Google Visible Changes Summary for 2022

Here is a running summary of the visible changes to Google Workspace in 2022. We will continue to update this list every month so check back often. Contact us with any questions about the new features or how to enable them for your users.

November already launched Google Workspace (formerly G Suite) features:

Concentrate or disconnect with scheduled Do Not Disturb on Google Chat

• Can now set a recurring schedule so you do not receive Chat notifications on the web or on your Android or iOS devices.

Gradual Rollout | 11/15/2022 | Rapid

Expanding noise cancellation in Google Meet to more devices

• Noise cancellation available for third-party devices connecting through Pexip and Android devices on Standard/Fundamentals SKUs.

Gradual Rollout | 11/15/22 | All

The new Gmail user interface is becoming the standard experience

• Integrated Gmail/Chat/Meet view is now the standard view, with no option to revert back to the “original view.”

Gradual Rollout | 11/8/22 | Rapid

Improved search results based on recent search activity in Gmail

• Gmail search to be informed by recent search activity to make results more relevant and contextual.

Available Immediately | 11/7/22 | All

Google for Education transformation reports window open for customers worldwide

• Google for Education customers can now view transformation reports at no cost to help measure the impact of implementation. Window open until July 26, 2022, reports available only in English.

Available Immediately | 11/2/22 | N/A

October already launched Google Workspace (formerly G Suite) features:

Gmail now supports Android 13 notification permissions

• On Android 13 devices, will now be prompted if you would like to allow notifications from the app.

Gradual Rollout | 10/7/2022 | All

Easily drop content into Slides from other apps on Android

• Can now drag and drop content from other Android apps into Slides.

Gradual Rollout | 10/7/22 | All

Improved experience for the Calendar guest list in Google Meet

• Will now see more information in the Calendar guest list in a Meet call, including working location, OOO status, whether the meeting is outside of invitee’s office hours, and if an invitee is joining from a meeting room.

Gradual Rollout | 10/7/22 | Rapid

Add shared drives to specific organizational units, now generally available

• Can now add shared drives to specific organizational units in order to allow for greater control in configuring sharing policies, data regions, access management, and more at a more granular level.

Gradual Rollout | 10/21/22 | All

Use built-in mail merge tags like @firstname to personalize multi-send emails

• Senders can further personalize multi-send emails with mail merge tags. You can also preview before sending to ensure correct correspondence.

Gradual Rollout | 10/24/22 | Scheduled

Expanding smart chips to include events in Google Sheets

• Quickly add calendar events into Sheets with smart chips. You can search for events from Calendar or copy links and paste directly into Sheets.

Gradual Rollout | 10/25/22 | Rapid

Preview and interact with files using smart chips in Google Sheets

• Can add files as smart chips in Google Sheets to be able to quickly preview and interact with Docs directly within Sheets.

Gradual Rollout | 10/25/22 | All

September already launched Google Workspace (formerly G Suite) features:

Notification permission now required for devices running Android 13

• Must accept notification permissions in Google Chat to receive notifications after upgrading to Android 13.

Gradual Rollout | 9/9/2022 | All

Keep contacts up to date with fewer clicks

• Can now edit contact information directly from within Google applications on Android devices.

Extended Rollout | 9/9/22 | All

View information about recipients on Android

• Can view details about a person in the Gmail app on Android devices by tapping on their name or avatar as you’re composing an email.

Gradual Rollout | 9/9/22 | Rapid

Multi-instance support on Docs, Sheets & Slides

• View two files open side-by-side on large-screen Android devices.

Gradual Rollout | 9/9/22 | Scheduled

Updating framing options for Google Meet hardware in the Admin console

• Admin console will continue to be updated as new framing features for Google Meet hardware devices are rolled out and improved.

Gradual Rollout | 9/8/22 | All

Calendar User Availability API launching to beta soon, sign-up now and preview documentation in advance

• The Calendar User Availability API will be used to access working location feature programmatically in Calendar, allowing working location information to be accessed from Calendar or other third-party applications.

Gradual Rollout | 9/7/22 | Scheduled

August already launched Google Workspace (formerly G Suite) features:

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

• Easier to find in the Google Meet Hardware panel plus a simple one touch step to activate.

Gradual Rollout | 8/16/2022 | All

More control over accessibility preferences in Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Drawings

• Individuals that use braille devices, screen readers, or screen magnifiers are now able to set your preferences for each product individually instead of across the board.

Gradual Rollout | 8/15/22 | Rapid

Improved quality and performance for Google Meet effects on the web

• Background effects are more accurate for Google Meet users.

Gradual Rollout | 8/15/22 | All

Granular controls for app allowlisting in the Google Workspace Marketplace

• Admins have more control choosing which Workspace Marketplace apps are available by OU or group.

Gradual Rollout | 8/12/22 | Scheduled

Delegate access to a shared inbox using a group address

• Allow an entire Google Group access to a single Gmail account using mail delegation.

