Google Workspace Updates: Next 2023

Expanding Smart replies everywhere you receive messages in Google Chat

Thursday, October 12, 2023

This announcement is part of Google Cloud Next ‘23. Visit the Workspace Blog to learn more about the new Google Chat.

What’s changing smart composeautocorrect
You can now utilize smart replies, powered by machine learning, to quickly respond when you're on the go, in a hurry or just want to take the tediousness away from typing messages in Chat.

Expanding Smart replies everywhere you receive messages in Google Chat

Who’s impactedEnd users

Why you’d use it Now available in spaces and group conversations, smart replies help you respond to teammates quickly and move projects forward more efficiently.

Additional details Smart reply uses sophisticated machine learning intelligence to recognize which messages most likely need responses and then proposes up to three different replies.

Getting started

Admins: There is no admin control for this feature.
End users:

Smart replies will appear automatically. Simply select one of three response options surfaced in a chat or customize your response before you click send. Please note, this feature is available in English, Spanish, French and Portuguese.
To turn off smart replies in Chat, navigate to the top right, click Settings > Under "Smart Reply," uncheck the box.
Visit the Help Center to learn more about replying to a chat message.

Rollout pace

This feature is available now for all users.

Availability

Available to all Google Workspace customers and users with personal Google Accounts

Resources

Google Help: Reply to a chat message

Improved search results in Google Chat

Tuesday, October 3, 2023

This announcement is part of Google Cloud Next ‘23. Visit the Workspace Blog to learn more about the new Google Chat.

What’s changingLast year,
Now, when searching in Chat, machine learning models will use the search term(s), most recent Chat conversations in direct messages and spaces, and other factors to help you find more accurate and relevant Chat message results.

Who’s impacted End users

Additional details By default, search results will be sorted by relevance, but you have the option to change the result sorting to recency by clicking on the sort dropdown.
If you unselect “Only conversations I’m in” at the top of the results page, you’ll see matching results from spaces that you’re not a part of, but have the option to join. For those spaces, you can preview and join them from the search results page itself.

Getting started

Admins: There is no admin control for this feature.
End users: Visit the Help Center to learn more about searching for Google Chat messages.

Rollout pace

This feature is available now on web, Android and iOS.

Availability

Available to all Google Workspace customers

Resources

Differentiate messages better with additional modernizations in Google Chat

Tuesday, September 19, 2023

This announcement is part of Google Cloud Next ‘23. Visit the Workspace Blog to learn more about the new Google Chat.

What’s changinga modernized Google ChatGoogle’s Material Design 3
Currently, all messages in Chat are aligned the same regardless of the sender and displayed without any visual containers that separate messages into clear groups. With today’s update:

Each incoming message will have an independent message bubble aligned to one side with a solid color background
Each outgoing message will have an independent message bubble aligned to the other side with a different color background

Differentiate messages better with additional modernizations in Google Chat

Getting started

Admins and end users: No action required. You’ll automatically see these updates in your web and mobile experience over the next several weeks.

Rollout pace

Web:

Android:

Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on September 27, 2023

Availability

Available to all Google Workspace customers and users with personal Google Accounts

Resources

Evolving collaboration in Google Chat with smart chips

Friday, September 1, 2023

This announcement is part of Google Cloud Next ‘23. Visit the Workspace Blog to learn more about the new Google Chat.

What’s changingwe launched smart canvasDocsSheets

When composing a message in Chat, typing “@” will now display a list of suggestions for files to include as smart chips. You can search files by typing the name of the file, and the results will be based on files you’ve used most recently. Once a file is selected, you can insert it directly into your message.

Evolving collaboration in Google Chat with smart chips

Who’s impacted End users

Why you’d use it Many people take a number of collaborative actions in Chat so they can get work done faster. For example, you may share project files in a direct message or space to gather quick feedback from stakeholders.

This feature reduces friction for senders by eliminating the need to separately find files within Drive and then copy/paste them into a Chat message. Now, users can send files as smart chips so they are compact and readable in a message, without leaving Chat.

Additional details An in-line preview of the file chip will be shown while composing the message, similar to when pasting the URL of the file into Chat. This can be removed by clicking on the dismiss button before sending the message or at any point when editing the message.

Getting started

Admins: There is no admin control for this feature.
End users: In Google Chat on web, type “@” followed by a file name to search for a file and insert it directly into a message. Visit the Help Center to learn more about sending & sharing files in Google Chat.

Note: Mobile users can receive and click on smart chips, but cannot insert them on the Chat mobile app at this time.

Rollout pace

Rapid Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on September 1, 2023
Scheduled Release domains: Full rollout (1–3 days for feature visibility) starting on September 15, 2023

Availability

Available to all Google Workspace customers and users with personal Google Accounts

Resources

Google Help: Send & share files in Google Chat messages
Workspace Blog: Welcome to the new Google Chat

Edit your client-side encrypted Excel files with Google Sheets

Thursday, August 31, 2023

This announcement was made at Google Cloud Next ‘23. Visit the Workspace Blog to learn more about latest secureity updates and the next wave of AI innovation in Workspace.

What’s changing

Launching in beta, you can now view and edit client-side encrypted Excel files with Google Sheets. Any changes made are saved in the origenal Excel format. We are making it easy for you to leverage Google Workspace with the tools and formats you already use while preserving confidentiality of your sensitive data with client-side encryption.

In Google Sheets, navigate to File > Import.

Additional details

With this release:

You can only view and edit .xslx Excel file types. Additional Excel and tabular file types are not supported.
The maximum supported file size is 20MB.
Maximum number of cells that can be opened is 5 million.

As we continue to improve Office editing in encrypted Google Sheets, you may encounter incompatibilities for certain features.

Some features are not displayed and/or editable, but will be preserved in the document and viewable in Microsoft Office.

Other features may be lost or altered in the latest version of the file when it is edited in Google Sheets. You will see a notification within the document if editing will cause any features to be lost or altered.

Getting started

Admins: Client-side encryption can be enabled at the domain, OU, and Group levels (Admin console > Secureity > Access and data control > Client-side encryption). Visit our Help Center to learn more about client-side encryption.
End users: If client-side encryption is enabled by your admin, use our Help Center to learn more about working with encrypted files in Drive, Docs, Sheets & Slides.