Custom notifications for Google Chat data loss prevention rules are now generally available

What’s changing 

Earlier this year, we announced the beta availability for admins to display custom notifications when a Google Chat message is blocked or intercepted based on data loss prevention rules. Beginning today, this feature will become generally available on web and mobile. 

Custom notifications give admins the opportunity to provide their users with more context about why they were blocked from sending a specific message, what they can do to unblock themselves, and include links to additional resources, such as organization guidelines for sensitive data with actionable recommendations. For more information, please reference our original announcement.

Getting started

Admins: Custom notifications can be set per each data protection rule at the domain, Organizational Unit (OU), or group level. When creating a rule, in Step 4: Actions, under “User Message”, select “customize message”.  Custom notifications can also be applied to existing DLP rules. If admins do not customize the notification, the generic notification will be shown to users.Visit the Help Center to learn more about preventing data leaks from Chat messages & attachments.

End users: There is no end user action required. Depending on your admin settings, you’ll see more detailed information if you’re trying to send a Google Chat message that meets conditions defined in a data loss prevention rule.

Rollout pace

Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains: Full rollout (1-3 days for feature visibility) starting on December 7, 2023

Availability

Available to Google Workspace Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Fundamentals, Education Standard, the Teaching and Learning Upgrade, Education Plus, and Frontline Standard customersDLP for Chat is also available to Cloud Identity Premium users who are also licensed for Workspace editions that include Google Chat and Audit and investigation. Visit the Help Center for more information. 

Resources

eSignature is now generally available for Google Workspace Individual subscribers

What’s changing 

Earlier this year, we introduced eSignature for Docs and Drive in beta. Today, eSignature for Docs and Drive is rolling out in general availability for all Workspace Individual customers. 
Built directly into Google Docs, eSignature makes it easier for solopreneurs and small businesses to request signatures, keep track of and manage contracts like customer agreements, vendor contracts, stakeholder sign-offs and more. eSignature can be used to: 
Request signatures, see the status of pending signatures, and find completed contracts. Sign official contracts directly within Google Drive, eliminating the need to switch apps or tabs. Create a copy of any given contract so it can be used as a template to initiate multiple eSignatures requests.

Since the last announcement, we’ve expanded functionality to include the following features:
Audit trail: all completed contracts will automatically contain an audit trail report.Multi-signer: the ability to request a signature from more than one user.Non-Gmail users: the ability to request an eSignature from non-Gmail users.Initiating eSignature on PDF (beta): the ability to initiate an eSignature on PDF files stored in Drive.
We’ll also be introducing more features for eSignature in the next few months, including:
PDF templates: the ability to easily reuse a PDF file as contract templates.Custom text fields: the ability to ask signers to add relevant information (e.g. job titles, email address) to the contract. 

Additional details

Select Google Workspace editions (see the “Availability” section below) can apply to beta test eSignature using this form. We will be accepting beta applications until December 18, 2023.
This feature will be available as part of a larger beta, which includes access to new custom email layouts in Gmail. These new email layouts allow users to customize existing templates, reuse a custom layout in multiple email campaigns, or create a brand new layout from scratch. Once you sign up for the beta you will see the eSignature and new Gmail features in the coming weeks.

Getting started

End users: Workspace Individual subscribers: Visit the Help Center to learn more about sending signature requests & sign documents with eSignature.

Rollout pace

Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains: Extended rollout (potentially longer than 15 days for feature visibility) starting on December 7, 2023

Availability

Available to Google Workspace Individual Subscribers 

Eligible for beta: Google Workspace Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Starter, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Essentials Plus, Education Plus, and Nonprofits customers

Resources

Additional enhancements to the search results page in Google Chat

What’s changing

We recently announced a redesigned search results page in Google Chat that highlights matching keywords in search results and shows clear demarcation between results for easier browsing. 
Today, we’re introducing condensed versions of your search results to only show the relevant parts of a message that match closest to your search query. By selecting “Show more”, you can view the entire message without the need to open the conversation. 

Who’s impacted

End users 

Why it matters 

This update enables you to quickly identify the right search result in Chat. 

Additional details 

Search results are based on the exact query, as well as any additional queries that might have been triggered (secondary query, synonyms, spell corrections, etc). 

Getting started 

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

Rollout pace 

Web: 
Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains: Full rollout (1–3 days for feature visibility) starting on December 8, 2023Mobile: 
This feature is available now for all users. 

Availability 

Available to all Google Workspace customers and users with personal Google Accounts 

Resources 

Easily fill in smart chips in Google Docs using placeholder chips

What’s changing

To build on our innovations in smart canvas that help you simplify workflows and complete common tasks with easy-to-use prompts in Google Docs, we’re introducing placeholder chips. 
When crafting content in Docs, a replaceable chip for people, dates, files, events, and places can be inserted and quickly filled in by collaborators. Upon hovering or clicking on a chip, a search menu opens and includes results filtered to the chip type. Placeholder chips are particularly useful in building blocks, custom building blocks, tables, and more. 