Gradual Rollout | 8/12/22 | All

Control visibility of admin alerts with admin role privileges

• Super admins can now create a custom rule to allow only certain admins to receive the DLP alerts.

Gradual Rollout | 8/12/22 | All

July already launched Google Workspace (formerly G Suite) features:

Space Managers can change access to new and existing spaces in Google Chat

• Space managers can make spaces Restricted or Discoverable for select groups of people.

Gradual Rollout | 7/7/22 | Rapid

Rollout for visual updates in Gmail has resumed

• Previously delayed updates to To, Cc, and Bcc fields in Gmail resuming – these updates aid in efficient and confident composition of emails.

Gradual Rollout | 7/8/22 | Rapid

Manage Google Voice call recording options for your organization

• Admins can set Voice call recording options at organizational unit or group level. Can choose to automatically record incoming, outgoing, or all calls or allow for manual recordings.

Gradual Rollout | 7/11/22 | All

Allow collaborators to analyze data in Connected Sheets with delegated access

• End users with access to BigQuery can delegate their credentials to other collaborators so that they can refresh and edit analysis.

Gradual Rollout | 7/12/22 | Scheduled

Better sharing options for appointment schedules

• Share button now available on Appointment scheduling page. Can share a single booking page or all schedules, or embed booking page on a website.

Gradual Rollout | 7/12/22 | Rapid

June already launched Google Workspace (formerly G Suite) features:

Start meetings more efficiently with the Calendar guest list in Google Meet

• Can now see participants who have been invited to the call but have not joined yet and chat them directly from within the Meet to confirm whether they are attending or not.

Gradual Rollout | 6/28/22 | All

Offline syncing available for opened Microsoft Office documents

• Can now work with offline Microsoft Office files on desktop. Any edits made while offline will sync to Drive upon reconnection.

Gradual Rollout | 6/27/22 | Rapid

Reminder: Practice sets for Google Classroom, launching in beta soon

• Teachers can create interactive assignments that give students hints, suggestions, and real-time feedback as well as relay insights back to teachers to help guide future lessons.

N/A | 6/7/22 | N/A

Google for Education transformation reports window open, available worldwide

• Google for Education customers can now view transformation reports at no cost to help measure the impact of implementation. Window open until July 26, 2022, reports available only in English.

Available Immediately | 6/1/22 | N/A

Easily see file locations in Google Drive

• Column added to show location information for files in Google Drive in Search, Recent, Starred, and Trash views.

Gradual Rollout | 6/1/22 | Rapid

May already launched Google Workspace (formerly G Suite) features:

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

• Variety of additional DevOps integrations for Google Chat that allows you to perform common workflow actions directly within Chat – if allowed by admin, select “Install Google Chat apps” from the “New Chat” button.

Available Immediately | 5/17/22 | All

Migrate your classic Google Sites before December 1, 2022

• Timeline extended for moving classic Google Sites to new Google Sites. Will no longer be able to edit remaining classic Sites after Dec 1, 2022 and classic Sites will no longer be viewable unless upgraded before Jan 1, 2023.

N/A | 5/16/22 | N/A

Require email verification to book appointments in Google Calendar

• Can now opt to have users verify their email before booking appointments when using appointment scheduling in Google Calendar

Gradual Rollout | 5/11/22 | Rapid

Import existing custom themes to new Google Sites

• Import custom themes from one new Google site to another

Gradual Rollout | 5/10/22 | Rapid

Share your video feed when using Companion mode in Google Meet

• Can now turn your individual camera on and share video feed when using Companion mode for Meet – gives more representation to meeting participants attending from a meeting room.

Gradual Rollout | 5/3/22 | All

Use new table templates and dropdown chips in Google Docs to create highly collaborative documents

• Dropdown chips and templates added to Docs – choose from defaults for status or milestones or create custom options.

Gradual Rollout | 5/2/22 | All

April already launched Google Workspace (formerly G Suite) features:

Enhanced menus in Google Docs improves findability of key features on desktop

• Most commonly-used features in Google Docs menus are reorganized to be more intuitive and easier to navigate.

Extended Rollout | 4/26/22 | Scheduled

Quick access to additional actions when composing a message in Google Chat on iOS

• Additional actions added under the + sign when in chat on iOS: sharing a meet link, creating calendar invite, accessing drive and text formatting.

Extended Rollout | 4/25/22 | All

Set up host controls and assign co-hosts ahead of meetings in Google Calendar

• Meeting organizers can set up breakout rooms in advance, turn moderation settings on or off, and designate co-hosts before the meeting.

Gradual Rollout | 4/21/22 | All

Join a Google Meet call from Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides

• There is now an icon in Docs, Sheets, and Slides to allow users to join a call and/or present current file to a meeting.

Extended Rollout | 4/12/22 | All

Additional one-click recommended actions in the Alert Center

• Admins will see one-click recommendations for device wipeout and quarantine email to help remedy incidents requiring these actions more quickly.

