running Windows 11 and Microsoft WebView2, which is typically included with Windows 11. If it is missing or was previously removed, our installer will ask to install it for you (as long as you have an internet connection). Visit the Help Center to learn about system requirements & browsers. 
    • Note: Existing beta users will automatically be updated to the stable version. If you did not participate in the open beta, download and install Google Drive for desktop on a Arm-compatible Windows 11 devices. 

Rollout pace 

Availability 

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

Resources 

Adding new capabilities to Google Vids’ ‘Help me create’

What’s changing 

When constructing a vid, you can easily get started by using a set of generative AI capabilities. Gemini’s ‘Help me create’ can generate a fully editable first draft of your video using a prompt and content from your Google Drive. After choosing a style, Gemini pieces together your vid with suggested scenes, including recommended stock media, text, scripts per scene, and even a background music track. 


Today, we’re excited to introduce a new ‘Help me create’ feature that automatically generates AI voiceovers for each scene of your Vid from the AI suggested scripts. 


With this update, you can: 
  • Eliminate the manual effort of recording “the perfect take” 
  • Gain easy access to a variety of voiceovers that provide you with professional-sounding video narration 
  • Save time matching voiceovers to scenes in your video with automatic audio to scene alignment 
new ‘Help me create’ feature that automatically generates AI voiceovers for each scene of your Vid from the AI suggested scripts


AI voiceovers are intended to save you time so you can get to a first draft faster, but you are still able to easily edit your suggested scripts and update your voiceovers in one click, or select from a variety of different AI voices with different pitches and tones to best suit your video’s purpose. 


Getting started 

  • Admins: Vids will be ON by default and can be disabled at the organizational level. Visit the Help Center to learn more about turning Vids on or off for users. 
  • End users:
    • To start, open Google Vids and choose an option to create a new video. You can create a new video or make a copy of an existing video for editing. Visit the Help Center to learn more about getting started with Google Vids. Visit the Help Center to learn more about creating scripts & voiceovers in Google Vids. 
    • You can use Vids on your computer with the two most recent versions of these browsers: 
    • You can access our always-on resources in the Google Workspace Learning Center to learn what you can do with Google Vids. 
    • Currently, Vids is available in the user’s local language, but the AI features (e.g. Help me create, read-along teleprompter) are only available in English at this time. 
    • Note: View and collaborate access is available to anyone with a Google Workspace account, while create and copy access is available for select editions of Google Workspace customers. 

Rollout pace 


Availability 

Available for Google Workspace: 
  • Business Standard and Plus 
  • Enterprise Standard and Plus 
  • Essentials, Enterprise Essentials and Enterprise Essentials Plus 
  • Education Plus 
  • Customers with a Gemini Business*, Enterprise*, Education or Education Premium 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 

Contextual Smart Replies now available for Google Workspace Business and Enterprise editions

What’s changing

Earlier this year, we announced that we’re including the best of Google AI directly into Workspace Business and Enterprise plans without the need to purchase a separate Gemini add-on. In addition, we recently introduced Google Meet and Google Chat AI-powered features to Business and Enterprise editions, and today were excited to add contextual Smart Replies to the list of available features. 

If you’re short on time or need help finding the right words, Gemini can analyze the context of an email and offer more detailed responses to fully capture the intent of your message. After initiating an email reply, users will see a few response options at the bottom of their screen that take the full content of the email thread into consideration. Hover over each response to get a quick preview of the text, select the one that feels right for the situation, and edit it as you see fit or send the response immediately. 

Contextual Smart Replies now available for Google Workspace Business and Enterprise editions



Who’s impacted 

End users 


Why you’d use it 

The contextual Smart Reply feature saves time and makes replying to emails more efficient. 

Getting started 


Rollout pace 


Availability 

Available for Google Workspace: 
  • Business Starter, Standard, and Plus 
  • Enterprise Starter, Standard, and Plus 
These features are already available to Gemini for Workspace add-on customers. Note that as of January 15, 2025, Gemini Business, Gemini Enterprise, AI Meetings & Messaging, and AI Security add-ons are no longer available for purchase. Please refer to this announcement for more details.

Resources 

New features available in NotebookLM and NotebookLM Plus

What’s changing 

In addition to NotebookLM and NotebookLM Plus becoming available as a Google Workspace core service for business customers and the recent announcement of Context-Aware Access support for NotebookLM and Notebook LM Plus, we’re excited to introduce new features that improve upon the NotebookLM user experience: 
  • A new interactive Mind Map lets users navigate complex topics in their notebooks, explore new connections  and gain a deeper understanding of their materials. For example, a biology student working on their thesis about Coral Reef Ecosystem Decline might upload research papers and see a mind map of "Ocean Acidification," "Rising Sea Temperatures," "Pollution," and "Overfishing."
  • A new output language selector allows users to choose the output language for generated text within NotebookLM. This means study guides, briefing documents, and chat responses will be generated in any selected  language, making it easier than ever to understand and share work. 

