Google Workspace Updates
This official feed from the Google Workspace team provides essential information about new features and improvements for Google Workspace customers.
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Express yourself and quickly respond to emails with emojis reactions in Gmail
What’s changing
We’re excited to introduce the ability for users to react to emails in Gmail with emojis. This new feature allows users to quickly respond, acknowledge receipt of an email, and express themselves more authentically.Whether you’re using a gratitude emoji to thank a teammate, voting for a team dinner with a food emoji, or congratulating your client for reaching a milestone with a celebratory emoji, emoji reactions provide an expressive and personalized way of responding to emails.Getting started
- Admins: This feature will be OFF by default and can be enabled at the domain level by going to the Admin console > Apps > Gmail > End User Access > Emoji reactions. Visit the Help Center to learn more about managing Gmail settings for your users.
- End users:
- Reactions cannot be sent as a response if an email was received via a Google Group email alias or if there is a Google Group on the recipient list.
- Emoji reactions are best experienced via the Gmail app on mobile and via Gmail.com on the web.
- Visit the Help Center to learn more about replying to emails with emoji reactions and why you may get emoji reactions as an email.
Rollout pace
Feature visibility:- Rapid Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on April 29, 2025
- Scheduled Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on May 13, 2025
Admin setting:- Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on May 13, 2025
Availability
- Available to all Google Workspace customers, Workspace Individual Subscribers, and users with personal Google accounts
Resources
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Expanding Google Vids to Business Starter, Enterprise Starter and Nonprofit customers
What’s changing
Last year, we announced the general availability of Google Vids, our AI-powered video creation app for work to help tell stories across your organization for select Workspace editions.Vids helps novice video creators easily build videos with a host of Gemini features that get them to a first draft faster using a set of generative AI capabilities. Help me create can generate a fully editable initial storyboard using a prompt and a doc from your Google Drive. After choosing a style, Gemini pieces together your video draft with suggested scenes, including recommended stock media, scripts, AI voiceovers, background music and more. Recently announced at Next, users will soon be able to generate custom video clips directly in Vids with Veo 2, enabling them to spend less time searching for assets to tell their story.Today, we’re excited to expand Google Vids to Business Starter, Enterprise Starter, and Nonprofit customers, giving them full access to Vids, and access to Vids AI features for a limited time (see below for more details).Who’s impacted
End usersWhy you’d use it
We know that creating and editing video feels challenging because it previously required special skills or licensing, but with Google Vids, anyone can be a great storyteller. Now teams can build and tell more compelling stories at work that break through the noise to engage their coworkers and colleagues.Additional details
For a period of 12 months after the rollout, Business Starter, Enterprise Starter, and Nonprofit customers can create a video with AI in Google Vids (using the “Help me create” feature) and use other AI features, to produce engaging videos that help scale your message, build connections and break through the noise across your organization.Full access to Vids (non-AI features) will be available to Business Starter, Enterprise Starter, and Nonprofit customers, allowing users to create, write, produce, edit, collaborate, and share videos.Getting started
- Admins: Vids will be ON by default. Visit the Help Center to learn more about turning Vids on or off for users.
- End users:
- To start, open Google Vids and choose an option to create a new video. You can create a new video or make a copy of an existing video for editing. Visit the Help Center to learn more about getting started with Google Vids.
- You can use Vids on your computer with the two most recent versions of these browsers:
- Chrome
- Firefox
- Windows only: Microsoft Edge
- Other browsers may work, but you might not be able to use all of the features.
- You can access our always-on resources in the Google Workspace Learning Center to learn what you can do with Google Vids.
- Currently, Vids is available in the user’s local language, but the AI features (e.g. Help me create, read-along teleprompter) are only available in English at this time.
- Note: View and collaborate access is available to anyone with a Google Workspace account, while create and copy access is available for select editions of Google Workspace and Gemini with Google Workspace customers.
