This official feed from the Google Workspace team provides essential information about new features and improvements for Google Workspace customers.
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Prepare for the SAT with full-length practice tests in Gemini

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. | Learn more about preparing for the SAT with full-length practice tests in Gemini.

New admin controls for "Take notes for me" sharing settings in Google Meet

We are introducing two new admin settings to give you more control over how meeting notes generated by "Take notes for me" are shared within your organization. These settings allow you to: Set a default sharing value: Choose who should receive access to the Take notes for me document and the recap email by default. | Learn more about new admin controls for the 'Take notes for me' sharing settings in Google Meet.

Better time suggestions for meeting with your colleagues using Gemini in Google Calendar

Google Calendar now uses Gemini to find the perfect meeting time faster. Whether scheduling or rescheduling, it analyzes colleagues’ availability, time zones, and conflicts to suggest the best options automatically. | Learn more about improved time suggestions for meeting with your colleagues using Gemini in Google Calendar.

Take your notebooks further by adding NotebookLM as a source in the Gemini app

Starting today, Workspace users can now add notebooks from NotebookLM as a source in the Gemini app. This will provide deeper, more relevant responses that are grounded in the sources in your notebook. | Learn more about taking your notebooks further by adding NotebookLM as a source in the Gemini app.

Calendar event color labels now also accessible to users with “Make changes to events” permission

Google Calendar offers event color labels for events on your primary calendar, which help users to visually organize their meetings and categorize them with Time Insights. Currently, color labels are only visible to users who have “Make changes to events and manage sharing” permissions for a primary calendar. | Learn more about how Calendar event color labels are now also accessible to users with 'Make changes to events' permission.

Record audio, video, and screencasts directly in Google Classroom

Starting today, we're bringing audio, video, and screencast recording functionality to Google Classroom. This new functionality is designed to help transform teaching and learning through multimodality, improving communication, intake, and retention for learners. | Learn more about recording audio, video, and screencasts directly in Google Classroom.

All Google Forms will now have granular controls over who can respond

We’re excited to announce that we will now automatically upgrade all existing forms to have granular controls over who can respond. When forms are upgraded, all users who could previously respond to the form will continue to be able to respond. | Learn more about how all Google Forms will now have granular controls over who can respond.

The announcements above were published on the Workspace Updates blog over the last week. Please refer to the original blog posts for complete details.
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Last year, we announced that form creators can upgrade their existing forms to have granular controls over who can respond to those forms via sharing settings.  Specifically, 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 files in Drive. 

We’re excited to announce that we will now automatically upgrade all existing forms to have granular controls over who can respond. This automatic upgrade will not change who can access or respond to the form. Once the upgrade is complete, form creators can make changes to who can respond using the new granular controls, if desired. The form will remain available to receive new responses while it is being upgraded. Admins may see Drive log entries for forms we upgrade, indicating that we've changed its "publish status.”


Form creators can control who can respond to existing forms by sharing to specific users or groups

Getting started

  • Admins:  There is no admin control for this feature.
  • End users: Form creators can share their forms with specific individuals or groups. Visit Help Center to learn more.

Rollout pace

Availability

  • Available to all Google Workspace customers, Workspace Individual subscribers, and users with personal Google accounts
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Starting today, we're bringing audio, video, and screencast recording functionality to Google Classroom. This new functionality is designed to help transform teaching and learning through multimodality, improving communication, intake, and retention for learners.

Now, teachers and students (when permitted) will see a record button where they can initiate, record, and post audio, video, or screencasts without ever leaving Classroom.

This new recording feature will be available in several key areas:

  • Private comments: Teachers can provide personalized, faster, and friendlier feedback to students on their submissions. For example, teachers helping students with language acquisition can share pronunciation and fluency feedback, and educators of technical subjects can walk students through complex material line-by-line using their voice and screen.
  • Announcements and posts: Teachers can record audio and/or video announcements to improve engagement and connection with students. Students can also use this recording option for announcements if allowed by the teacher's controls.
  • Assignments: Teachers can record instructions for assignments, quiz assignments, materials, and questions, boosting clarity through multimodal instruction. This helps provide a pathway for every student to access instructions and content.
  • Submissions: Students can record and submit multimodal responses to assignments, quiz assignments, and questions. This allows students to show what they know in multiple and accessible ways, which can help close learning gaps and check student understanding in new ways.
This update integrates audio, video, and screencast recording directly into Classroom workflows. 

