Google Workspace Updates Weekly Recap - December 20, 2024

Introducing instant video playback after uploads in Google Drive 

Following up on the recent announcement of a smoother, more modern video player in Google Drive, we’re excited to share that you can now watch videos the moment you upload them to Drive on web. This highly-requested feature eliminates wait times between upload and playback, while ensuring your videos still get fully processed. | Rollout to Rapid Release domains is complete; launch to Scheduled Release domains planned for January 2, 2025. | Available to all Google Workspace customers, Workspace Individual Subscribers, and users with personal Google accounts. | Visit the Help Center to learn more about storing & playing video in Google Drive.

Updated keyboard shortcuts for Google Groups 

Google Groups is designed to work with keyboards, screen readers, braille devices, screen magnification, and more. We’re excited to improve the accessibility of Groups by introducing updated keyboard shortcuts. Over the coming weeks existing keyboard shortcuts will be replaced by new shortcuts. | Rolling out now to Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains, with expected completion by January 13, 2025. | Available to all Google Workspace customers, Workspace Individual Subscribers, and users with personal Google accounts. | Visit the Help Center to learn more about using keyboard shortcuts in Google Groups.

SOC 1 compliance for Gemini 

We’re pleased to announce that the Gemini app on web and mobile has achieved SOC 1 compliance. This latest certification is in addition to SOC 2 and SOC 3, which the Gemini app achieved on web and mobile earlier this year. | SOC 1 is available now for Google Workspace customers with a Gemini Business, Enterprise, Education, or Education Premium add-on. Also available for Google Workspace customers accessing the Gemini app as a core service with a qualifying edition. | Visit the Help Center to learn more about how Google Workspace satisfies certification and compliance standards and about turning the Gemini app on or off for your users.

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.

Available in open beta: migrate messages from Microsoft Teams to Google Chat 

We're expanding our data migration experience to include the ability for Google Workspace admins to migrate conversations from channels in Microsoft Teams to spaces in Google Chat, making it easier for organizations to onboard and deploy Chat. | Learn more about migrating messages from Microsoft Teams to Google Chat. 

Available in open beta: Set up Single-Sign On with custom OpenID Connect profiles 

Via open beta, admins now have the option to set up a custom OpenID Connect (OIDC) profile for single sign-on (SSO) with Google as their Service Provider. | Learn more about Single-Sign On with custom OpenID Connect profiles. 

Now generally available: Monitor and manage AppSheet usage in your organization with the AppSheet Admin console 

All Google Workspace Admins with the AppSheet service privilege can access the AppSheet Admin Console. | Learn more about the AppSheet Admin console. 

Control whether your users can add account recovery information with two new admin settings

We’re launching two new settings that will allow admins to control whether their users can add recovery email information and phone information to their Google Workspace account. | Learn more about the new admin settings.

Completed rollouts

The features below completed their rollouts to Rapid Release domains, Scheduled Release domains, or both. Please refer to the original blog posts for additional details.

Scheduled Release Domains: 

• New design and accessibility improvements for embedded Google Calendars
• New density setting in Google Chat
• Use Gemini in Google Docs to create unique images for your documents
• Add multiple multimedia files to a single message in Google Chat

Rapid and Scheduled Release Domains: 

• Available in open beta: prevent sensitive changes by locking Groups
• Adding folder support to Gemini in the side panel of Google Drive
• Gemini for Workspace usage reports now include Gemini usage per app interactions
• Now generally available: the Groups Editor & Groups Reader roles can now be provisioned for specific group types
• New Google Chat usage reports provide deeper insights into user engagement
• NotebookLM Plus now available to Google Workspace customers
• Use the GitHub app in Google Chat to get notifications about GitHub events
• HDMI presentation now supported on Google Meet hardware devices from Poly
• Available in open beta: migrate messages from Microsoft Teams to Google Chat
• Now generally available: Monitor and manage AppSheet usage in your organization with the AppSheet Admin console
  
• Available in open beta: Set up Single-Sign On with custom OpenID Connect profiles

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