Rollout pace
- Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on April 29, 2025
Availability
This update impacts Google Workspace:- Business Starter
- Enterprise Starter
- Nonprofits
Resources
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Use NotebookLM to generate Audio Overviews more than 50 languages
What’s changing
Since bringing NotebookLM to Google Workspace customers earlier this year, and most recently to Google Workspace for Education, many have utilized the Audio Overviews feature.Audio Overviews are lively “deep dive” discussions between two AI hosts who summarize key topics in your sources. These turn documents, slides, charts and more into engaging discussions with one click and are especially useful for learning on-the-go. Today, we’re excited to expand Audio Overviews to over 50 languages in Beta.Additional details
For Audio Overviews, you can upload sources from all supported languages, including a combination of different languages in the same notebook, and then generate audio in any of the languages outlined above.Audio Overviews are not meant to be a subjective view of a topic by the AI hosts, but simply a reflection of the source content that you have uploaded. Interactive mode, when a user is able to join the hosts’ conversation and ask questions, will remain in beta and is only available in English at this time.Please note that this is an early look at what's possible with this feature in non-English languages — we plan to keep building and refining it based on your feedback.Getting started
Google Workspace:- Admins: There is no admin control for this feature.
- End users: You can select the output language for Audio Overviews by going to Settings > Output Language in the top right menu of NotebookLM. Visit the Help Center to learn more about Audio Overviews, NotebookLM and NotebookLM Plus.
- Admins:
- New customers: Access to NotebookLM is OFF by default for Primary and Secondary (K12) customers, and ON by default for Higher Education customers. Visit the Help Center to learn more about turing NotebookLM or NotebookLM Plus on or off for users.
- Existing customers: Your existing settings for NotebookLM (on or off) will not change as part of this launch. Learn more about the available admin controls and our commitment to you in the Privacy Hub.
- End users: Visit the Help Center to learn more about Audio Overviews, NotebookLM and NotebookLM Plus.
Rollout pace
- Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains: Full rollout (1–3 days for feature visibility) starting on April 29, 2025
Availability
Audio Overviews in additional languages is available to NotebookLM users with the following Workspace editions:- Business Starter
- FrontlineStarter and Standard
- EssentialsStarter, Essentials, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Essentials Plus
- Nonprofits
- Education Fundamentals, Standard and Plus
Audio Overviews in additional languages is available to NotebookLM Plus users with the following Workspace editions:- Business Standard and Plus
- Enterprise Standard and Plus
- Customers with a Gemini Business*, Gemini Enterprise*, Gemini Education or Gemini Education Premium add-on *
*As of January 15, 2025, we’re no longer offering the Gemini Business and Gemini Enterprise add-ons for sale. Please refer to this announcement for more details.Resources
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Enhance Your Organization’s Security with Out-of-Domain File Warnings in Google Workspace
What’s changing
Today we’re launching Out-of-Domain file-level warnings, now publicly available to all Google Workspace users. Specifically, a badge will be displayed on Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides files when the file is owned by or shared with someone outside of your domain. You'll also see a pop-up with more details and the option to report the externally owned file for abuse.
Image of "External" badge displayed in Google DocsThis feature helps users identify potentially risky files and avoid phishing scams when working with files shared from outside your organization.
Additional details
- Known Limitations:
- For externally shared content, the badge will not be displayed if any internal Google Groups have access to the document, even if these groups have external members.
- If any service accounts have access to the document, the External badge will be displayed, even if the service account is owned internally.
Getting started
- Admins: This feature will be ON by default and can be disabled at the domain and organizational level. Visit the Help Center to learn more about turning Out-of-Domain Warnings on or off for your organization.
Image of the Google Workspace Admin console, Sharing settings, showing the "Highlight external files" option enabled- End users: This feature is ON by default unless otherwise configured by your admin. There is no end user setting for this feature. Visit the Help Center to learn more about Out-of-Domain file warnings.
