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Google Workspace Updates

This official feed from the Google Workspace team provides essential information about new features and improvements for Google Workspace customers.

  • Prepare for the SAT with full-length practice tests in Gemini

    What’s changing

    Standardized tests are often a critical component of the college application process. To support high school and college prep students during these critical milestones, we’re launching practice tests in Gemini: full-length, on-demand practice exams available at no cost. Available now, practice tests support the SAT to start, with more tests coming in the future. To try it out, tell Gemini, “I want to take a practice SAT test”. 


    To ensure they prepare you for the actual exam, we have grounded practice tests in rigorously vetted content from leading education companies like The Princeton Review, to build a best in class experience for learners coming to Gemini. This helps ensure that you’re not just practicing — you’re preparing with material that more closely resembles what you’ll see on test day.

    When you complete a practice test in Gemini, you’ll receive immediate feedback highlighting where you excelled and where you might need to study more. For anything you don’t understand, you can ask Gemini to explain the correct answer. By helping you identify specific knowledge gaps, Gemini empowers you to turn those insights into action — creating a customized study plan that can help you walk into your exam with confidence. 

    Whether you are preparing for the SAT for the first time or you’re planning to retake the exam soon, Gemini is ready to help you take the next step in your educational journey.

    Getting started

    • Admins:Access to the Gemini app and its features can be enabled or disabled for your users at the organizational unit (OU) or group level. Visit the Help Center to learn more.
    • End users: End users of all ages who have access to the Gemini app will receive access to Practice tests automatically. To get started, try telling Gemini, “I want to take an SAT practice test.”

    Rollout pace

    Availability

    • Available to all Google Workspace customers, Workspace Individual subscribers, and users with personal Google accounts who are signed in to the Gemini app

    Resources

  • Google Workspace Updates Weekly Recap - January 23, 2026

    A summary of announcements from the last week:

    The announcements below were published on the Workspace Updates blog over the last week. Please refer to the original blog posts for complete details.

    Automatic addition of owned secondary calendars to your calendar list

    Following our recent announcement regarding the improvements on secondary calendar management with dedicated owners, all secondary calendars you own will consistently be displayed in your calendar list in Google Calendar. Your calendar list is visible in your Calendar settings page. | Learn more about the automatic addition of owned secondary calendars to your calendar list.

    Neat now a certified Google Meet hardware partner

    Google Meet is committed to helping organizations bridge the gap between distributed teams with hardware that is easy to deploy, manage, and use. Today, we’re excited to announce that Neat has joined the Google Meet hardware ecosystem as a certified partner, bringing more variety and specialized video conferencing technology to Google Workspace customers. | Learn more about Neat, now a certified Google Meet hardware partner.

    Forward messages in Google Chat

    To make it easier to share information across different conversations, we’re introducing the ability to forward messages in Google Chat. This new feature  eliminates the need for manual workarounds such as  copying and pasting text or sharing screenshots. | Learn more about forwarding messages in Google Chat.

    View Google Meet usage metrics in Gemini reports dashboard

    Admins can now access usage metrics for Google Meet within the organization-level Gemini reports dashboard, in the “Gemini usage per interaction” section. This update gives you visibility into the value your organization derives from Gemini in Meet. | Learn more about viewing Google Meet usage metrics in the Gemini reports dashboard.

    Granular OAuth consent in Google Chat apps

    We recently announced that Chat apps built as Google Workspace add-ons using Apps Script would begin supporting a more granular OAuth consent screen this month. OAuth consent is needed by an app when the app is accessing user data or performing actions on a user’s behalf. | Learn more about granular OAuth consent in Google Chat apps.

    Ask Gemini in Google Meet is expanding to Workspace Business Standard customers, additional languages, and mobile usage

    In September 2025, we launched Ask Gemini in Meet, which brings the power of Gemini into your organization’s meetings. Today, we’re excited to announce we’re making the feature more broadly available to. | Learn more about how Ask Gemini in Google Meet is expanding to Workspace Business Standard customers, additional languages, and mobile usage.

    Styled captions in Google Vids

    Google Vids is an AI-powered video creation app for work, designed to help anyone become a great storyteller. It now allows users to create styled, animated captions that synchronize with audio and media elements. These captions act as a helpful visual guide, improving video comprehension and making content easier for viewers to track. | Learn more about styled captions in Google Vids.

  • Styled captions in Google Vids

    Google Vids is an AI-powered video creation app for work, designed to help anyone become a great storyteller. It now allows users to create styled, animated captions that synchronize with audio and media elements. These captions act as a helpful visual guide, improving video comprehension and making content easier for viewers to track. If there are spelling or grammar errors within the styled captions, users can edit and correct the captions.

    GIF showing a video of a woman speaking with styled captions

    Example video with styled captions

    GIF showing how to access styled captions in the righthand menu in Vids

    Access styled captions in the right rail

    Captions are supported in the following languages: English, Arabic, Czech, Mandarin Chinese, German, Greek, Spanish, Finnish, Filipino, French, Hindi, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Hebrew, Japanese, Korean, Malay, Dutch, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Swedish, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, Vietnamese, and Chinese.

