G Suite Updates

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

  1. Add personal tasks from Google Chat

    What’s changing

    In Google Chat, you can now create personal tasks from individual or group messages. These will then be viewable by you in Google Tasks, the quick-access side panel, and Google Calendar if the task has a set date.

    add-personal-tasks-from-google-chat


    Who’s impacted 

    End users 



    Why you’d use it 


    This feature allows you to more easily stay on top of tasks that come out of conversations with your coworkers via Chat. Once you’ve created a personal task, you can add a due date and description, then quickly navigate back to the conversation. 



    Getting started 

    • Admins:There is no admin control for this feature. 
    • End users: Visit the Help Center to learn more about adding or editing a task. 


    Rollout pace 


    Android & Web: 

    iOS: 
    • We anticipate this feature to be available for iOS in the coming months—we will provide an update on the Workspace Updates Blog once available. 


    Availability 

    • Available to all Google Workspace customers, as well as legacy G Suite Basic and Business customers 


    Resources 

  2. Send group membership information in outbound SAML responses

    Quick launch summary 

    We’re adding the ability for admins to configure and send group membership information as part of SAML responses. 


    Currently, you are able to configure SSO to send user attributes in the SAML response when a user logs in to an app using SAML SSO. With this launch, admins can configure SSO to send group membership information to the application. Apps can then use these attributes to assess user authorization and to implement other business logic. 

    Getting started 






    Rollout pace 


    Availability 

    • Available to all Google Workspace customers, as well as legacy G Suite Basic and Business customers and Cloud Identity customers 

    Resources 

  3. Google Workspace Updates Weekly Recap - May 20, 2022

    New updates 


    There are no new updates to share this week. Please see below for a recap of published announcements. 


    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.



    Migrate your classic Google Sites before December 1, 2022 
    We’re extending the previously announced timeline to give Google Workspace customers more time to migrate from classic Google Sites to new Google Sites: 
    • Starting December 1, 2022 (previously June 1, 2022), you will no longer be able to edit any remaining classic Sites in your domain. 
    • Starting January 1, 2023 (previously July 1, 2022), Classic Sites will no longer be viewable unless they are converted to new Google Sites. 
    Learn more here and here. 


    New and updated third-party DevOps integrations for Google Chat, including PagerDuty 
    There are now a variety of additional DevOps integrations that allow you to act on common workflows directly in Google Chat. | Learn more. 


    Export log data in near-real time to BigQuery
    Exported log data streams are now in near-real time (under 10 minutes), improving upon the previous process which returned log data that could be up to three days old. | Learn more here and here. 


    AppSheet Enterprise Standard and Enterprise Plus available as add-ons to Google Workspace editions
    Google Workspace customers can now purchase AppSheet Enterprise Standard and Enterprise Plus as add-ons by contacting their Google Cloud sales representative or through the Google Workspace Partner network. | Learn more. 


    Use Connected Sheets with VPC-SC protected data, improved Cloud Audit Logs for Connected Sheets events 
    BigQuery datasets that are behind a perimeter created by VPC Service Controls can now be accessed using Connected Sheets. We’ve also made improvements to the Connected Sheets logging in the Cloud Audit Logs. | Learn more. 


    New banners in Google Chat protect against malicious links 
    In Google Chat, you can now see banners warning against potential phishing and malware messages coming from users with personal Google Accounts to help protect users against malicious actors, keeping data safe. | Learn more. 


    For a recap of announcements in the past six months, check out What’s new in Google Workspace (recent releases).

  4. New banners in Google Chat protect against malicious links

    Quick summary 

    In Google Chat, you’ll see banners warning against potential phishing and malware messages coming from users with personal Google Accounts. These warning banners, which are already available in Gmail and Google Drive, help protect users against malicious actors, keeping data safe. 





    Additional details 

    In Gmail, warning banners are displayed when responding to emails sent from outside of your organization. Now, Android warning banners are also displayed as you add new external recipients. Admins can turn these specific warning labels on or off for their organization. 


    Getting started 


    Rollout pace 


    Availability 

    • Available to all Google Workspace customers, as well as legacy G Suite Basic and Business customers 
    • Available to users with personal Google Accounts 

    Resources 

  5. Use Connected Sheets with VPC-SC protected data, improved Cloud Audit Logs for Connected Sheets events

    What’s changing 

    BigQuery datasets that are behind a perimeter created by VPC Service Controls can now be accessed using Connected Sheets. 