Rollout pace
- Admin setting:
- Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains: The admin setting will start rolling out today, April 28, 2025, and continue over the next several days.
- End user visibility:
- Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains: End user visibility will begin on May 5, 2025 and is expected to take one week to complete.
Availability
- Available for all Google Workspace customers, as well as Cloud Identity customers
Resources
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Google Workspace Updates Weekly Recap - April 25, 2025
5 New updates
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.
New look for the Gmail mobile app on iOS devicesStarting this week, you’ll notice a refreshed look and feel for the Gmail mobile app on iOS devices that is in line with Google Material Design 3. This matches the experience on web and Android devices. | Rolling out now to Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains. | Available to Google Workspace customers, Google Workspace Individual subscribers, and users with personal Google accounts. | Visit the Help Center to learn more about the Gmail app.Introducing easier editing for objects and audio tracks in Google VidsFollowing the recently introduced looping animations feature in Google Vids, we’re excited to announce an additional update that improves the editing experience in Vids. Users can now control the height of the timeline, which helps a user easily view more objects when working on timing for individual scenes. | Rolling out now to Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains. | Available to Business Standard and Plus; Enterprise Standard and Plus; Essentials, Enterprise Essentials and Enterprise Essentials Plus; Education Plus; customers with the Gemini Education or Gemini Education Premium add-on, and anyone who previously purchased a Gemini Business or Gemini Enterprise add-on. | Visit the Help Center to learn more about controlling audio timing & transitions with audio tracks.Create birthdays in Google Calendar using iOS devicesLast year, we introduced the ability to create and modify birthday events in Google Calendar on Android devices. This week, we’re excited to announce these capabilities are now available on iOS devices as well. | Rolling out now to Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains. | Available to all Google Workspace customers, Workspace Individual Subscribers, and users with personal Google accounts. | Visit the Help Center to learn more about managing birthdays on your calendar.Generate and use images with Gemini in the side panel of Gmail on Android and iOS devicesBuilding upon the ability to generate images using Gemini in the side panel of Workspace apps on web, we’re excited to announce you can now generate images in Gmail on your mobile device. Once you select the image, you can then save it, copy it, or insert it into a compose draft. | Rolling out now to Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains on Android and iOS devices. | Available to Business Starter, Standard and Plus; Enterprise Starter, Standard and Plus; Google One AI Premium; customers with the Gemini Education or Gemini Education Premium add-on, and anyone who previously purchased a Gemini Business or Gemini Enterprise add-on. | Visit the Help Center to learn more about Gemini in Gmail.Introducing draggable dividers on large screen Android devicesWhen using the Gmail or Google Chat app on your large screen Android device, such as a tablet or foldable, you can now drag the divider that divides the list view and conversation view in the existing two pane layout. Draggable dividers enable you to pick between a one pane or two pane experience and allow you to control the width of each pane when in two pane mode. | Rollout to Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains is complete. | Available to all Google Workspace customers, Workspace Individual Subscribers, and users with personal Google accounts.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.Adding new capabilities to student groups in Google ClassroomWe’ve introduced improvements to student groups that enable teachers to email groups, sort by groups when grading on the Student work page and edit student groups when creating an assignment. | Learn more about student groups in Classroom.Introducing even more high-quality Google Slides templates to elevate your presentationsWe’ve introduced a second wave of templates that cater to a wide range of use cases such as business proposals, product pitches, marketing plans, quarterly reviews, team intros or celebrations, and more. | Learn more about templates in Slides.Data classifications labels for Gmail are now generally availableData classification labels are generally available, giving admins yet another way to enhance their security posture. | Learn more about Data classifications labels.Introducing Frontline Plus: Enhanced Security and AI features for Frontline WorkersWe’re expanding Google Workspace Frontline to include a new edition: Frontline Plus. | Learn more about Frontline Plus.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:- Available in open beta: Set up Single-Sign On with custom OpenID Connect profiles
- Pre-configure the Google Workspace apps admin setting for the Gemini app ahead of general availability
- Help me write in Gmail now available in Japanese and Korean (web only)
- Introducing the ability to grade and assign grading labels in bulk in Google Classroom
- Introducing Frontline Plus: Enhanced Security and AI features for Frontline Workers
- Adding new capabilities to student groups in Google Classroom
Rollout updates
Wehave changed the rollout timelines for this feature. Please refer to the original blog post for complete details.For a recap of announcements in the past six months, check out What’s new in Google Workspace (recent releases).