Getting started 

Admins: There is no admin control for this feature. End users: Placeholder chips are only editable on the web, but can be viewed on web and mobile. Visit the Help Center to learn more about inserting smart chips & building blocks in your Google Doc. 

Rollout pace 

Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on December 8, 2023 

Availability 

Available to all Google Workspace customers and users with personal Google Accounts 

Resources 

Google Workspace Updates Weekly Recap – December 8, 2023

1 New update

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.

Report sharing and comment push notifications for abuse on Android devices

In order to make the process of reporting abuse much easier and reduce unnecessary exposure to harmful content on Android devices, users will now have the ability to report comment notifications and sharing notifications as spam directly from the notification via the Google Drive app. If users have lost access to a document, they will still be able to perform a user block on the user who sent the share or comment. | Rolling out now to Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains at an extended pace (potentially longer than 15 days for feature visibility) with expected completion in January 2024. | Available to all Google Workspace customers and users with personal Google Accounts. | Learn more about reporting a violation

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.


Access Google Vault audit logs alongside other Workspace audit logs 

We’re excited to announce the general availability of an improved Google Vault audit log experience. As a result of this change, you can now find Vault audit logs in the Admin console alongside other Google Workspace apps like Gmail, Google Drive, and more. | Available to Google Workspace Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Essentials Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Standard, Education Plus customers or customers with the Vault add-on license only. | Learn more about accessing Vault audit logs. 

Solve math equations easily with Smart Compose 
We’re introducing a new feature that extends the power of Smart Compose to help you solve simple math equations. | Available to Google Workspace Business Starter, Business Standard, Business Plus, Essentials Starter, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Essentials Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Fundamentals, Education Standard, Education Plus, the Teaching and Learning Upgrade, and Nonprofits only. | Learn more about smart compose for math.
Introducing a redesigned search results page in Google Chat 
Chat will now highlight matching keywords in search results and show clear demarcation between results for easier browsing. The highlighted keywords could be an exact match to your search query or terms that are related to your search query. | Learn more about highlighting in Chat. 
Admins in Google Vault can now export hyperlinked Google Drive content from Gmail messages
Starting December 8, 2023, admins can export Drive files hyperlinked in Gmail messages directly in Google Vault. | Available to Google Workspace Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Essentials Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Standard, Education Plus customers or customers with the Vault add-on license only. | Learn more about exporting hyperlinked Drive content.
Set client-side encryption as the default mode for new emails, events, and files
Admins can now set client-side encryption (CSE) to be on by default for: newly created Gmail messages, Google Calendar events, newly created Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides files, and newly uploaded Google Drive files. | Google Workspace Assured Controls is available as an add-on to Google Workspace Enterprise Plus customers only. | Learn more about client-side encryption as the default mode. 
New beta to add granular control options for who can respond to Google Forms 
With this new option, form creators can limit response access to specific users, groups, or target audiences—similar to how file owners can restrict the sharing of Google Docs, Sheets, Slides or Sites in Drive. | Learn more about Forms controls. 
Turn on snippets for additional context surrounding data loss prevention rule violations 
Admins can now view “Sensitive Content Snippets” for data loss prevention (DLP) rules. This applies to DLP events for Drive, Chat, and Chrome. When turned on, snippets will log the matched content that triggered a DLP violation in the security investigation tool. | Available to Google Workspace Frontline Standard, Enterprise Standard and Enterprise Plus, Education Fundamentals, Education Standard, Teaching and Learning Upgrade, and Education Plus, Enterprise Essentials Plus, Cloud Identity Premium and BeyondCorp Enterprise customers only. | Learn more about snippets. 
Manage conversations by muting notifications in Google Chat 
We’re introducing a new mute/unmute option in Google Chat to assist you in prioritizing and managing your messages. | Learn more about muting notifications in Chat. 
Updated grace periods for resolving policy violations in managed iOS devices 
We’re adjusting a few components to how this grace period operates to boost compliance and prevent inadvertent circumvention. | Available to Google Workspace Frontline Starter and Frontline Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Standard and Enterprise Plus, Education Standard and Education Plus; Enterprise Essentials and Enterprise Essentials Plus and Cloud Identity Premium customers only. | Learn more about policy violations in managed iOS devices.
Additional enhancements to the search results page in Google Chat
We’re introducing condensed versions of your search results to only show the relevant parts of a message that match closest to your search query. By selecting “Show more”, you can view the entire message without the need to open the conversation. | Learn more about search in Chat.
Easily fill in smart chips in Google Docs using placeholder chips
When crafting content in Docs, a replaceable chip for people, dates, files, events, and places can be inserted and quickly filled in by collaborators. | Learn more about placeholder chips.

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.

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).