    We’ve also made improvements to the Connected Sheets logging in the Cloud Audit Logs. See the “Additional details” section below for more information. 


    Who’s impacted 

    Admins and end users 



    Why you’d use it 

    This change gives VPC Service Controls Admins and Editors the ability to allow members of your organization to access, collaborate on, and generate insights from VPC Service Controls protected data via Connected Sheets. 



    Additional details 

    By default, Connected Sheets cannot access BigQuery data that is protected by VPC Service Controls; however, VPC Service Controls perimeters can now be configured to allow queries issued through Connected Sheets to succeed. This configuration can only be changed by VPC Service Controls Admins and Editors. 



    Improved Connected Sheets logging 
    Whenever BigQuery data is accessed in Connected Sheets, entries are recorded for who accessed the data and when in Cloud Audit Logs. 


    Now, the Cloud Audit Logs additionally includes the ID of the spreadsheet that generates the BigQuery data access. Every spreadsheet has a unique ID containing letters, numbers, hyphens, or underscores, which can be found in the Google Sheets URL. Use this documentation to learn more about where to find this additional information in the Cloud Audit Logs. 


    Getting started 


    Rollout pace 


    Availability 

    • Available to all Google Workspace customers 
    • Available to users with personal Google Accounts 
    • Not available to legacy G Suite Basic and Business customers

    Resources 

  6. AppSheet Enterprise Standard and Enterprise Plus available as add-ons to Google Workspace editions

    Quick summary 

    Google Workspace customers can now purchase AppSheet Enterprise Standard and Enterprise Plus as add-ons by contacting their Google Cloud sales representative or through the Google Workspace Partner network. 


    AppSheet allows users to maximize Google Workspace by building custom applications on top of Google Workspace and other services in their environment, all without writing any code. With AppSheet Enterprise, customers can enable advanced scenarios, adding advanced connectivity, more scale, and strengthened governance.


    Getting started



    Availability

    • Available to Google Workspace Essentials, Business Starter, Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Starter, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Fundamentals, Education Plus, the Teaching and Learning Upgrade, Frontline, and Nonprofits, as well as legacy G Suite Basic and Business customers.

    Resources

  7. Export log data in near-real time to BigQuery

    Quick summary 

    Currently, you can export Google Workspace logs to Google BigQuery for customized and scalable reporting. Exports take place as a daily sync, returning log data that can be up to three days old. With this launch, exported log data streams will be near-real time (under 10 minutes), ensuring fresh data for your export. This helps you stay on top of security threats and analysis with the most up-to-date activity log data. 



    Stream activity log data in near-real time when using BigQuery export




    Getting started 


    Rollout pace 


    Availability 

    • Available to Google Workspace Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Standard, and Education Plus Not available to Google Workspace Essentials, Business Starter, Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Education Fundamentals, Frontline, and Nonprofits, as well as legacy G Suite Basic and Business customers 
    • Not available to users with personal Google Accounts 

    Resources 

  8. New and updated third-party DevOps integrations for Google Chat, including PagerDuty

    What’s changing

    We’re introducing and updating a variety of additional DevOps integrations, which will allow you to take action on common workflows directly in Google Chat: 

    • Apps such as Google Cloud Build, Asana, GitHub, Jenkins and more, have been updated with new functionality: 
      • Using Slash commands for quick actions such as creating a new Asana task or triggering a build in Jenkins or Google Cloud Build. 
      • Ability to use Dialogs for important flows such as setting up the app, or entering detailed info such as creating a GitHub issue. 
    • Operations and incident response professionals can use the new PagerDuty integration to take action on PagerDuty incidents from Chat. From Chat, you’ll be able to: 
    • Receive notifications of PagerDuty incidents right from Google Chat. 
    • Take action, including acknowledging and resolving incidents without leaving the conversation. 



    You can find these integrations and a complete list of other Google-developed Chat apps here. 


    Who’s impacted 

    Admins and end users 


    Why you’d use them 

    We hope these additional third-party integrations within Chat help you collaborate and get work done faster by eliminating the need to switch between various apps and browser tabs. 


    Additional details 

    We plan to introduce the ability to create dedicated spaces to collaborate with teammates on important incidents to resolve them quickly, with the right people. We will provide an update on the Workspace Updates blog when that functionality becomes available. 


