Google Workspace

Google is rolling out a new Calendar tool in the Gmail web client that makes it easier and faster to schedule meetings.

Google is making a change to what it calls the “First Open Experience” that will launch Docs in edit mode, with Sheets and Slides also getting a “more creation-focused experience.”

At the start of last month, Google Workspace announced that it would start public testing of Duet AI image generation in Slides, and it’s now more widely available.

After announcing in 2021 for Workspace Individual, Google is now bringing Calendar appointment scheduling to personal accounts while Gmail is adding interactive schedule sharing inside emails.

Google Workspace is making a small but key change that will let you see who has requested access to a file directly in Docs, Sheets, and Slides. 

Immediately after I/O 2023 last month, Google started more widely rolling out Workspace Labs, and “Help me write” is now seeing wide availability in Gmail for Android and iOS for enrolled testers.

At I/O 2023 last month, Google announced “Duet AI” as the branding for generative AI features in Workspace. It’s now available to pre-order for Workspace Enterprise customers and other large businesses.

We’re expecting a big update to Google Chat in the future, but until then, the existing web app is adding Smart Compose to make writing messages “faster and easier.”

After announcing personal account support last month, Google is now rolling out the ability for Workspace and Cloud customers to use passkeys.

In an email sent out early Sunday morning, Dropbox revealed that its native Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides integration is coming to an end, with files being replaced by shortcuts. Anyone with Google Workspace files in their Dropbox accounts will have to migrate their files to Google Drive within 30 days of receiving notice, or they will be automatically converted to Microsoft Office files.

Google is expanding Workspace Labs with a trio of new features across Gmail, Docs, and Slides, including image generation. 

Google is rolling out an update to Gmail search that will show “Top results” first to help “you find exactly what you’re looking for much faster.”

Google Chat, the company’s Slack and Microsoft Teams competitor, looks to be getting an overhaul in the near future that features a new logo and “Timeline”-focused redesign of the mobile apps.

Following Gmail last year, Google Docs is adding a new Calendar event template that lets you “collaborate with others to draft calendar invites.” 

It was inevitable that AI would start moving beyond the basic language model chatbot into something more useful for the average user. With Google’s new Duet AI in Labs, Google Docs has a “Write for me” feature that takes the heavy lifting out of drafting a document. Here’s how to use it.

Following last week’s announcements at I/O 2023, Google previewed a few more generative Duet AI features coming to Workspace today, including Smart Notes in Meet.

Following its big redesign, Google Docs is expanding its Smart Canvas effort with user-created building blocks and collapsible headings.

Between Google Workspace Premium available with Google One 2+ TB plans and the Business tiers, Google offers Workspace Individual, which is now available in 20 new countries.

Google is testing a new Drive homepage on the web that will automatically “surface your most relevant files and folders.”