Tag Archives: Google Meet

Work Insights reporting for Google Chat and Google Meet

What’s changing

Over the years, many organizations have benefited from the use of Work Insights, a tool that provides data-driven insights on Google Workspace adoption, work patterns, and cross-team collaboration. With the recent upgrade from Hangouts to Google Chat for Google Workspace customers, we’re pleased to introduce a Work Insights product for Meet and Chat. 


Who’s impacted 

Admins 


Why it’s important 

Work Insights allows for optimal visibility into your organization’s digital transformation journey, and helps to improve collaboration, promote growth, and much more. Now, you’re able to continue utilizing the same easy-to-read charts and metrics you’re accustomed to for Chat and Meet. 


Additional details 

Work Insights includes features to help mitigate privacy concerns. These include restricting data access, aggregating activity data, requiring a minimum team size, and keeping users’ work items private. No individual user's Google Workspace activity is displayed separately from other users. Learn more here.  



Getting started 

  • Admins: Access the Work Insights dashboard here. Visit the Help Center to learn more about setting up Work Insights. 
  • End users: There is no end user impact. 

Rollout pace 

Availability 

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

Resources 

Easily customize digital signage on your Google Meet hardware through Appspace

What’s changing 

In December 2021, we announced the ability for admins to use their displays as digital signage when their Meet hardware devices are not in use. Today, we’re giving admins more options for customization by using their Appspace digital signage content. 



Who’s impacted 

Admins and end users 



Why it’s important 

You can leverage the screensaver on your Google Meet hardware devices to display corporate signage or customized content across your hardware fleet. 


We know many of our customers use Appspace for general digital signage needs within their organizations. This update makes it easier for you to use Appspace as a source for content to display on your Google Meet hardware devices. 


Please note that screen savers are not interactive—tapping your touch controller or using the remote will cause the screen saver to be dismissed, and the device will return to displaying the agenda on the homepage. 


Additional details 

We highly recommend you use Appspace’s advanced registration flow to make it easier to pre-register all of your Google Meet hardware at once. Note that Appspace is a paid service and there may be additional costs associated with registering your devices on their platform. 


In some cases, this feature can conflict with the power-saving feature on your Meet hardware devices. To ensure that your custom screen saver is visible, be sure to set displays as active during working hours in the organizational unit you’re targeting. 


Getting started 


To use Appspace content on Meet Hardware, you need to: 

Register your devices on Appspace. Every hardware device now has an integration ID for use in Appspace’s pre-registration flow. You can find the integration ID on the Device detail page in the Admin console under Devices > Google Meet hardware > Devices or in the new “integrationId” column in your fleet data export file. 


You’ll need to add the integration IDs from your hardware devices in the Appspace console ahead of time before configuring your custom screensavers using the Appspace PWA. 


Once these steps are complete, navigate to Devices > Google Meet hardware > Settings > Device Settings > Screen saver. 



Select the “Custom” option and then choose Appspace as your Digital Signage Provider. Input the appropriate Appspace PWA URL in the URL field, depending on whether you use Appspace’s Public Cloud or Private Cloud: 

    • Public Cloud:https://cloud.appspace.com/app/?registrationmode=passive
    • Private Cloud: https://<customer>.cloud.appspace.com/app/pwa/?registrationmode=passive

If you do not pre-register your devices with Appspace before changing the screen saver, the screen saver will prompt you to manually pair each device using a code displayed in the room.


For more information on how to configure your content to display on Appspace, please refer to their help article. 

Rollout pace 


Availability 

  • Available to all Google Workspace customers, as well as G Suite Basic and Business customers 
  • Available for all supported Google Meet hardware devices that have not yet reached their auto-update expiration date 

Resources

Dark Canvas theme now available on Google Meet hardware home screen

What’s changing 

We’re adding support for a dark home page theme for Google Meet hardware devices. When using Dark Canvas, devices will now feature dark user interface elements on the home screen when not in an active call. Dark Canvas mode can be applied to any Google Meet hardware device in your fleet. 






We’re also adding a new batch of Canvas wallpapers, which are specially designed by various artists to look great on Google Meet hardware devices. 


