Google Workspace Changes

Google Chat apps will now automatically install into future conversations after initial user installation, removing the need for manual re-installation.

Google Chat is introducing a new feature that will automatically add Chat apps to future conversations once they have been installed by a user. Previously, users were required to manually install a Chat app into every space, group chat, and direct message. This update streamlines the process, allowing users to initiate actions with an app, such as creating a poll, and have the app automatically available in subsequent conversations without needing to reinstall it. Admins can still control app installation permissions and can also choose to pre-install apps for their organization.

When duplicating Google Calendar events, the associated Google Meet conference will no longer be copied to enhance meeting privacy.

To enhance meeting privacy, when users copy or duplicate events in Google Calendar, the associated Google Meet conference will no longer be automatically copied. This ensures that Meet access and any meeting notes remain exclusively tied to the original event and its attendees. If a user wishes to participate in the same Meet conference for the duplicated event, they will need to manually copy the Meet code separately. This change also improves security and reliability by keeping the meeting code unique to the original event, reducing ambiguity and ensuring information is shared only with correct participants.

Gemini summaries are now displayed directly on the Home page in Google Drive for suggested Docs, Sheets, Slides, and PDFs.

Users can now view Gemini-generated summaries directly within the suggested files section on the Google Drive Home page. These summaries will appear for selected Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, and PDF files in the suggested list. Users have the option to click a ‘See more’ button that appears on hover to view a more in-depth analysis or to ask Gemini follow-up questions about the file in the Gemini side panel, enhancing quick understanding and interaction with document content.

Google Workspace is implementing a Shared Signals Framework (SSF) Receiver to enhance security by ingesting Continuous Access Evaluation Profile (CAEP) signals, currently in closed beta.

The Shared Signals Framework (SSF) is an initiative by the OpenID Foundation to standardize cross-system communication between security platforms, facilitating the sharing of security insights and events. Google Workspace is supporting this initiative by implementing an SSF Receiver to ingest Continuous Access Evaluation Profile (CAEP) signals. This feature is currently available in a closed beta for Google Workspace customers and interested partners. An example use case for this enhancement is session revocation, where a signal to revoke a session will automatically invalidate the user's session, thereby reducing the window of access for potentially compromised users. This improves security by enhancing cross-system communication and accelerating responses to security incidents.

Google Sheets introduces a new condensed view for version history, displaying only rows with changes for quicker edit identification.

Google Sheets is rolling out a new condensed view for its version history feature. By default, this view will now only display rows containing cells that have undergone changes in the selected version. This enhancement aims to help users identify relevant edits within a spreadsheet more quickly and efficiently. Users can revert to the previous full version history view by selecting the 'Show unmodified rows' checkbox, which will highlight changes across the entire sheet.

Google Chat now offers real-time push notifications for reactions on messages to keep users updated.

Google Chat users can now receive real-time push notifications for reactions on their messages. This feature helps users stay informed about engagement with their messages and ensures they don't miss important updates. Reactions, such as emojis like a smiley face or a thumbs up, allow for easier conveyance of information or sentiment, and now message authors will be aware of these reactions without manually checking the conversation.

Users can now utilize Gemini to refine text within text boxes in Google Slides using pre-set options or custom prompts.

Google Slides now integrates Gemini to enable users to refine text directly within text boxes. With just a few clicks, users can leverage Gemini to rephrase, shorten, formalize, or bulletize existing text using optimized pre-set options. Additionally, users have the flexibility to enter their own prompts for text refinement, helping to quickly polish slide content and improve its readability and consumability.

'Help me create' in Google Vids now includes support for Google Slides presentations as reference materials for video drafts.

The 'Help me create' feature in Google Vids has been updated to include support for Google Slides presentations as reference materials. Users can now incorporate their Google Slides when constructing prompts, which will lead to improved Slides analysis and content integration into the generated video drafts. This includes pulling text and visual content like relevant Slides, images, and text, in addition to suggested scripts, AI voiceovers, and music.

Google Drive on Android devices revamps the scanned document editing experience with improved adjustment options and UI.

Google Drive on Android devices is revamping its scanned document editing experience. Users will now benefit from updated adjustment options, offering a more seamless and improved user experience. Enhancements include larger page previews for detailed viewing, an improved UI layout with easy access to page deletion and retake functions, and a new Material 3 page thumbnail carousel for quick document skimming and drag-and-drop page reordering. These updates allow for better cropping, rotation, color adjustments, and shadow erasure.

Google Drive inventory reporting now supports daily exports of Drive data assets to BigQuery, in open beta.

Google Drive Inventory reporting now supports scheduling a daily export of your Drive data assets to BigQuery, in addition to the existing weekly cadence. Compared to APIs, exporting inventory reports to BigQuery empowers administrators to understand their data more deeply, providing insights into how their data is classified, accessed, and used. Understanding these metrics can help admins to identify security risks, ensure compliance with regulatory requirements, and more.

Developers can now build Google Chat apps using the Workspace add-on framework for building single apps across multiple Workspace applications.

The ability for developers to build Google Chat apps using the Workspace add-on framework is now generally available. This framework allows developers to build and maintain a single application that functions across various Workspace apps, including Gmail, Calendar, Drive, and Chat. This simplifies development, administration, and end-user experience by enabling features like link previews, task automation, external service notifications, and combining third-party data within Workspace.

Audit log changes for Google Meet hardware settings will now be found under "Application setting" instead of "Chromebox for meetings device setting change".

Starting August 7, 2025, audit logs for specific Google Meet hardware settings like 'Release channel' and 'Alert recipients' will transition from being logged under 'Chromebox for meetings device setting change' to 'Change Application Setting,' 'Create Application Setting,' or 'Delete Application Setting.' This update is part of Google's effort to remove outdated product references and streamline the audit log experience. By August 28, 2025, these logs will solely appear under the new 'Application setting' categories.

Thumbnail previews now appear when hovering over a video's progress bar in Google Drive, allowing quick navigation.

Starting July 22, 2025, when hovering over a newly uploaded video’s progress bar in Google Drive, users will see a thumbnail preview that enables quick viewing and navigation to specific parts of the video. This enhancement aims to improve productivity and the overall video viewing experience within Google Drive by allowing users to easily find specific moments in their videos. This feature is only available for newly uploaded videos.

Gemini's AI capabilities are now available within Google Docs on iOS devices, allowing users to understand, summarize, and query documents on mobile.

Google Workspace users can now access Gemini's AI features directly within the Google Docs app on iOS devices (iOS 16+), supporting over 20 languages. This integration enables users to quickly get summaries of long documents, ask specific questions about content, and draft initial plans. While features like "Help me write" and image generation are not yet available on mobile, this update enhances on-the-go productivity by allowing users to interact with documents more effectively without switching applications. It is available for various Google Workspace Business and Enterprise plans, as well as those with Gemini Education or Gemini Business/Enterprise add-ons.

Users can now link Google Calendar appointment booking pages directly when composing emails in Gmail.

Google is making it easier to share your availability by allowing users to insert Google Calendar appointment booking pages directly into email drafts in Gmail. By clicking the Calendar icon, users can select an existing booking page or create a new one to embed. This feature aims to streamline scheduling, reduce back-and-forth communication, and is particularly useful when arranging meetings with external contacts whose calendars are not visible.