    Getting started

    Rollout pace

    Availability

    Available for Google Workspace:

    • Business Starter, Standard, and Plus
    • Enterprise Starter, Standard, and Plus
    • Essentials Starter, Enterprise Essentials, and Enterprise Essentials Plus
    • Frontline Starter, Standard, and Plus
    • Education Fundamentals, Standard, Plus, the Teaching and Learning add-on, and the Endpoint Education add-on
    • Nonprofits
    • Individual
    Also available to:

    • Google AI Pro and Ultra
    • Google AI Pro for Education add-on

    Resources

  • Ask Gemini in Google Meet is expanding to Workspace Business Standard customers, additional languages, and mobile usage

    In September 2025, we launched Ask Gemini in Meet, which brings the power of Gemini into your organization’s meetings. Today, we’re excited to announce we’re making the feature more broadly available to:

    • Workspace Business Standard customers- Ask Gemini in Meet is currently available to Enterprise customers, and starting in late January, the experience will become available to Business Standard domains as well.
    • An additional seven languages - Ask Gemini in Meet is currently available in English only. Beginning in early February, it will become available in French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, and Spanish. The feature supports one language at a time; multiple languages spoken in the same meeting aren't currently supported. More languages will become available in the future.
    • Users on mobile - Also starting in February, Ask Gemini in Meet will become available on the Google Meet mobile app. To access it, tap on the Gemini icon in the top right corner during a meeting.
    As a reminder, you use Ask Gemini in Meet to:

    • Get a quick brief on the goals and topics for the meeting you’re in
    • List key takeaways, decisions, and action items mentioned in the meeting
    • Catch up on what you missed if you joined late (as long as Take Notes for Me was enabled)

    Getting started

    Rollout pace

    • Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains
      • Expansion to Business Standard: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on January 26, 2026
      • Additional seven languages: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on February 2, 2026
      • Meet mobile app: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on February 9, 2026

  • Granular OAuth consent in Google Chat apps

    What’s changing

    We recently announced that Chat apps built as Google Workspace add-ons using Apps Script would begin supporting a more granular OAuth consent screen this month. OAuth consent is needed by an app when the app is accessing user data or performing actions on a user’s behalf. With this new feature, users can now choose the specific data that the app can access.

    Building on the previous update, we’re introducing this granular OAuth consent for all types of Chat apps using Apps Script, not just those built as Workspace add-ons, starting on January 20, 2026. Please refer to our developer documentation for more details.


    A user can now choose the specific data that the app is allowed to access.

    Getting started

    • Admins: There is no admin control for this feature.
    • Developers and end users: This new consent screen will only be used for new OAuth scope grants. Pre-existing scope grants will not be affected, so no action is required by users on Chat apps they’ve already authorized. Developers should review the developer documentation to learn how to handle granular consent for Google Chat apps.

    Rollout pace

    Availability

    • All Google Workspace customers, Workspace Individual subscribers, and users with personal Google accounts can use Chat apps
    • All Google Workspace customers can develop Chat apps

  • View Google Meet usage metrics in Gemini reports dashboard

    Admins can now access usage metrics for Google Meet within the organization-level Gemini reports dashboard, in the “Gemini usage per interaction” section. This update gives you visibility into the value your organization derives from Gemini in Meet.

    Specifically, the reported metrics include:

    • Usage: The number of times where Gemini was actively used in meetings, such as usage for features like “Take notes for me” or “Ask Gemini in Meet”
    • Users: The number of unique users who actively used Gemini in meetings
    Visit the Help Center for more information on active usage.


    This update also ensures greater accuracy in active usage metrics for Google Meet. Given this, you may see updated metrics reported for 28D active users and overall usage of Meet. 

    Getting started

    • Admins: There is no admin control for this feature. Visit the Help Center to learn more about Gemini reports.
    • End users: There is no end user impact or action required.

    Rollout pace

    Availability

    Available for Google Workspace:

    • Business Starter, Standard, and Plus
    • Enterprise Starter, Standard, and Plus
    • Essentials Starter, Enterprise Essentials, and Enterprise Essentials Plus
    • Frontline Starter, Standard, Plus
    • Individual
    Also available to: 

    • Google AI Pro and Ultra
    • Google AI Ultra for Business add-on
    • Google AI Pro for Education add-on

  • Forward messages in Google Chat

    To make it easier to share information across different conversations, we’re introducing the ability to forward messages in Google Chat. This new feature  eliminates the need for manual workarounds such as  copying and pasting text or sharing screenshots.

    This feature helps improve team collaboration through: 

    • Simplified sharing: Users can quickly share information between various direct messages and spaces, without clunky workflows.
    • Context preservation: Forwarded messages display the original sender, source, and any attachments instantly; recipients can view this content even if they are not members of the original conversation.
    • Enhanced visibility: Messages forwarded from a thread can be moved into the main conversation stream, ensuring they get necessary attention.