Who’s impacted 

Admins and end users (18+) 


Additional details 

NotebookLM and NotebookLM Plus are available in 180+ regions where Gemini API is available and currently supports 35+ languages. For Audio Overviews, while you can upload sources from all supported languages, the spoken audio is currently only available in English. 


Your uploads, queries and the model's responses are not used to train models and are not reviewed by human reviewers or otherwise used for product improvement without permission. Your data remains your data and any files uploaded, queries and responses are not shared outside your organization’s trust boundary. 

Users can only upload sources from Workspace that they have permission to access. Furthermore, they can control who has access to their notebooks and set more granular permissions within each. 


Getting started 

Rollout pace 


Availability 

These features are available to NotebookLM and NotebookLM Plus users. 

NotebookLM is available as a core service for Google Workspace: 
  • Business Starter 
  • Frontline Starter and Standard 
  • Essentials Starter, Essentials, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Essentials Plus 
  • Nonprofits 
NotebookLM is available as an additional service for Google Workspace: 
  • Education Fundamentals, Standard and Plus 
NotebookLM Plus is available as a core service for Google Workspace: 
  • Business Standard and Plus 
  • Enterprise Standard and Plus 
NotebookLM Plus is available as an additional service for Google Workspace for Education customers with these add-ons:
  • Gemini Education
  • Gemini Education Premium
Anyone who previously purchased these add-ons will also receive NotebookLM Plus as a core service: 
  • 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 

New features available in NotebookLM and NotebookLM Plus

What’s changing 

In addition to NotebookLM and NotebookLM Plus becoming available as a Google Workspace core service for business customers and the recent announcement of Context-Aware Access support for NotebookLM and Notebook LM Plus, we’re excited to introduce new features that improve upon the NotebookLM user experience: 
  • A new interactive Mind Map lets users navigate complex topics in their notebooks, explore new connections  and gain a deeper understanding of their materials. For example, a biology student working on their thesis about Coral Reef Ecosystem Decline might upload research papers and see a mind map of "Ocean Acidification," "Rising Sea Temperatures," "Pollution," and "Overfishing."
  • A new output language selector allows users to choose the output language for generated text within NotebookLM. This means study guides, briefing documents, and chat responses will be generated in any selected  language, making it easier than ever to understand and share work. 

Who’s impacted 

Admins and end users (18+) 


Additional details 

NotebookLM and NotebookLM Plus are available in 180+ regions where Gemini API is available and currently supports 35+ languages. For Audio Overviews, while you can upload sources from all supported languages, the spoken audio is currently only available in English. 


Your uploads, queries and the model's responses are not used to train models and are not reviewed by human reviewers or otherwise used for product improvement without permission. Your data remains your data and any files uploaded, queries and responses are not shared outside your organization’s trust boundary. 

Users can only upload sources from Workspace that they have permission to access. Furthermore, they can control who has access to their notebooks and set more granular permissions within each. 


Getting started 

Rollout pace 


Availability 

These features are available to NotebookLM and NotebookLM Plus users. 

NotebookLM is available as a core service for Google Workspace: 
  • Business Starter 
  • Frontline Starter and Standard 
  • Essentials Starter, Essentials, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Essentials Plus 
  • Nonprofits 
NotebookLM is available as an additional service for Google Workspace: 
  • Education Fundamentals, Standard and Plus 
NotebookLM Plus is available as a core service for Google Workspace: 
  • Business Standard and Plus 
  • Enterprise Standard and Plus 
NotebookLM Plus is available as an additional service for Google Workspace for Education customers with these add-ons:
  • Gemini Education
  • Gemini Education Premium
Anyone who previously purchased these add-ons will also receive NotebookLM Plus as a core service: 
  • 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 

Use Gemini in the side panel of Google Chat in additional languages

What’s changing 

Over the last few months, we’ve released the use of Gemini in the side panel of Google Docs, Google Sheets, Google Drive, Google Slides and Gmail in additional languages and today we’re excited to expand the availability of Gemini in the side panel of Chat to the following languages: 
  • Spanish 
  • Portuguese 
  • Italian 
  • German 
  • Japanese 
  • French 
  • Korean 

Gemini in Chat helps users collaborate more effectively in their spaces, group messages and direct messages by providing conversation summaries, identifying action items, and searching the web. For additional information on Gemini in Chat, check out our original announcement of Gemini in the side panel of Chat. 


Additional details

Users may see the “Alpha” badge as we bring more features into Gemini in the side panel of Google Workspace. 


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 
Anyone who previously purchased these add-ons will also receive this feature: 
  • Gemini Business* 
  • Gemini Enterprise* 
  • AI Meetings and Messages* 
*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