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Introducing Frontline Plus: Enhanced Security and AI features for Frontline Workers
What’s changing
We’re expanding Google Workspace Frontline to include a new edition: Frontline Plus. Building on the core Frontline offering, Frontline Plus includes our most advanced data protection and compliance controls, inline with features available in our Enterprise Plus plan. Further, Frontline Plus users will gain access to helpful Google AI capabilities including Gemini in Gmail, Google Chat, and Google Meet, AI classification in Drive, the Gemini app, and NotebookLM.Keep reading for more information on specific features. To learn more about Google Workspace Frontline, visit the Help Center or contact our Sales team. In line with the other Frontline editions, Frontline Plus is not available for self-service purchase.Who’s impacted
Admins and end usersWhy it matters
Today, our Frontline offerings open up communication and collaboration channels between frontline workers and corporate teams in a way that’s safe and secure. Frontline Plus layers on our comprehensive suite of security and admin controls, as well as providing frontline workers with useful AI features, including:Getting started
- Admins:
- Visit the Help Center to learn more about leveraging built-in Workspace data protection controls, such as AI classification, data loss prevention (DLP), information rights management (IRM), and client-side encryption (CSE), to help identify sensitive data, apply classification labels, and restrict access.
- If you have Business Starter and sign up for Frontline Plus, you can't manage shared drives. To continue to manage shared drives for your non-Frontline users, upgrade to a Business Standard or higher edition.
- End users:
- To get the most out of the AI features included with your Frontline Plus license:
- Visit our Gemini resources hub and download the Prompting 101 ebook for guidance on building effective AI prompts and real-world examples of how to use generative AI across various roles.
- Find tips on how to use generative AI at work in the Workspace Learning Center.
- Access our no-cost online learning courses and discover how Gemini can boost your productivity in Gmail, Chat, Meet, and more.
Availability
- Available everywhere Google Workspace is sold to Google Workspace customers with users who meet our Frontline edition eligibility requirements.
Resources
Google Workspace Admin Help: Frontline edition eligibility requirements
Google Workspace Learning Center: Generative AI training & help
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Data classifications labels for Gmail are now generally available
What’s changing
In 2024 we introduced data classification labels for email in open beta, and since then we’ve introduced several feature enhancements including:- Auto-classification labeling with data loss prevention (DLP) rules.
- Instant application of DLP rules and actions triggered by classification labels on the web.
- “Sensitive content snippets” for Gmail messages that trigger data loss prevention rules.
- Events related to labeling, like “label_applied” or “label_removed” are now included in audit logs, allowing admins to generate reports based on label values for further analysis.
- Support on Android and iOS devices.
Beginning today, we are pleased to announce that data classification labels are generally available, giving admins yet another way to enhance their security posture.Who’s impacted
Admins and end usersWhy it matters
Data breaches are increasingly common and costly across all organizations, including enterprises, public sectors, and government institutions. By extending data classification labels to Gmail, Google Workspace offers admins a more comprehensive and integrated system for protecting sensitive information.Admins can create custom labels or leverage existing Drive labels within Gmail, enabling classification of emails based on department, document type, sensitivity, and more. This allows for the creation of targeted data protection rules, such as blocking the sending of internal-labeled emails to external recipients or automatically applying a confidential label to messages containing sensitive financial data.The instant application of auto-classification and DLP rules in Gmail provides immediate feedback to users, educating them on data protection policies and allowing them to rectify issues before emails are sent, ultimately minimizing data breaches and improving overall data security.Finally,availability on mobile devices provides a comprehensive experience, ensuring data is protected and labeled across all user devices, whether users are sharing and accessing information from desktop devices or from mobile devices on-the-go.Additional details
To further enhance the data classification labels experience, instant application of DLP rules and actions triggered by classification labels will soon be generally available on mobile devices. We anticipate that this functionality will be available in May – we’ll share an update once we have more information.Getting started
- Admins:
- If you've been using classification labels since the open beta period, there are no changes to your experience.