    At this time, users cannot forward messages:

    • From entirely internal conversations to conversations that include users from other organizations, and
    • From conversations that include users from external organizations to other conversations that include users from external organizations
    Users can, however, forward messages from conversations with people outside their organization to conversations entirely with people inside their organization.
    Note that when users forward a message from a DM or group DM, a reminder to protect sensitive information will appear.

    Getting started

    • Admins: There is no admin control for this feature.
    • End users: To forward a message, select "Forward message" from the message action list and choose your target conversation. Visit the Help Center to learn more about message forwarding in Chat.

    Rollout pace

    Availability

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

    Resources

  • Increasing flexibility when rebooting Google Meet hardware with "Reboot when idle"

    What’s changing

    We’re introducing more flexible control for administrators to reboot Google Meet hardware devices from the Admin console.

    Previously, admins could only trigger an immediate reboot, which required careful timing to avoid disrupting ongoing meetings or device activity. Going forward, we are adding a “Reboot when idle” option. This feature gives admins the ability to reboot devices without worrying about interrupting users, as the system intelligently waits for the device to become inactive before initiating the restart.

    The device is considered “in use” if it is:

    • Connected to a Google Meet, interoperability, or livestream call.
    • Presenting content via HDMI.
    • Engaged in an add-on activity (e.g., a whiteboard session).
    Admins will now see two options when initiating a reboot:

    • Reboot when the device becomes idle: Queues the reboot to occur only when all user activity has ceased.
    • Reboot now, even if the device is in use: Forces an immediate reboot, overriding current activities.

    Admins can now choose to wait for device inactivity before rebooting.

    Getting started

    Rollout pace

    Availability

    • Available to all Google Workspace customers with Google Meet hardware devices

    Resources

  • Neat now a certified Google Meet hardware partner

    Google Meet is committed to helping organizations bridge the gap between distributed teams with hardware that is easy to deploy, manage, and use. Today, we’re excited to announce that Neat has joined the Google Meet hardware ecosystem as a certified partner, bringing more variety and specialized video conferencing technology to Google Workspace customers. Newly certified devices include:

    • Neat Bar Generation 2: A compact, all-in-one device optimized for huddle spaces and small to medium rooms
    • Neat Bar Pro: A high-performance solution for larger spaces, supporting multiple screens and advanced zoom capabilities
    • Neat Pad: A dedicated touch screen that serves as both a meeting controller and a room scheduling display
    This new partnership expands our portfolio of certified devices, ensuring that IT teams have the flexibility to choose the hardware that best fits their unique office layouts while maintaining the native Google Meet experience users expect.

    Getting started

    • Admins: Administrators do not need to take any action. If a Neat Bar Generation 2, Neat Bar Pro, or Neat Pad have been set up, it will automatically appear as a supported device within the admin console. Furthermore, these Neat devices will provide the same level of telemetry data as other AOSP-certified hardware.

    Rollout pace

    Availability

    • Available to all Google Workspace customers with Google Meet hardware devices. Neat devices certified for Google Meet are available for purchase through Neat’s global sales channels and authorized resellers.

    Resources

  • Automatic addition of owned secondary calendars to your calendar list

    Following our recent announcement regarding the improvements on secondary calendar management with dedicated owners, all secondary calendars you own will consistently be displayed in your calendar list in Google Calendar. Your calendar list is visible in your Calendar settings page. This change ensures that owners always have direct access to manage the settings, sharing permissions, and lifecycle of the calendars they are responsible for. 

    Additional details

    Owners can always access and manage their calendars through the Settings page, with the flexibility to pin them to their main view by selecting “Show in calendar list.” If you no longer wish to manage a specific calendar, you have the option to either delete it permanently for all subscribers or transfer ownership to someone else—allowing you to unsubscribe while ensuring the calendar remains active for the rest of the team.

    To ensure a reliable product experience, we recommend limiting ownership to a maximum of 100 calendars per user. For accounts currently exceeding this threshold, calendars will be added to their list gradually to ensure stability and a smooth transition. For such cases we highly encourage you to review the calendar list and either delete or transfer any calendars beyond the 100-calendar limit.

    If you use Apple Calendar to manage your Google Calendar, owned calendars may not sync automatically. To ensure they appear in your list, you can manually select and enable synchronization for specific calendars on this page.

    Getting started

    • Admins: No action is required. This update will apply by default to all users.
    • End users: Users will see any previously missing owned calendars appear in their Calendar settings list starting on the dates listed below. For more information on managing these calendars, visit the Help Center. If you use Google Calendar with Apple Calendar, manage your sync preferences at calendar.google.com/calendar/syncselect.

    Rollout pace

    • Users with personal Google accounts: Extended rollout (potentially longer than 15 days for feature visibility) starting on January 19, 2026
    • Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains: Extended rollout (potentially longer than 15 days for feature visibility) starting on January 27, 2026

    Availability

    • Impacts all Google Workspace customers and users with personal Google accounts