Google Workspace Changes

Introducing "Catch me up," a new feature in Google Drive powered by Gemini that provides a summary of changes in files.

"Catch me up" helps users quickly understand changes to their files in Google Drive. Gemini identifies relevant files with recent changes and offers an overview of edits in Docs, and comments in Docs, Sheets, and Slides. The feature is available in English and is accessible via the "Catch me up" nudge in Google Drive Home or by selecting "catch me up" for specific files.

Existing custom roles and "Entire organization" setting for managing Google Groups members will no longer apply.

Starting January 5, 2026, existing custom roles configured for "Who can manage members" and "Who can view members" in Google Groups will no longer be active. Additionally, if "Who can manage members" is currently set to "Entire organization", this setting will automatically update to "all members". Administrators and group owners are advised to review and adjust their group settings, reassigning affected users to default roles that align with their permissions, such as managers or owners, or expanding member management capabilities to all group members.

Upcoming changes to permissions for managing and viewing custom roles in Google Groups, deprecating specific custom role capabilities and the "Entire organization" setting for member management.

Google Groups is undergoing changes to its permissions system, specifically impacting "Who can manage members" and "Who can view members" settings. Starting September 15, 2025, the ability to add new custom roles for these permissions will be removed, and setting "Who can manage members" to "Entire organization" will no longer be supported. By January 5, 2026, any existing custom roles for these permissions will cease to apply, and groups with "Who can manage members" set to "Entire organization" will have this setting automatically updated to "all members". This aims to reduce complexity and increase consistency across Workspace products.

Translate the Workspace Updates blog in over 100 languages

You can now use Google translate to view content on the Workspace Updates blog in over 100 languages.

Remove the background from your images in Google Slides, Drawings & Vids using 20+ languages.

The feature to remove the background from your images is now available for users utilizing any of these 20+ languages.

Send feedback directly to the owner of a Google Form.

A new setting in Google Forms will allow form responders to contact form owners. This can be helpful for reporting issues or asking questions.

Admins can configure Calendar interoperability with Microsoft Office 365 using the Microsoft Graph API, replacing the existing Exchange Web Services (EWS) API.

Starting May 28, 2025, admins can utilize the Microsoft Graph API to enable Calendar interoperability with Microsoft Office 365. This update replaces the Exchange Web Services (EWS) API, which Microsoft will discontinue support for on October 1, 2026. Admins can configure interoperability through the Admin console under Calendar Interop Management. The update also includes a streamlined user interface, improved troubleshooting, and allows admins to grant access to only Exchange calendar data.

Google Drive: Introducing video engagement insights.

Google Drive is introducing a new feature to measure video engagement. Users will be able to see the total number of times a video is opened in the Details panel under a new Analytics section. This helps users understand how viewers are engaging with their videos.

Introducing a new ‘Getting started’ page to make it easier to create Google Vids

We’re introducing a ‘Getting started’ page offering a variety of ways to create videos using Google Vids. Depending on your Workspace edition, this will include options to: plan your video story, generate video clips, record yourself, select a template, upload a clip or image, or start with a blank vid.

Google Workspace Migrate tool now supports migrating files from Microsoft SharePoint Online to Google Drive.

The Google Workspace Migrate tool now allows admins to migrate data from Microsoft SharePoint Online sites, including document libraries, folders, files, and associated permissions. This helps organizations transition to Google Workspace quickly and easily. The migration process involves connecting to the SharePoint Online account, specifying sites and Drive folders, and defining user and group permissions. Comprehensive reporting and delta updates are available.

Google Classroom is now available in more languages.

The Google Classroom web and mobile experience now supports Albanian, Armenian, Azerbaijani, Burmese (Myanmar), Georgian, Irish, Macedonian, Nepali, Sinhala, and Uzbek. Note that some features might not be available in all languages.

Upcoming Changes to Microsoft Exchange Migrations

Beginning May 31, 2025, the legacy Data Migration Service will no longer support migrating email, calendar, and contact data from Microsoft Exchange on-premises servers.

Improved scanning experience in Google Drive app on Android devices.

The scanning experience in the Google Drive app on Android devices is improved by increasing the size and updating the style of the scan buttons.

Create even more interactive YouTube assignments in Google Classroom

Educators can create even more interactive YouTube assignments in Classroom more quickly and efficiently, with the help of Gemini by expanding the collection of YouTube videos that have AI-suggested questions available.

Chat apps can now create spaces with their own identity using the Google Chat API.

This update enhances Chat apps for real-time collaboration and allows for more sophisticated and autonomous Chat apps by eliminating the need to create spaces and memberships on behalf of a user. This is now generally available for Google Workspace developers.