Who’s impacted 

Admins and end users 


Why it’s important 

We know it’s important that your devices look their best when they’re not in use, so we’ve extended our collaboration with the Canvas Project to deliver a fresh new group of wallpapers from top artists. 


Additionally, with the upcoming launch of the Series One Desk 27”, we know many users may be sitting closer to their devices than before. Dark Canvas mode is a great way to reduce the brightness of your display while keeping them looking great. 


Additional details

The existing “Wallpaper” setting in the Admin console has now been renamed “Home screen” and the Canvas option has been split into two options: “Canvas - light” and “Canvas - dark”. Each option will have a unique selection of wallpapers specially chosen that pair well with the selected home screen theme. 


Note that custom wallpapers will continue to use light mode. 


Getting started 

  • End users: There is no action required. 
  • Admins: This is an opt-in feature and is managed at the OU level. No changes will be made to previous selections and no custom wallpapers will be affected.

    The Home screen policy can be managed at Devices > Google Meet hardware > Settings > Device Settings > Home screen. 




Rollout pace 


Availability 

  • Available to all Google Workspace customers, as well as G Suite Basic and Business customers 
  • Available for all supported Google Meet hardware devices that have not yet reached their auto-update expiration date. 

Resources

Google Workspace Updates Weekly Recap – August 26, 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 Google Workspace and G Suite customers. 


To unmute yourself, press and hold the spacebar. To mute again, release the spacebar. 
To quickly unmute yourself during a meeting, you can now hold down the spacebar to be unmuted, then release the spacebar to return to a muted state. We hope this makes it even easier for you to participate in your meetings by quickly unmuting to say something. This feature will also help in situations where you forget to mute again after unmuting yourself. This feature is OFF by default and can be enabled in the Google Meet settings. | Roll out to Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains begins September 9, 2022 at a Gradual pace (up to 15 days for feature visibility). | Available to all Workspace customers and users with personal Google Accounts on all web browsers. | Learn more. 


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.


Updated “Hey Google” voice control behavior for Google Meet hardware devices 
We’ve changed how the “Hey Google” voice control works for Google Meet hardware devices. With this update, the Google assistant will only be active when a device is not in a meeting and within 10 minutes of an upcoming meeting. | Available for all supported Google Meet hardware devices that have not yet reached their auto-update expiration date. | Learn more. 

Upgrade to OAuth 2.0 to continue using Calendar Interop by October 1, 2022 
On October 1, 2022, Microsoft will begin to remove the ability to use Basic authentication in Exchange Online for Exchange Web Services. To continue using Calendar Interop, upgrade to OAuth 2.0 authentication before October 1, 2022. | Impacting Workspace customers using Calendar Interop with Basic authentication on Microsoft Office 365. | Learn more. 

Adding more flexibility to functions in Sheets 
We’ve introduced named functions, a new feature that allows you to create high-performance custom functions that support built-in Sheets formula constructs. | Available to Google Workspace Essentials, Business Starter, Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Fundamentals, and Education Plus customers only. | Learn more. 

More ways to collaborate using visitor sharing in Google Drive 
You can now use visitor sharing to allow non-Google users to upload content or create files within shared drives owned by organizations and users on Google Workspace. | Available to Google Workspace Essentials, Business Standard, Business Plus, Education Plus, Enterprise Standard, and Enterprise Plus customers only. | Learn more. 

Easily search for Chat spaces in Gmail 
We’ve introduced the ability to find and join spaces through Gmail search on web. | Learn more. 


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

Updated “Hey Google” voice control behavior for Google Meet hardware devices

What’s changing 

We’re changing how the “Hey Google” voice control works for Google Meet hardware devices. With this update, the Google assistant will only be active when a device is not in a meeting and within 10 minutes of an upcoming meeting. Not having “Hey Google” active during meetings will help reduce accidental activation. 


We’re also expanding the devices that will be able to support the “Hey Google” voice control to include Logitech Rally Bar, Logitech Rally Bar Mini and the upcoming launch of the Series One Desk 27. 



