Tuesday, May 2, 2023

Providing greater visibility with additional Google Calendar statuses in Google Chat

What’s changing

Last year, we introduced the ability to see additional Google Calendar statuses like “In a meeting” or “In focus time” in Google Chat. Starting today, Chat statuses will include even more information, such as: 
  • How much longer someone is in a meeting or focus time 
  • If someone has an upcoming commitment within the next 10 minutes 
  • If someone has an upcoming out of office event within the next business day 
The Chat status will automatically disappear once you send a message to someone or you can manually dismiss it. However, if their status changes, an updated status will reappear. 


Additionally, you can see the current working location and local time zone set by your colleagues when sending a new message to them in Chat. 
Providing greater visibility with additional Google Calendar statuses in Google Chat

Who’s impacted 

Admins and end users 


Why you’d use it 

This feature gives you a better understanding of others’ availability, helping you plan when to reach out and collaborate. If someone is currently unavailable, you now have a more accurate picture of their response time. 


Additional details 

This feature will be rolling out to mobile devices in the coming months. 


Getting started 


Rollout pace 

Availability 

  • Available to all Google Workspace customers, as well as legacy G Suite Basic and Business customers 
  • Not available to users with personal Google Accounts 

Resources