For teachers, this feature can help solve pain points like the time-consuming task of typing up feedback and a lack of personalization in typed messages, allowing them to leave feedback that is faster and more impactful. For students, it can help improve the comprehension and digestibility of feedback and helps them feel more connected and motivated. Ultimately, audio, video, and screen recording in Classroom enhances communication for real improvements to teaching and learning.

Getting started

  • Admins: There is no admin control for this feature.
  • End users: Students must have permission to post in Google Classroom in order to use this feature for announcements and posts. Visit the Help Center to learn more. Teachers and students will be able to initiate audio, video, and screencast recording in Google Classroom on web only.

Rollout pace

Availability

  • Google Workspace Education Plus and the Teaching and Learning add-on
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Google Calendar offers event color labels for events on your primary calendar, which help users to visually organize their meetings and categorize them with Time Insights. Currently, color labels are only visible to users who have “Make changes to events and manage sharing” permissions for a primary calendar. 

Starting February 27, 2026, we are expanding this to include users who have  “Make changes to events” permissions. Currently, these users are only able to see the colors, not the labels — which made color categorizing events harder.

Getting started

  • Admins: There is no additional admin control for this feature.
  • End users: There is no end user setting for this feature. Visit the Help Center to learn more.

Rollout pace

Availability

  • Business Standard, Plus
  • Enterprise Starter, Standard, and Plus
  • Education Fundamentals, Standard, Plus
  • Nonprofits
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Starting today, Workspace users can now add notebooks from NotebookLM as a source in the Gemini app. This will provide deeper, more relevant responses that are grounded in the sources in your notebook. This functionality is already available to consumers, and we’re excited to share that it is now expanding to Enterprise and Education users of all ages. 

NotebookLM is a powerful tool for synthesizing information from vast document collections, including PDFs, Google Docs, and more, all with clear, citable sources. By adding notebooks directly into Gemini, users can seamlessly build upon this deep, specific knowledge base and get more relevant responses with the full power of Gemini’s advanced conversational and content-creation capabilities.

Try asking Gemini to:

  • Create content based on your notebook
  • Add a notebook to a Gem 
  • Use other Gemini tools (like Canvas, Veo, Guided Learning, or Deep Research) based on the contents of your notebook



Getting started

Admins: Notebooks as a source within Gemini is determined by the NotebookLM service setting within the Admin Console and is not controlled by the Gemini app service setting. NotebookLM must be turned on in order for end users to access this feature in Gemini. Visit the Help Center to learn more. 

  • Note: When using NotebookLM features within the Gemini app, that usage is subject to NotebookLM's compliance certifications. These may differ from the certifications held by the Gemini app. Please review the specific compliance certifications for both NotebookLM and Gemini to understand the coverage for your organization. Learn more in the Generative AI in Google Workspace Privacy Hub.
End users: Add your NotebookLM notebook(s) to a chat in Gemini by selecting NotebookLM via the “+” button in the prompt box. Users must have access to NotebookLM turned on by their admin to access this feature. Visit the Help Center to learn more.

Rollout pace

Availability

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

Resources

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Users now have an even faster way to choose the best time to meet with their colleagues using Google Calendar.

Whether you’re creating a new meeting or need to move an existing one, Gemini helps you identify the best times to meet by analyzing your colleagues’ availability—including time zones, working hours, and existing conflicts—to suggest the best options for everyone if you have access to their calendar.

When creating a meeting, click Suggested times and let Gemini suggest the best times to meet your colleagues. Then, you can quickly review and select the most suitable time slot.

For meeting organizers, if multiple attendees decline your invite, we’re also making it easier to reschedule your meeting. When you open the event, you’ll see a banner with a time when everyone is available, letting you update the invite with the click of a button.



Suggested meeting times in Google Calendar

Getting started

Rollout pace

Availability

  • Business Standard and Plus
  • Enterprise Standard and Plus
  • Google AI Pro for Education add-on
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We are introducing two new admin settings to give you more control over how meeting notes generated by "Take notes for me" are shared within your organization. These settings allow you to:

  • Set a default sharing value: Choose who should receive access to the Take notes for me document and the recap email by default.
  • Restrict host overrides: Decide whether meeting hosts and co-hosts have the ability to change these sharing settings during a meeting.
Previously, sharing settings for Take notes for me were primarily managed by meeting hosts in-call. These updates allow administrators to set defaults and restrictions based on company policies.