- If you’re new to Gmail classification labels, they can be enabled at the domain, group level, or individual user level. You also have the option to enable existing classification labels used in Drive for use in Gmail. The Label Manager tool can be accessed by going to Security > Access and data control or admin.google.com/ac/dc/labels in the Admin console. Visit the Help Center to learn more about getting started with classification labels, Gmail DLP & automatic classification labels, and preventing data leaks in email and attachments.
The Label Manager tool can be accessed in the Admin console by going to Security > Access and data control- End users: Depending on the data loss prevention rules configured by your admin, you may see a dialog letting you know that your message cannot be shared and how to fix your message so it can safely be shared. Visit the Help Center to learn more about classification labels in Gmail.
Users can apply classification labels to a message, according to the organization’s data governance policiesRollout pace
- Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on April 23, 2025
Availability
The Label Manager and manual classification is available to Google Workspace:- Frontline Starter and Standard
- Business Standard and Plus
- Enterprise Standard and Plus
- Education Standard and Education Plus
- Essentials, Enterprise Essentials, and Enterprise Essentials Plus
Data loss prevention rules with labels as a condition or labels as an action are available to:- Enterprise Standard and Plus
- Education Fundamentals, Standard, Plus, and the Teaching & Learning Upgrade
- Frontline Standard
- Cloud Identity Premium (in combination with a Workspace Edition that includes Gmail)
Resources
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Introducing even more high-quality Google Slides templates to elevate your presentations
What’s changing
Last year, we released a collection of modern, professionally designed templates in Google Slides to help make it easier for users to build presentations. Today, we’re excited to introduce a second wave of templates that cater to a wide range of use cases such as business proposals, product pitches, marketing plans, quarterly reviews, team intros or celebrations, and more. These make it easier for you to get started building impactful presentations for collaborative teams, businesses, educational users, and more.Who’s impacted
End usersWhy you’d use it
Slides templates enable users to jumpstart their presentation creation, maintain a consistent look and feel, and focus on what matters most—your content. More specifically, they help users overcome the blank canvas and spend less time on design and instead, dive straight into crafting a compelling narrative that is visually cohesive and professional.Getting started
- Admins: This feature will be ON by default for domains that do not have default templates & themes turned ON. Domains that have default templates & themes turned ON, will continue to see their company specific template. Visit the Help Center to learn more about default templates & themes.
- End users:
- You can access templates via the new sidebar or by going to Insert > Templates. Once clicked, you can browse the collection, select a template that aligns with your vision and style, and choose to insert all slides or just the ones you need before personalizing the template with your own content.
- Note: This feature is only available for users using the "English (United States)" language setting. Visit the Help Center to learn more about updating your language.
- Visit the Help Center to learn more about templates in Google Slides.
Rollout pace
- Rapid Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on April 22, 2025
- Scheduled Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on May 6, 2025
Availability
- Available to all Google Workspace customers, Workspace Individual Subscribers, and users with personal Google accounts (using the "English (United States)" language setting)
Resources
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Adding new capabilities to student groups in Google Classroom
What’s changing
Last year, we introduced student groups in Google Classroom, a feature that enables teachers to create groups of students to make assigning differentiated content easier. As a result of this update, teachers can differentiate content across sub-sections of their class based on their students' needs. For example, teachers can create groups based on different reading levels and as their class adapts, they can edit members of a group or delete groups within their class.Today, we’re excited to announce improvements to student groups that enable teachers to:- Email groups, which is especially useful when educators want to communicate with a sub-section of their class.