Who’s impacted 

Admins and end users 



Why it’s important 

We know “Hey Google” voice control provides an easy and convenient way to join an upcoming meeting, or to help improve accessibility for users. However, we’ve heard from our customers that due to the increase in teams transitioning to hybrid meetings, the “Hey Google” control can unintentionally be triggered during meetings. We hope this improvement helps reduce any accidental disruptions during your calls. 



Additional details 

Because “Hey Google” will only be active when there is an upcoming meeting, the end user toggle has been removed to ensure the hardware device is in the expected default state for future use. 




Getting started 

  • Admins: Admins will still be able to enable or disable voice control in the admin console at a device level. 
  • End users: There is no end user action required. 

Rollout pace 


Availability 

  • Available to all Google Workspace customers, as well as G Suite Basic and Business customers 
  • Available for all supported Google Meet hardware devices that have not yet reached their auto-update expiration date 

Resources: 

Google Workspace Updates Weekly Recap – August 19, 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.



Improved quality and performance for Google Meet effects on the web 
Background effects are now more accurate for Google Meet users on the web. This allows you to experience more accurate background blur, background replace, and immersive background and styles. | Available to Google Workspace Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus customers, and Workspace Individual users on eligible devices in eligible countries (Northern America, Europe, Northern Africa, Central Asia, Southeastern Asia). Visit the Help Center to learn more about availability. | Learn more. 

More control over accessibility preferences in Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Drawings 
You’re now able to set preferences for Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Drawings individually, rather than having the same accessibility settings apply across these products. | Learn more. 

Updated user interface for managing email quarantines 
In the coming weeks, you will see a new user interface when using the email quarantine tool. This brings the email quarantine experience inline with other tools in the Admin console, making it more intuitive to navigate and use. | Learn more. 

See how much noise is being removed during Google Meet video calls 
Google Meet can now remove background noises such as typing, construction sounds, or background chatter. | Available to Google Workspace Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Plus, and Workspace Individual customers only. | Learn more. 

Conveniently connect site visitors with social channels in new Sites 
Site editors can now insert stylized social media links into pages within their site, enabling you to more conveniently connect site visitors with additional information and content on your social channels. | Learn more. 

Enhancements to the “Frame people” feature on Google Meet hardware devices 
We’ve introduced two enhancements on Google Meet hardware devices for the “Frame people” feature: 
  • The “Frame people” feature is now more easily discoverable and can be accessed in a meeting from the touch panel in fewer steps. 
  • A solution to a recent bug impacting the auto framing capability for some Google Meet hardware devices. The auto framing functionality has been restored to impacted devices with improved reliability and performance. 
Available to all supported Google Meet hardware devices that have not yet reached their auto-update expiration date. | Learn more. 

New color categorization in Calendar to better understand how you’re spending your time 
You can now categorize your time by naming and assigning a corresponding color label to an event within Time Insights in Calendar. | Available to Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Plus and Nonprofits customers only. | Learn more. 

Easily assign Tasks from Google Docs 
In Google Docs, you can now assign a checklist item to yourself or a colleague that will then show up in the assignee’s Tasks list. | Learn more. 


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

Enhancements to the “Frame people” feature on Google Meet hardware devices

What’s changing 

We’re introducing two enhancements on Google Meet hardware devices for the “Frame people” feature: 

  • The “Frame people” feature is now more easily discoverable and can be accessed in a meeting from the touch panel in fewer steps. Previously, this command required two steps by first selecting the camera control icon and then selecting “Frame people.” Now, it’s immediately visible on the touch panel. 



Note that you can still access the Camera control pane next to the new “Frame people” button. 

Camera control button





With this enhancement, we’ve also solved a recent bug impacting the auto framing capability for some Google Meet hardware devices. The auto framing functionality has been restored to impacted devices with improved reliability and performance. 


Who’s impacted 

End users 


Why it’s important 

Being able to see people in a meeting room clearly is essential for improving the meeting experience in today's hybrid work environment. With the increased visibility of the “Frame people'' button on the Google Meet hardware touch panel, users can more easily and quickly adjust their camera to optimize the viewing experience for all participants. 


Getting started 

  • End users: No action required, these updates will be available automatically. Note: This feature is not available when other devices, such as a webcam, are plugged into a meeting hardware kit. 
  • Admins: There is no admin action required. 


