This official feed from the Google Workspace team provides essential information about new features and improvements for Google Workspace customers.
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What’s changing

Today, we’re introducing a highly requested feature: Dark mode in Drive on web. This new setting aims to provide you with a more comfortable, customizable viewing experience for Drive. 
Dark mode now available in Google Drive web


Getting started 

  • Admins: There is no admin control for this feature. 
  • End users: To use Dark Mode, go to Drive > Settings > Appearance > Dark. Visit the Help Center to learn more about using Dark theme in Google Drive.

Rollout pace 

Availability 

  • Available to all Google Workspace customers, Google Workspace Individual subscribers, and users with personal Google accounts 

Resources 

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This announcement was part of Google Cloud Next ‘24. Visit the Workspace Blog to learn more about the next wave of innovations in Workspace, including enhancements to Gemini for Google Workspace.


What’s changing

Earlier this year, we introduced the integration between Google Chat and Dialogflow CX through the Google Workspace Developer Preview Program. 


Dialogflow helps developers build and host Chat bots that understand natural language with minimal coding effort. The enhanced Dialogflow CX version, now generally available, provides a new way of designing virtual agents by taking a state machine approach to agent design. Now, developers have clear and explicit control over a conversation, enjoy a better end-user experience, and gain access to an improved development workflow. 


The Dialogflow CX integration with Google Chat allows developers to easily create Google Chat apps that are useful in all kinds of interactions, especially those that require natural human speech. For example, consider a Chat app that helps people rent cars. A user might write, "I'd like to rent a car". The Chat app might respond with a question like "Where would you like to pick up the vehicle?" which starts a human-like conversation with the user in which the Chat app both understands and responds with human speech while booking the car rental. 
Build a Dialogflow CX Google Chat app that understands and responds with natural language

Who’s impacted 

Developers 


Why it’s important 

Dialogflow CX enables developers to create Chat apps with virtual agents that are more conversational and capable of performing specific tasks. 


Getting started 


Rollout pace 


Availability 

  • Available to all Google Workspace customers 

Resources 

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2 New updates

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.


Address access permissions for Google Drive embeds in Google Sites 
When adding embedded content from Google Drive into a Google Site, such as a PDF, document or presentation, site editors will now be prompted to address potential access permissions. The notification will also appear when site editors are publishing the site or sharing it with other site collaborators and viewers. This will ensure other site collaborators or viewers have permission to edit or view embedded Drive content when collaborating on a site. | Rolling out to Rapid Release domains now; launch to Scheduled Release domains planned for April 25, 2024. | Available to Google Workspace customers, Google Workspace Individual subscribers, and users with personal Google accounts. | Learn more about adding Google files, videos, website content, & more.
Address access permissions for Google Drive embeds in Google Sites

Track usage for Gemini for Workspace users in the Admin console
We recently announced the Gemini Business add-on which provides a subset of generative AI features, subject to monthly usage limits. Gemini Business customers can now check a user’s Gemini limit status in the admin console. For Gemini Enterprise and Gemini Business customers, admins can check their user’s last Gemini usage date as well. | Gemini usage and limit status reports are now available. | Learn more about Usage limits in Gemini for Google Workspace.




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.


Introducing the AI Meetings and Messaging for Google Workspace add-on 
As we continue to expand our Gemini for Google Workspace offerings, we're excited to introduce the AI Meetings and Messaging add-on, which will help you have richer meetings and foster more meaningful collaboration. | Learn more about the AI Meetings and Messaging add-on. 

Introducing a new AI Security add-on for Google Workspace  
The AI Security add-on will give customers access to the AI Classification capability in Google Drive. AI Classification allows IT teams to automatically and continuously identify, classify, and label sensitive files across the organization. | Learn more about the AI Security add-on. 

Control your users’ access to new Gemini for Google Workspace features before general availability
We’re introducing a new setting in the Admin console which will give Gemini customers the ability to test Gemini for Google Workspace alpha features before they become generally available. Specifically, admins will be able to turn on alpha features for all Gemini provisioned Workspace users or for a subset of Gemini users in a particular Organizational Unit (OU) or Group. | Learn more about accessing Gemini for Google Workspace features. 