Getting started

Rollout pace

Availability

  • Business Standard and Plus
  • Enterprise Standard and Plus
  • Frontline Plus
  • Google AI Pro for Education

Resources

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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

Read More

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.

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


Example video with styled captions


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

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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
Read More

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
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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
Read More

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

Read More

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

Read More

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

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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
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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.

Set Google Forms to automatically stop accepting responses based on date and time or response count

Last year, we introduced a feature that gives Google Forms creators more control over who can respond to their forms via sharing settings. We are now improving how you can choose to manage responses in Google Forms by enabling you to set a close date or response limit for new responses. | Learn more about setting Google Forms to automatically stop accepting responses based on date and time or response count.  

Ingredients to Video in Veo 3.1 now supports portrait-sized clips in Google Vids

Today we’re announcing improvements to Veo 3.1 that allow you to generate portrait-sized clips with faster pace and engaging shots, all while delivering realistic audio and maintaining consistency of objects, characters, and backgrounds. | Learn more about Ingredients to Video in Veo 3.1. It now supports portrait-sized clips in Google Vids.

Automatic room check-in for Google Meet available on mobile devices

Mobile Companion Mode now supports automatic room check-in. Using ultrasound detection, your device pairs with room hardware to join meetings instantly, streamlining the process. | Learn more about Automatic room check-in for Google Meet available on mobile devices.

SecOps data connector now available for Google Workspace for Education Plus and Standard

We’re expanding the availability of the Google Workspace SecOps data connector to customers using Google Workspace for Education Plus and Education Standard. This feature was previously only available for our Enterprise customers. | Learn more about the SecOps data connector, now available for Google Workspace for Education Plus and Standard.

Editing password-protected Microsoft Office files directly in Google Drive

We're excited to announce a major improvement to Microsoft Office interoperability in Google Workspace: you can now edit Microsoft Office files that are password-protected, directly within Docs, Sheets, and Slides. | Learn more about editing password-protected Microsoft Office files directly in Google Drive.
Read More

Flow is an AI-powered filmmaking tool built with and for creatives, allowing users to transform simple ideas into high-definition videos in minutes. Today, we’re announcing that Flow is now available as an additional Google service with granular admin controls. This ensures admins can enable the right users to benefit from Flow’s capabilities while managing data and access according to their organization’s needs.

With Flow, users can:

  • Transform ideas into video: Turn natural language prompts into beautiful images and cinematic scenes that tell a cohesive story.
  • Create seamlessly: Produce images, clips, scenes, and stories using Google’s most capable generative AI models like Veo 3.1 and Nano Banana Pro.
  • Accelerate production: Move from a simple concept to a high-definition video in minutes.
  • Bring curriculum to life: Educators and students can transform complex subjects—like historical events, scientific processes, or literature summaries—into engaging videos using simple text prompts, making abstract concepts easier to visualize and understand.

Getting started

Rollout pace

Availability

Available for Google Workspace:

  • Business Starter, Standard, and Plus
  • Enterprise Starter, Standard, and Plus
  • Education Standard and Plus
Also available to: 

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

Resources

Read More

We're excited to announce a major improvement to Microsoft Office interoperability in Google Workspace: you can now edit Microsoft Office files that are password-protected, directly within Docs, Sheets, and Slides.

When a user attempts to open a protected file in Drive, they will be prompted to enter the password with the option to View or Edit. Selecting “Preview” opens the document in read-only Preview mode without removing the password. New with this launch is the option to Edit, which will open the file for editing in Docs/Sheets/Slides and remove the password from the file.


A user opening a password protected Microsoft Office file in Google Drive

This enables better interoperability between Workspace and Microsoft, allowing users for the first time to edit password protected files directly in Drive. Prior to this, users would have to download and rely on third party applications to remove passwords or edit password protected Microsoft files.

Getting started

Rollout pace

  • Rapid Release domains: Full rollout (1–4 days for feature visibility) starting on January 13, 2026, and ending on January 16, 2026
  • Scheduled Release domains: Full rollout (1-3 days for feature visibility) starting on January 19, 2026, and ending January 21, 2026

Availability

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

Resources

Read More

What’s changing

We’re expanding the availability of the Google Workspace SecOps data connector to customers using Google Workspace for Education Plus and Education Standard. This feature was previously only available for our Enterprise customers.