Gradual Rollout | 4/12/22 | All

Additional improvements for Google Meet

• Users will now be prompted to exit meetings when they are the only user attending and host controls are consolidated into a centralized location.

Gradual Rollout | 4/7/22 | Scheduled

New Emoji reactions in Google Docs on web

• Can now add emoji reactions to text in Google Docs by highlighting text and selecting the reaction button.

Gradual Rollout | 4/5/22 | Scheduled

March already launched Google Workspace (formerly G Suite) features:

Compose with markdowns in Google Docs on web

• Expanded autocorrection support for Markdown syntax in Google Docs can be enabled under Preferences.

Gradual Rollout | 3/29/22 | All

Improved announcements for braille comments and highlights available in Google Docs on web

• Comments and highlights will be indicated alongside the rest of the text when reading in braille mode on Google Docs.

Full Rollout | 3/29/22 | Rapid

New Google Meet management settings for admins

• Admins can control access to Chat, Present, Q&A, and Polls features of Google Meet from within the Admin console, rather than just in individual meetings.

Gradual Rollout | 3/25/22 | All

Add attachments to Calendar events from third-party services

• Files from a third-party service with a Calendar attachment add-on available in GWS Marketplace can now be attached to Calendar events.

Full Rollout | 3/23/22 | All

Enable discovery and sharing of Spaces in Google Chat

• Spaces can be shared with others via a link rather than having to directly add people to the conversation.

Extended Rollout | 3/22/22 | All

Create externally friendly booking pages with appointment scheduling in Google Calendar

• New appointment scheduling feature allows external users to schedule meetings, even those without a Google account.

Gradual Rollout | 3/21/22 | Rapid

New email draft template in Google Docs

• Cell limits in Google Sheets is doubling from 5 million to 10 million cells.

Extended Rollout | 3/15/22 | Scheduled

Intelligent corrections for formulas and functions in Google Sheets

• When inserting formulas into Sheets, a suggestion box will appear if a different or better formula than what was written is detected.

Extended Rollout | 3/15/22 | All

New email draft template in Google Docs

• Collaborate within Google Docs on an email draft and export directly into Gmail.

Extended Rollout | 3/14/22 | Scheduled

Google Sheets doubles cell limit

• Cell limits in Google Sheets is doubling from 5 million to 10 million cells.

Available Immediately | 3/14/22 | N/A

View bandwidth availability and usage during meetings via the Meet quality tool

• Admins can now use the Meet quality tool to view inbound and outbound bandwidth information—both used and available—for their users.
• Surfacing this information helps admins visualize participants bandwidth compared to the quality of a call, making it easier for them to determine where a bandwidth bottleneck could be causing low quality.

Available Immediately | 3/1/22 | All

February already launched Google Workspace (formerly G Suite) features:

Search chips in Google Drive help refine search results and surface important files faster

• End users will be able to use search chips inside of Google Drive, making it easier than ever to find the file you are looking for.

Gradual Rollout | 2/15/22 | All

New Features for Smart Canvas in Google Docs and Sheets

• Google Docs will now have an option to add a summary, create “pageless” docs (easier to collaborate with wide tables and large images), plus formula corrections in Google Sheets.

Extended Rollout | 2/15/22 | Other

Google Voice calls to European calls are now free

• Google Voice calls from the US to European countries are now free.

Available Immediately | 2/11/22 | All

The future of Currents and the next generation of collaboration in Spaces

• Currents will be gradually turned down and migrated over to Spaces. New features will be added to Spaces over time to enhance communication and collaboration.

Gradual Rollout | 2/10/22 | N/A

Manage overdue tasks in Google Calendar

• You can now easily see and manage your overdue tasks in Google Calendar. At the top of the current day, you’ll see an all day entry listing overdue tasks in the past 30 days.

Gradual Rollout | 2/7/22 | Rapid

January already launched Google Workspace (formerly G Suite) features:

New integrated view for Gmail features email, Google Meet, Google Chat and Spaces in one place

• New navigation menu allows users to easily switch between inbox, chat, and meet all in one space. You can opt-in to this by 2/14/2022

Gradual Rollout | 1/31/22 | Rapid

Warning banners in Google Drive alert users of suspicious files

• Further enhancement to protect again suspicious or dangerous files in Google Drive. Users will see a Warning banner in Drive when selecting a suspicious document.

Gradual Rollout | 1/20/22 | All

Live translated captions in Google Meet are now generally available

• English meetings will be Live Captioned translated to Spanish, French, Portugues, and German.

Available Immediately | 1/12/22 | All

Use Companion mode with Google Meet hardware and Nest Hub Max to maximize collaboration during hybrid meetings

• Companion mode allows users with Google Meet hardware to access interactive features and controls from their personal devices (i.e. chat, screen sharing, hand raising polls, etc.)

Gradual Rollout | 1/13/22 | Rapid

* Rollout pace:

• Full rollout (1–3 days for feature visibility)
• Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility)
• Extended rollout (potentially longer than 15 days for feature visibility)