We at HiView Solutions—your trusted Google Workspace experts—are pleased to highlight the key feature updates from Google! These include improvements to Google Voice, Meet, the Admin console, and more. Read on to learn how you can start benefiting from these new releases.
Spam call protection for Google Voice
Google Voice users will now see a “suspected spam caller” label on calls that Google identifies as spam. Google determines the likelihood of a call being spam using their advanced artificial intelligence, which identifies billions of spam calls every month.
After the suspected spam label appears, users may confirm that the call was spam, or on the off chance that it was misclassified, mark the labeled call as not spam. If the latter is done, the suspected spam label will never appear again for calls from that number.
Note that this feature only applies to users whose Voice spam filter setting (Settings > Security > Filter spam) is set to OFF. If spam filtering is ON, suspected spam calls are automatically sent to voicemail and the call is placed into the spam folder.
Rollout of this feature is complete for all Google Voice customers. For more information, see the Help Center article regarding blocking numbers and marking them as spam.
View non-printing characters in Docs
By default, Google Vault users cannot see non-printing characters while editing Google Docs. Soon, all Docs users will be able to choose to see these characters while editing their document. When this feature is turned on, users will see:
- Column break
- Line/Soft break
- Page break
- Paragraph/Hard break
- Section break
- Space
- Tab
To display non-printing characters in a Doc, click View > Show non-printing characters. Rollout of this feature will complete in mid-February 2023.
Accessibility improvements for Docs and Slides
Two major accessibility feature updates have been made to Google Drive. They are as follows:
Google Docs and Slides—Users can compose and edit their documents using their voice. (Instructions)
Google Slides—Users can add automatic captions in real time while presenting their slides, complete with punctuation. (Instructions)
Centralized management of Workspace API activity
Google Admins and developers can now manage all of their organization’s API activity in the Google Cloud Console. In this centralized location, easily perform common actions such as:
- Finding additional available APIs, as well as tutorials and documentation
- Managing API credentials
- Monitoring API metrics such as traffic, latency, and errors
- Viewing and updating quotas
This feature is available now to all Google Admins and developers. For access instructions and a demonstration, see this video from Google.
Feature update to meeting room management
To create a more efficient meeting room management experience, the feature that releases a meeting room reservation when all but one attendee declines will now be ON by default.
Until March 6th, 2023, Admins can opt out their structured meeting rooms or groups from this setting.
To opt our meeting rooms from this setting, navigate to the Admin console > Buildings and resources > Manage resources and click on the desired room. Then, navigate to the room settings section and turn ON Exempt from room release.
To opt out user groups from this setting, navigate to the Admin console > Buildings and resources > Room settings > EDIT GROUP and add the desired groups.
Emoji reactions in Meet
Make your next meeting more engaging by expressing yourself with an emoji! While in a meeting, click the happy face in the bottom menu and select your emoji. You can do so in a meeting on desktop or mobile.
Rollout of this feature to all G Suite and Google Workspace customers and personal users is currently in progress and will conclude on January 26th, 2023.
View speaker notes while presenting Slides in Meet
A highly-requested feature is now available for Slides in Meet—presenters sharing slides can now view their notes in the Meet window without showing them to other participants. This is intended to help users present with greater confidence, and still be able to see attendees while viewing notes.
To use this feature, join a meeting in Google Meet, click Present (rectangular option in the bottom menu), click Present a Tab, choose a Google Slide presentation, and click the speaker notes button in the controls at the bottom corner of the presentation.
Rollout of this feature is in progress and will conclude in mid-February 2023. It will be available to Google Workspace Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Standard, Education Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education, and Nonprofits customers.
Client-side encrypted emails now supported by Google Vault
Google Vault now retains client-side encrypted emails, meaning that Google Admins can search and export these emails. However, Admins will only be able to see the subject line, sender, and recipient; the email body and attachments will not be viewable.
Rollout of this feature is in progress and will conclude in early February 2023. It will be available only to Google Workspace Enterprise Plus, Education Plus, and Education Standard customers.
Client-side encryption strengthens the already high standard of security provided by Google Workspace. For more information about client-side encryption for Google Workspace, contact us.
Questions?
We hope you found our summary of the latest and greatest Google Workspace features to be useful. We’re happy to provide information and complimentary support for our Google Workspace resale customers. In case you’re not already a HiView customer, submit your contact information using the form below and we will reach out to you promptly!