Protect sensitive admin actions with multi-party approvals 
To protect our customers from malicious actors taking sensitive admin actions, we’re launching multi-party approvals where one admin must approve certain sensitive actions initiated by another. | Learn more about multi-party approvals.

Changes to displaying the “deprovisioned” status for Google Meet hardware devices 
We are removing the “deprovisioned” state from the Admin console. You’ll no longer see devices in this state from the device status page (Devices > Google Meet Hardware > Devices), nor will you be able to filter for those labels. | Learn more about statuses for Google Meet hardware devices.



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




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What’s changing 

Back in 2021, we introduced the “enrollment privilege”, which restricts who in your organization can enroll or re-enroll Google Meet hardware devices. Prior to introducing this privilege, Admins had to put devices in a “deprovisioned” state to prevent end users from re-enrolling devices until they were moved to a “pending” state. 



Since the enrollment privilege makes those labels obsolete, we are removing the “deprovisioned” state from the Admin console. You’ll no longer see devices in this state from the device status page (Devices > Google Meet Hardware > Devices), nor will you be able to filter for those labels.


Getting started

  • Admins: 
    • Visit the Help Center to learn more about enrolling and re-enrolling  Google Meet hardware devices into your organization, as well as licensing FAQs.
    • To prevent unauthorized users from re-enrolling devices, opt in to Enrollment Privilege Enforcement: Menu > Google Meet hardware > Settings > Service Settings and toggle ‘Require enrollment privilege’ to ON.
  • End users: There is no end user impact or action required.

Rollout pace

  • Available now.

Availability


Read More

This announcement was part of Google Cloud Next ‘24. Visit the Workspace Blog to learn more about the next wave of innovations in Workspace, including enhancements to Gemini for Google Workspace.

What’s changing

To protect our customers from malicious actors taking sensitive admin actions, we’re launching multi-party approvals where one admin must approve certain sensitive actions initiated by another. Multi-party approvals will be required for the following settings:
  • 2-Step verification
  • Account recovery
  • Advanced Protection 
  • Google session control
  • Login Challenges
  • Passwordless (beta)
This feature is available for eligible Workspace customers with multiple super admin accounts — see the “Getting started” section below for more information.


Who’s impacted

Admins


Why it’s important

Multi-party approvals adds an extra layer of security for sensitive actions taken in the Admin console by ensuring no sensitive action happens in a silo and, most importantly, helps prevent unauthorized or accidental changes from being made. This added layer of approval helps ensure actions are being taken appropriately and not too broadly or too often. Additionally, this is more convenient for admins because the action is executed automatically after approval and the requester doesn’t need to take additional action. Multi-party approvals makes super admins aware of what changes are being attempted and gives them the opportunity to accept or reject these sensitive actions.


Outlined below is an example of the feature in action, in this case there is an attempt to make a change to 2-step verification policies:

When 2-step verification changes are attempted, admins will be required to submit the change to a super admin for approval.

Super admins can review and take action on these requests in the Admin console by navigating to Security > Multi-party approval. Super admins will also receive email alerts when a 2-step verification change is requested or any other protected action is attempted.

Admins can open a specific approval request to view more information including who is impacted by the change, what the configuration was before the change and what it will be after the change.

Getting started

  • Admins: 
    • This feature is available for eligible Workspace customers with two or more super admin accounts. Multi-party approvals are OFF by default and can be turned on in the Admin console by going to Security > Multi-party approval settings. Visit the Help Center to learn more about multi-party approvals for sensitive actions.


Rollout pace


Availability

  • Available to Google Workspace Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Standard, Education Plus, and Cloud Identity Premium customers


Read More

Useful Links

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Learn about more Google Workspace launches

On the “What’s new in Google Workspace?” Help Center page, learn about new products and features launching in Google Workspace, including smaller changes that haven’t been announced on the Google Workspace Updates blog.

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