Rollout pace 


Availability 

  • Available to all Google Workspace customers, as well as G Suite Basic and Business customers 
  • Available for all supported Google Meet hardware devices that have not yet reached their auto-update expiration date 

Resources

See how much noise is being removed during Google Meet video calls

Quick summary 

Google Meet can remove background noises such as typing, construction sounds, or background chatter. Noise cancellation helps make video calls more productive by reducing distractions that can divert attention away from the content of the meeting, so you can stay focused on the conversation. 


The voice indicator now shows how much noise is being removed. If you see the ring expanding, Meet is reducing the background noise. 


If you don't see the voice indicator, no audio (voice or noise) is coming from you.


A burst of noise is being filtered out while you speak, and other participants will only hear your voice. This visual cue is triggered at most once per meeting.



Noise is being filtered out on a continuous basis while you speak, and other participants will only hear your voice. The noise level is reflected by the ring size.





Getting started 

  • Admins: There is no admin control for this feature. 
  • End users: The noise indicator is displayed when noise cancellation is enabled. Visit the Help Center to learn how to enable noise cancellation. 

Rollout pace 


Availability 

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

Resources 

Improved quality and performance for Google Meet effects on the web

Quick summary 

Background effects are now more accurate for Google Meet users on the web. Thanks to improved background and foreground separation, users can experience more accurate background blur, background replace, and immersive background and styles. 


Meet now offers improved background and foreground separation




In addition, to help users with devices that are not best designed for running real-time video effects, these effects can now be processed in the cloud. Meet automatically adjusts between device-based and cloud-based effect processing to offer the best possible experience. This helps to save battery and up to 30% of CPU on your device while optimizing effect quality. 


The first effects supporting this capability are background blur and light adjustment. Support for additional effects, such as background replace, will be added in the future. 

Getting started 


Rollout pace 

Improved background and foreground separation 
  • This feature is available now for all users. 

Cloud-based processing 
  • This feature is available now for all users. 

Availability 

Improved background and foreground separation 
  • Available to all users on eligible devices. Visit the Help Center to learn about device eligibility for background and visual effects. 

Cloud-based processing 
  • Available to Google Workspace Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus customers, and Workspace Individual users on eligible devices in eligible countries (Northern America, Europe, Northern Africa, Central Asia, Southeastern Asia). Visit the Help Center to learn more about availability. 
  • Not available to Google Workspace Essentials, Business Starter, Enterprise Essentials, Education Fundamentals, Education Plus, Frontline, and Nonprofits, as well as legacy G Suite Basic and Business customers. 
  • Not available to users with personal Google Accounts 


Resources 

Improved quality and performance for Google Meet effects on the web

Quick summary 

Background effects are now more accurate for Google Meet users on the web. Thanks to improved background and foreground separation, users can experience more accurate background blur, background replace, and immersive background and styles. 


Meet now offers improved background and foreground separation




In addition, to help users with devices that are not best designed for running real-time video effects, these effects can now be processed in the cloud. Meet automatically adjusts between device-based and cloud-based effect processing to offer the best possible experience. This helps to save battery and up to 30% of CPU on your device while optimizing effect quality. 


The first effects supporting this capability are background blur and light adjustment. Support for additional effects, such as background replace, will be added in the future. 

Getting started 


Rollout pace 

Improved background and foreground separation 
  • This feature is available now for all users. 

Cloud-based processing 
  • This feature is available now for all users. 

Availability 

Improved background and foreground separation 
  • Available to all users on eligible devices. Visit the Help Center to learn about device eligibility for background and visual effects. 

Cloud-based processing 
  • Available to Google Workspace Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus customers, and Workspace Individual users on eligible devices in eligible countries (Northern America, Europe, Northern Africa, Central Asia, Southeastern Asia). Visit the Help Center to learn more about availability. 
  • Not available to Google Workspace Essentials, Business Starter, Enterprise Essentials, Education Fundamentals, Education Plus, Frontline, and Nonprofits, as well as legacy G Suite Basic and Business customers. 
  • Not available to users with personal Google Accounts 


Resources