In 2022, we introduced automatic framing for select Google Workspace editions. Beginning today, we’re pleased to announce that we’re expanding this functionality to all users, as well as introducing an improved experience while using a virtual background. This feature will be on by default. 

Depending on their camera placement, some meeting participants might be less visible than others. With automatic framing, Google Meet will automatically center your video before joining a meeting to help ensure equal visibility for all participants. The automatic framing happens only once, so there are no motion distractions that can divert attention from the content of the meeting. Additionally, Meet will now continuously keep you centered when using a virtual background, ensuring your background is fixed and not constantly reframing which can be distracting.

Getting started

Rollout pace

Availability

Resources

For the last few years, users have added building blocks, including custom blocks, to their Google Docs to quickly spin up email drafts, meeting notes, reusable templates and more. 

Today, we’re excited to introduce a new collection of building blocks designed to help you manage important business workflows in Docs, including team task management, project tracking, hiring, and more. 

• Task trackers quickly add and track tasks at a glance with titles, assignees, due dates, and status, in a cleanly organized format. Additionally, users can add their own columns for more personalization, and new tasks with an assignee and title can be synced with Google Tasks individually or by syncing the whole table at once: 

• Use a Contact list to organize contact information for applicants, sales contacts, team members, project assignments and more. Contact lists offer a structured table format that breaks out critical contact information into glanceable columns that are clear and easier to read: 

• Decision logs centralize open questions, aid in decision-making, and organize final decisions in an easily-digestible table. With decision logs, teams can quickly align around a single source of truth with clear owners: 

Get started with building blocks by clicking the buttons at the top of a newly created document or via Insert > Building blocks. In addition, a new Docs sidebar, accessible by going to Insert > Building blocks > View more or by clicking “More” at the top of a new document, makes it easier to browse, find, and preview building blocks in context: 

Lastly, we’re improving table building blocks by adding table title rows, a formatted, full-width row with heading styling. Table title rows allow you to clearly call out a visually appealing table name and saves you time from formatting manually. The new column types will set a data type (dates, dropdown chips, files or people) and provide friendly warnings when table content does not match, ensuring your table data is accurate and organized. 

• Admins: Admins should enable the Google Tasks service bit to ensure tasks are synced for the Task Tracker building block to work. 
• End users: Visit the Help Center to learn more about inserting smart chips & building blocks in your Google Doc. 

• Rapid Release domains: Extended rollout (potentially longer than 15 days for feature visibility) starting on November 19, 2024, with expected completion by December 5, 2024 
• Scheduled Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on December 12, 2024 

• Available to all Google Workspace customers, Workspace Individual Subscribers, and users with personal Google accounts 
• Note: the Task Tracker building block is available to Google Workspace customers and Workspace Individual Subscribers only. 

Resources 

• Google Help: Insert smart chips and building blocks in your Google Doc

Following up on the recent announcement of a smoother, more modern video player in Google Drive, we’re excited to share that you can now watch videos the moment you upload them to Drive on web. This highly-requested feature eliminates wait times between upload and playback, while ensuring your videos still get fully processed. | Rollout to Rapid Release domains is complete; launch to Scheduled Release domains planned for January 2, 2025. | Available to all Google Workspace customers, Workspace Individual Subscribers, and users with personal Google accounts. | Visit the Help Center to learn more about storing & playing video in Google Drive.

Today, Google Drive developers rely on the drive.file scope and the Google Picker API to optimize user experience and safety when creating their applications. 

To make it faster and easier for users to provide applications access to specific Drive files, the Google Picker API will introduce a new method to the Class view called setFileIds(fileIds). This method lets application developers present users with a picker that is pre-navigated to the specified file IDs the application is seeking access to, allowing faster consent for your users and a more continuous experience for your application. 

• Admins: There is no admin control for this feature. 
• Developers: If you have a user interaction such as a chat interface where a user already provided the FileId that they want to open using your application, you can now provide that FileId via the View class and Google will prompt the user to grant you OAuth access directly to that file or files. 
• End users: There is no end user setting for this feature. 

• Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains: Full rollout (1–3 days for feature visibility) starting on January 20, 2025 

• Available to all Google Workspace customers and Workspace Individual Subscribers 

• Google Workspace Admin Help: Use DLP for Drive to prevent data loss

Users can currently send & share files such as images, PDFs and videos in Google Chat messages and use the Shared tab to access all conversation-related artifacts including files, links and media. However, only one image can be uploaded in a single Chat message on web at a time. 

To improve upon this functionality, provide a highly-requested feature, and match the mobile experience, we’re excited to announce that users can now upload and send up to 20 multimedia files (photos and videos) in one Chat message. Dragging and dropping multimedia files into the compose bar from your desktop is also supported. 

• Admins: There is no admin control for this feature. 
• End users:
  An error message will show if a user exceeds size limits or uploads unsupported file combinations. Visit the Help Center to learn more about sending & sharing files in Google Chat messages. 