    Getting started 


    Rollout pace 


    Availability 

    • Available to Google Workspace customers, as well as legacy G Suite Basic and Business customers 

    Resources 

  9. Migrate your classic Google Sites before December 1, 2022

    Quick summary 

    We’re extending the previously announced timeline to give Google Workspace customers more time to migrate from classic Google Sites to new Google Sites. The new timeline is: 
    • Starting December 1, 2022 (previously June 1, 2022): You will no longer be able to edit any remaining classic Sites in your domain. 
    • Starting January 1, 2023 (previously July 1, 2022): Classic Sites will no longer be viewable unless they are converted to new Google Sites. 

    To ensure a smooth transition and access to new Sites functionalities, end users and admins are encouraged to use the Classic Sites Manager to complete migration and convert individual classic Sites to new Google Sites before December 1, 2022. 


    After January 1, 2023, we will replace each remaining classic Site with a Takeout archive and will attempt to convert each classic Site to a new Site. Review your domain’s settings prior to January 1, 2023 to ensure a successful migration. 


    You will be notified once all the sites on your domain have been migrated. This may take multiple months for your domain, depending on the number and complexity of your sites. In the meantime, you can check the status of your sites in the Classic Sites Manager. After migration, your classic Sites will no longer be available.

    Getting started



    • To ensure a smooth transition, we recommend the following best practices when migrating your sites:
    • Note that the timeline for this transition is different for users with personal Google accounts — see this article in the Help Center for more information. There are no changes to the timeline for users with personal Google accounts.

  10. Google Workspace Updates Weekly Recap - May 13, 2022

    New updates 

    Unless otherwise indicated, the features below are fully launched or in the process of rolling out (rollouts should take no more than 15 business days to complete), 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), and available to all legacy Google Workspace and G Suite customers. 


    New idle status in Google Chat 
    In Google Chat on web and Chat in Gmail, you'll see an orange clock badge for users that were recently active in Chat, but aren't currently active. We hope this makes it easier to determine the best time to connect with your colleagues. Visit the Help Center to learn more about availability statuses in Google Chat. 





    Changes to the default Host Management controls in Google Meet for users with personal accounts 
    The default setting for Host Management controls is changing for users with personal Google accounts. Previously, Host Management controls were ON by default — going forward, this setting will be OFF by default for new meetings. There are no changes to the behavior for Google Workspace customers or Google Workspace Individual users.



    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.


    Improved user interface for sharing your working location in Google Calendar
    This update improves the working location feature by offering the same functionality for easily entering and updating location information in a more compact format that uses screen space more efficiently. | Learn more here and here. 

    Available to Google Workspace Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Plus, and Nonprofits, as well as G Suite Business customers. 


    Easily search for Google Meet content in Google Drive
    In Google Drive, you can now use app:”Google Meet” to easily find and organize Meet content such as Meet recordings, meeting transcripts, and more. | Learn more.


    Import existing custom themes to new Google Sites
    You can now import a custom theme from one new Google Site to another. | Learn more.


    Create Spaces and Add Members with the Google Chat API, available in Developer Preview
    Using the Google Chat API, you can now programmatically create new Spaces and add members to those Spaces. This functionality is available in preview – developers can apply for access through our Google Workspace Developer Preview Program. | Learn more.


    Require email verification to book appointments in Google Calendar
    When using appointment scheduling in Google Calendar, you can now opt to have users verify their email before booking an appointment. When enabled, the user must be signed into a Google account or validate their email address using a PIN code to complete the booking. | Learn more.

    Available to Google Workspace Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Fundamentals, Education Standard, Education Plus, the Teaching and Learning Upgrade, and Nonprofits customers.


    New delegated VirusTotal privilege in the Alert Center
    In 2021, we announced an integration between the Alert Center and VirusTotal. At that time, any admin who had the Alert Center privilege could access all VirusTotal reports. Now, we’ve added the ability for admins to control who can view VirusTotal reports. | Learn more.

    Available for Google Workspace Business Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Standard and Education Plus.


    Set up SSO profiles for multiple third-party identity providers with the Multi-IdP SSO beta launch
    You can further customize authentication by setting up single sign-on (SSO) profiles for multiple identity providers and then configuring authentication for each group or OU. This feature is available beginning today as an open beta, which means you can use it without enrolling in a specific beta program. | Learn more.


    For a recap of announcements in the past six months, check out What’s new in Google Workspace (recent releases).