The SecOps data connector allows you to seamlessly forward all your Google Workspace activity logs (including Gmail, Drive, Calendar, and more) into the Google SecOps platform (formerly Chronicle Security Operations).

This feature is critical for organizations, especially in the education sector, to maintain a strong security posture. By centralizing your Workspace audit data with other security telemetry, you can:

  • Enhance threat detection: Gain a unified view to correlate activity logs across your entire IT environment, making it easier to spot complex or coordinated threats like unauthorized data access, insider threats, and malicious email activity.
  • Improve incident response: Streamline your security workflows. With all data in one place, your security team can investigate incidents faster and automate responses, such as suspending compromised accounts or revoking file access.
  • Meet compliance and auditing needs: Easily maintain a long-term, searchable archive of activity logs to meet regulatory requirements and simplify internal and external audits.
This feature is a powerful, cost-effective way to utilize your existing Google Workspace data to strengthen your overall security and defense strategy.

Getting started

  • Admins: Configure the forwarding of Google Workspace audit logs to the Google SecOps platform in the Admin console. Visit the Help Center to learn more.

Rollout pace

Availability

  • This change impacts the following Google Workspace for Education Standard and Plus editions. Your organization must have an active Google SecOps subscription to utilize this data connector.

Resources

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Update [February 4, 2026]: This rollout is currently paused. We'll post an update here when it resumes.

To simplify the process of joining meetings for those using companion mode on a phone or tablet within a conference room, we're introducing automatic room check-in via ultrasound proximity detection. To automatically check you in, the green room uses your phone or tablet’s microphone to detect an ultrasound signal from the conference room hardware, streamlining the process and eliminating unnecessary steps. This feature is available on Android and iOS devices.


The "Use Companion mode" button is highlighted, prompting the user to tap it to join the call.

Why it’s important

To simplify joining meetings from a conference room and prevent disruptive audio feedback, Google Meet now intelligently guides you to the best joining option.

Meet intelligently knows when you are in a room using an ultrasonic signal, and highlights the “Use Companion mode” button before you even join the call. This wayfinding feature helps ensure a seamless, echo-free start to your meeting. When you join using the highlighted “Companion mode” button, you will also be automatically checked into the correct room.

Additional details 

  • Minimum Android build required: 
    • Meet: 345.0. (Android Settings > Apps > Meet > [App Info > Version])
    • Gmail: 2026.01.26. (Android Settings > Apps > Gmail > [App Info > Version])
  • Minimum iOS build required: 
    • Meet: 336.0. (Meet > Settings -> About, terms, and privacy > Version)
    • Gmail:  6.0.251201. (Settings > About Gmail > Version)

Getting started

  • Admins: Proximity detection is on by default and can be enabled or disabled at the room level. Visit the Help Center to learn more about turning proximity detection on or off.
  • End users: The Companion mode entry point will be highlighted in the greenroom when the proximity detection signal is detected. After joining a meeting in Companion mode, the user will be automatically checked into the room. If proximity check-in isn’t working, visit the Help Center for troubleshooting tips. Users can still check in manually after joining the call.

Rollout pace

iOS
Android

Availability

  • Available to all Google Workspace customers, and Workspace Individual subscribers

Resources

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Last month, we introduced Ingredients to Video in Google Vids, a new capability that uses Veo 3.1 to help users generate short videos based on reference images and a simple prompt. Today we’re announcing improvements to Veo 3.1 that allow you to generate portrait-sized clips with faster pace and engaging shots, all while delivering realistic audio and maintaining consistency of objects, characters, and backgrounds.

Customers using images of their office, products, and teammates to produce immersive video content in marketing, announcements, explainer videos, and more, can now easily size these for sharing on social channels.






Getting started

  • Admins: There is no admin control for this feature.
  • End users: There is no end user setting for this feature. Visit the Help Center to learn more.

Rollout pace

Availability

Available for Google Workspace:

  • Business Starter **, Standard and Plus
  • Enterprise Starter **, Standard and Plus
  • Essentials, Enterprise Essentials and Enterprise Essentials Plus
  • Nonprofits**
  • Education Plus** and Teaching and Learning add-on**
Also available to:

  • Google AI Pro and Ultra 
  • Google AI Pro for Education
**For a limited time, at least through May 31, 2026, Business Starter, Enterprise Starter, Nonprofit, Education Plus, and Teaching and Learning add-on accounts can access generative AI features in Vids. Learn about Google Vids availability.