Rollout pace

• Rapid Release domains: Extended rollout (potentially longer than 15 days for feature visibility) starting on November 19, 2024, with expected completion by December 3, 2024
• Scheduled Release domains: Full rollout (1–3 days for feature visibility) starting on December 12, 2024 

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

Resources 

• Google Help: Send & share files in Google Chat messages

In 2023, we introduced a streamlined file organization with the new Google Drive location picker on web. Now, we’re rolling out similar improvements to the Drive app on Android devices. This update will make it easier to find recently viewed Drive items and clearly see what other storage locations besides “My Drive” are available to you, such as items you have access to within shared drives. | Rollout to Rapid Release domains is complete; launch to Scheduled Release domains planned for December 2, 2024. | Available to all Google Workspace customers, Google Workspace Individual subscribers, and users with personal Google accounts. | Visit the Help Center to learn more about how to use Google Drive. 

Last year, we introduced full screen tasks lists for Google Calendar on web, enabling users to see all their tasks and task lists in a single full screen view. This week, we’re excited to announce that this same functionality is now available on Android devices. This update makes it easier for users to stay on top of and organize their tasks, especially while on-the-go. | Rolling out to Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains now. | Available to Google Workspace customers, Google Workspace Individual subscribers, and users with personal Google accounts. | Visit the Help Center to learn more about Google Tasks.

Getting started

Getting started

Rollout pace

Availability

Resources

As we continue to enhance the user experience in Google Chat over the last year, we’re excited to announce that users can now organize Chat conversations into custom sections. A highly requested feature, custom sections are useful for scenarios in which users want similar conversations about a topic or project to be in the same location in the left-hand menu of Chat. 

To make a custom section, go to the direct messages or spaces section in Chat > hover over the three dot menu > select Create new section > name the custom section > hit enter. You can add conversations from a direct message or space to a custom section by: 

• Dragging and dropping it in from another section 
• Hovering over a conversation > clicking the three dot menu > selecting Move conversation > Move to [Name of the custom section] 

Previously the direct messages and spaces sections in the left-hand menu were independent, individually-scrollable lists. With this update, users can navigate specific sections of their conversations by scrolling across all of their sections as one unified conversation list, view top conversations across each section, and find older conversations within each section by expanding via “Show all.” 

For each section, users can also: 

• Modify the size (height) of each section 
• Reorder a section in the left-hand menu based on preference by moving it up or down 
• Toggle an unread button ON (or OFF) to instantly find new messages within each section that need their attention 
• Start a new direct message or space message from the three dot menu next to the unread toggle 

In addition, users will now be able to find their Chat apps more quickly with a new dedicated Apps section. 

End users 

This complete revamp of the left navigation experience on Chat will help users find messages more easily based on their own organizational preferences. 

• Admins: There is no admin control for this feature. 
• End users: 
• By default, the conversation list is organized by direct messages, spaces, and apps, with each section set to show active conversations only. 
• While the new Chat experience is visible on mobile, users can only create and manage sections on the desktop version of chat.google.com or Chat in Gmail. 
• Visit the Help Center to learn how to use Google Chat. 

Rollout pace 

• Rapid Release domains: Extended rollout (potentially longer than 15 days for feature visibility) starting on November 21, 2024, with expected completion in early January 2025 
• Scheduled Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on January 6, 2025 

Availability 

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

Resources 

• Google Help: Learn how to use Google Chat

Since introducing tables in Google Sheets, we’ve made numerous improvements to ensure users are equipped with the tools they need to accelerate spreadsheet building. Table references, a way to refer to a table or parts of a table in a formula, are just one example of how tables reduce time spent manually formatting data. 

Today, we’re excited to announce updates to table references that enhance discoverability and usability. Specifically, users will now see: 

• Improved table reference availability, which allows users to reference the items below across both single (e.g., =Table2[[#ALL],[Column 1]]) and multiple columns (e.g., =Table2[[#ALL],[Column 1]:[Column 2]] ): 
• Full table columns, including column headers, data, and footers (#ALL) 
• Table headers (#HEADERS) 
• Table footers (#TOTALS) 
• Table data, excluding headers and footers (#DATA) 
  

• Formula suggestions, which help you identify formulas that could be more robust. For example, if a user types a working formula that overlaps with a table range, a table reference suggestion will show. 

• Formula corrections for table references, which show a formula correction with a proper table reference when a formula is written incorrectly. 

Getting started 

• Admins: There is no admin control for this feature. 
• End users: Visit the Help Center to learn more about using table references in Google Sheets. 

Rollout pace 

• Rapid Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on November 19, 2024 
• Scheduled Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on December 10, 2024 

Availability

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

Resources 

• Google Help: Use table references in Google Sheets 
• Google Help: Use tables in Google Sheets