Google is set to introduce a new meeting scheduling feature to its Workspace and Gmail platforms, aiming to simplify the process of organizing availability. Users will be able to conveniently offer their free time within the message draft using a dedicated Calendar icon located at the bottom right of the toolbar. This icon will provide two actions, with the first one labeled as “Offer times that you’re free.” According to the update from Google Workspace, this action aims to streamline the scheduling process by making it easier for users to share their availability.
Upon selecting this option, your calendar will appear on the right-hand side. From there, you can conveniently choose and insert suggested meeting times directly from your calendar into the email, all without having to leave the Gmail interface. The recipient of the email can easily review the proposed meeting times and select one directly from the email. Upon selection, they will automatically receive an email with a calendar invite for the chosen time slot.
Currently, time suggestions using the Calendar icon can only be made for a user’s primary calendar and are applicable only for 1:1 meetings. If multiple recipients are added, the first person to book the appointment will be automatically included in the event.
The second function of the Calendar icon allows users to swiftly “Create an event.” This feature expedites the meeting scheduling process by opening a calendar event creation on the right side, pre-filling the recipients and title from the email. An event summary is automatically inserted into the email body for easy sharing. If users create events from Gmail, they can choose from any primary or secondary calendars they have access to.
The objective of this update is to help users quickly confirm meeting times, reducing the inefficient back-and-forth email exchanges involved in negotiating availability. This feature proves especially useful when scheduling meetings with individuals whose Google Calendars are not visible, including customers, clients, or colleagues within the same organization.
To suggest potential meeting times in an email draft, users can start composing or replying to an email, click “Set up a time to meet,” and then select “Offer times you’re free.” Similarly, to create a new event, users can begin composing or replying to an email, click “Set up a time to meet,” and then choose “Create an event.”
The rollout of this feature will be gradual, starting on July 31, and it will be available to all Google Workspace customers and users with personal Google Accounts.
Google’s Activities in 2023 So Far
As the most prominent technological trend of 2023, AI has unsurprisingly been at the forefront of Google’s enterprise solutions this year, particularly with the introduction of its Bard and Duet offerings.
Duet AI for Google Workspace stands out as a generative AI productivity tool. Announced during Google I/O in May, along with other AI-related announcements such as the integration of generative AI into its core search engine, Duet AI was described by Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian as a “generative AI-powered collaborator” in a blog post accompanying the product’s launch.
Initially launched as generative AI tools for Docs and Gmail in March, Duet AI was subsequently rebranded and expanded. The initial AI features allowed users to draft, summarize, and respond to emails in Gmail, write and proofread in Docs, generate media in Slides, derive insights, conduct analysis, and create custom tables in Sheets, generate custom backgrounds and meeting summaries in Meet, and enable workflows in Chat.
However, Duet AI went beyond these initial offerings by introducing innovative features across the entire Workspace suite. This included seamless integration across all Workspace apps and the introduction of generative AI for Gmail on mobile devices, aptly named “help me write.” This feature would suggest draft messages, taking into account the context of the existing email thread.
In recent months, Google Workspace has enabled passkeys as an alternative sign-in option for over nine million organizations. This authentication method allows enterprise users to conveniently and securely access their accounts using fingerprint recognition, facial recognition, and more, on their phones, laptops, and desktops.
In May, Google extended pooled storage and shared drives to its Workspace Business Starter plan, providing a boost for small and medium-sized businesses. Previously, the plan only offered 30GB of storage per user. With pooled storage, capacity can now be shared across the entire business, offering greater flexibility and streamlining storage management for administrators.
Google introduced several updates earlier in the year, including intelligent art canvas features and a Workspace redesign in February. In March, further updates were implemented, such as improved filters on Google Sheets, changes to Google Drive label taxonomy, and expanded noise cancellation support for additional devices on Google Meet.
Google has been actively advancing its offerings in 2023, leveraging AI and introducing new features and enhancements across its Workspace suite to improve productivity and provide more efficient collaboration tools for users.