Resources

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Last year, we introduced a feature that gives Google Forms creators more control over who can respond to their forms via sharing settings. We are now improving how you can choose to manage responses in Google Forms by enabling you to set a close date or response limit for new responses.

Currently, form creators have to manually stop a form from accepting new responses. With this launch, form owners and editors will be able to set a specific date and time to close the form, or set a certain number of responses that will trigger the form to close automatically.

This feature is designed to streamline the form closure process, offering form creators more control over data collection. It is beneficial for many form types, including registration, event planning, and research forms.

GIF showing how to set a date and time to stop accepting form responses

Determine when you want to stop collecting responses to your form

Getting started

Rollout pace

Availability

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

Resources

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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.

Manage Apple Intelligence Writing Tools in Google Workspace iOS apps

Admins can now disable Apple Intelligence Writing Tools within Google Workspace apps. This provides greater data protection and risk mitigation on iOS 18.1+ devices. Simply toggle the setting in the Admin console to hide these external features. Users will no longer see the "Writing Tools" option when selecting text. | Learn more about managing Apple Intelligence Writing Tools in Google Workspace iOS apps.

Now generally available: Migrate files from Dropbox to Google Drive

Admins can use the New Data Migration service to migrate data from Dropbox business accounts, including files, folders and associated permissions, helping organizations transition to Google Workspace quickly and easily. | Learn more about migrating files from Dropbox to Google Drive.

Generate podcast-style audio lessons in Google Classroom using Gemini

Last year, we made Gemini in Classroom available to all Google Workspace for Education editions with features to help educators create content and resources through one central destination in Classroom. Starting today, educators can now generate and share audio lessons to help students engage more deeply with instructional content and support various learning modalities. | Learn more about generating podcast-style audio lessons in Google Classroom using Gemini.

Control Speech Translation in Google Meet for your users

Google Meet Speech Translation allows translation in near-real time, bridging language barriers across users and organizations. The feature is currently available in alpha but will launch more broadly in beta on January 27, 2026. | Learn more about controlling speech translation in Google Meet for your users.

More user control for “Take notes for me” in Google Meet

We’re introducing a new toggle that lets users choose whether they want to have “Take notes for me” start automatically any time they are hosting a meeting. Previously, meeting hosts had to manually enable “Take notes for me” when they scheduled a call. | Learn more about new user controls for 'Take notes for me' in Google Meet.

Emojis reactions in Gmail will now be on by default

In 2025, we introduced the ability to react to emails in Gmail with emojis. This feature lets users respond quickly to acknowledge receipt of an email in a fun, informal and more authentic way. While initially enabled as an opt-in feature for early customer access, starting February 9, 2026, emoji reactions in Gmail will be enabled by default. | Learn more about default emoji reactions in Gmail.
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What’s changing

In 2025, we introduced the ability to react to emails in Gmail with emojis. This feature lets users respond quickly to acknowledge receipt of an email in a fun, informal and more authentic way. While initially enabled as an opt-in feature for early customer access, starting February 9, 2026, emoji reactions in Gmail will be enabled by default.

Organizations wishing to disable this feature can do so at any time in the Admin console, and the feature will not be enabled by default for organizations who have previously disabled or modified this feature setting in the Admin console (check the Audit & Investigation tool to confirm). 

Whether you’re using a ‘thanks’ emoji to express gratitude, 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 more personal way to respond to emails.

Note that reactions cannot be sent in certain scenarios, for example if an email was received via a Google Group email alias or if there is a Google Group on the recipient list. Visit the Help Center to learn more about these scenarios.

Getting started

Rollout pace

Availability

  • Available to all Google Workspace customers.

Resources

Read More

Useful Links

Join the official community for Google Workspace administrators

In the Google Cloud Community, discuss the latest features with Googlers and other Google Workspace admins like you. Learn tips and tricks that will make your work and life easier. Be the first to know what's happening with Google Workspace.

Learn about more Google Workspace launches

On the “What’s new in Google Workspace?” Help Center page, learn about new products and features launching in Google Workspace, including smaller changes that haven’t been announced on the Google Workspace Updates blog.

Learn about our customers

Discover how a diverse range of organizations, from small businesses and nimble startups to globally recognized Fortune 500 corporations, leverage the collaborative power of Google Workspace. Explore examples of how teams of are streamlining workflows and driving productivity by utilizing Google-Workspace.