Friday, December 8, 2023

Google Workspace Updates Weekly Recap - December 8, 2023

1 New update

Unless otherwise indicated, the features below are available to all Google Workspace customers, and are fully launched or in the process of rolling out. Rollouts should take no more than 15 business days to complete if launching to both Rapid and Scheduled Release at the same time. If not, each stage of rollout should take no more than 15 business days to complete.


Report sharing and comment push notifications for abuse on Android devices
In order to make the process of reporting abuse much easier and reduce unnecessary exposure to harmful content on Android devices, users will now have the ability to report comment notifications and sharing notifications as spam directly from the notification via the Google Drive app. If users have lost access to a document, they will still be able to perform a user block on the user who sent the share or comment. | Rolling out now to Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains at an extended pace (potentially longer than 15 days for feature visibility) with expected completion in January 2024. | Available to all Google Workspace customers and users with personal Google Accounts. | Learn more about reporting a violation. 


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.


Access Google Vault audit logs alongside other Workspace audit logs 
We’re excited to announce the general availability of an improved Google Vault audit log experience. As a result of this change, you can now find Vault audit logs in the Admin console alongside other Google Workspace apps like Gmail, Google Drive, and more. | Available to Google Workspace Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Essentials Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Standard, Education Plus customers or customers with the Vault add-on license only. | Learn more about accessing Vault audit logs. 


Solve math equations easily with Smart Compose 
We're introducing a new feature that extends the power of Smart Compose to help you solve simple math equations. | Available to Google Workspace Business Starter, Business Standard, Business Plus, Essentials Starter, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Essentials Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Fundamentals, Education Standard, Education Plus, the Teaching and Learning Upgrade, and Nonprofits only. | Learn more about smart compose for math.


Introducing a redesigned search results page in Google Chat 
Chat will now highlight matching keywords in search results and show clear demarcation between results for easier browsing. The highlighted keywords could be an exact match to your search query or terms that are related to your search query. | Learn more about highlighting in Chat. 


Admins in Google Vault can now export hyperlinked Google Drive content from Gmail messages
Starting December 8, 2023, admins can export Drive files hyperlinked in Gmail messages directly in Google Vault. | Available to Google Workspace Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Essentials Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Standard, Education Plus customers or customers with the Vault add-on license only. | Learn more about exporting hyperlinked Drive content.


Set client-side encryption as the default mode for new emails, events, and files
Admins can now set client-side encryption (CSE) to be on by default for: newly created Gmail messages, Google Calendar events, newly created Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides files, and newly uploaded Google Drive files. | Google Workspace Assured Controls is available as an add-on to Google Workspace Enterprise Plus customers only. | Learn more about client-side encryption as the default mode. 


New beta to add granular control options for who can respond to Google Forms 
With this new option, form creators can limit response access to specific users, groups, or target audiences—similar to how file owners can restrict the sharing of Google Docs, Sheets, Slides or Sites in Drive. | Learn more about Forms controls. 


Turn on snippets for additional context surrounding data loss prevention rule violations 
Admins can now view “Sensitive Content Snippets” for data loss prevention (DLP) rules. This applies to DLP events for Drive, Chat, and Chrome. When turned on, snippets will log the matched content that triggered a DLP violation in the security investigation tool. | Available to Google Workspace Frontline Standard, Enterprise Standard and Enterprise Plus, Education Fundamentals, Education Standard, Teaching and Learning Upgrade, and Education Plus, Enterprise Essentials Plus, Cloud Identity Premium and BeyondCorp Enterprise customers only. | Learn more about snippets. 


Manage conversations by muting notifications in Google Chat 
We’re introducing a new mute/unmute option in Google Chat to assist you in prioritizing and managing your messages. | Learn more about muting notifications in Chat. 


Updated grace periods for resolving policy violations in managed iOS devices 
We’re adjusting a few components to how this grace period operates to boost compliance and prevent inadvertent circumvention. | Available to Google Workspace Frontline Starter and Frontline Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Standard and Enterprise Plus, Education Standard and Education Plus; Enterprise Essentials and Enterprise Essentials Plus and Cloud Identity Premium customers only. | Learn more about policy violations in managed iOS devices.


Additional enhancements to the search results page in Google Chat
We’re introducing condensed versions of your search results to only show the relevant parts of a message that match closest to your search query. By selecting “Show more”, you can view the entire message without the need to open the conversation. | Learn more about search in Chat.


Easily fill in smart chips in Google Docs using placeholder chips
When crafting content in Docs, a replaceable chip for people, dates, files, events, and places can be inserted and quickly filled in by collaborators. | Learn more about placeholder chips.



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: 
Rapid and Scheduled Release Domains: 


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