- Sort by groups when grading on the Student work page. This makes it easier to grade more efficiently and understand student performance based on groups.
- Edit student groups when creating an assignment so that educators can quickly adapt instruction without having to go to the People page.
Getting started
- Admins:There is no admin control for this feature.
- End users:
- Group names and members are only visible to teachers or co-teachers, not students.
- Visit the Help Center to learn more about setting up and using student groups in Google Classroom.
Rollout pace
- Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on April 22, 2025
Availability
Available for Google Workspace:- Education Plus and the Teaching and Learning add-on
Resources
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Google Workspace Updates Weekly Recap - April 18, 2025
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.
Create custom chart groupings in Connected SheetsWe’re excited to announce that Connected Sheets users can now create custom groupings for numeric values in a chart. More specifically, users can control the minimum and maximum value of the buckets and the interval size of the bucket. We hope this improves upon the experience of using Connected Sheets to visualize a large amount of data. | Rolling out now to Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains. | Available to Google Workspace customers, Google Workspace Individual subscribers, and users with personal Google accounts. | Visit the Help Center to learn more about analyzing & refreshing BigQuery data in Google Sheets using Connected Sheets, Google Sheets limitations, and getting started with BigQuery data in Google Sheets.For a recap of announcements in the past six months, check out What’s new in Google Workspace (recent releases).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.Use Gemini in Google Classroom to generate questions or a quiz based on specific textWe're adding a text-dependent question generation tool to further our efforts for AI to help educators save time, create captivating learning experiences, and inspire creativity. | Learn more about text-dependent questions in Classroom.Google Docs code blocks now available in additional programming languagesWe’re adding support for additional code languages to give even more users the ability to easily visualize code, making more code readable and collaboration much easier. | Learn more about new programming languages for code blocks in Docs.Google Classroom is expanding to 7 additional languagesLast month, we announced the ability to use the Google Classroom mobile app in additional languages, and today we’re excited to announce the same languages are also now available with the web experience: Afrikaans, Assamese, Estonian, French Canadian, Icelandic, Kazakh and Swahili. | Learn more about new languages in Classroom.Introducing silent reading mode in Google Classroom’s Read AlongWe’re introducing a new feature that allows students to read a book in silent reading mode. | Learn more about silent reading mode.Control Workspace Business and Enterprise users’ access to new Google Workspace with Gemini features before general availabilityIn the coming weeks, Google Workspace Business and Enterprise admins will be able to turn on access to Workspace with Gemini alpha features for their users. Turning this on gives your users a head start on leveraging our latest AI features and the opportunity to provide Google with helpful feedback as we develop new features. | Learn more about access to new Gemini features before general availability.Introducing the ability to grade and assign grading labels in bulk in Google ClassroomTo further improve grading options for teachers using grading systems in Google Classroom, we recently introduced the ability to perform bulk grading via ‘grade all’. | Learn more about bulk grading in Classroom.Updates for configuring your preferred language for “Take notes for me”, recorded captions, and meeting transcriptsYou can now set your preferred language from the Calendar invite and during the meeting when using Google Meet on Android and iOS devices. | Learn more about preferred languages in Meet.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.Rapid Release Domains:Rapid and Scheduled Release Domains:- Quickly add events to Google Calendar based on your emails with Gemini in Gmail
- Introducing updates to sources for NotebookLM and NotebookLM Plus
- Help me write in Google Docs now available in four additional languages
- Preview summaries in the Google Chat home view now available in three additional languages
- Deep Research is now available on Gemini 2.5 Pro Experimental
- Use Gemini in Google Classroom to generate questions or a quiz based on specific text
- Introducing silent reading mode in Google Classroom’s Read Along