Google has announced a new look and feel to Gmail on the web that integrates Meet, Chat, Gmail, Drive, and Tasks, all in one place. According to Google, starting September 1, 2020, Gmail on the web will become a centralized location for your communication and collaboration.
Gmail will now feature four distinct components:
- Chat
- Rooms
- Meet
Google Chat, Meet, and Mail will not change, and you can continue to use them without interruption. However, Google Chat rooms will change and become their own space separate from Google Chat, where you can chat, share files and tasks, and collaborate on documents without leaving Gmail.
Important: You will continue to have access to Google Chat, Drive, Meet, and Tasks separately at their respective locations.
In addition, Google has introduced new features for several of their tools within Gmail:
Google Chat
- Set your availability to “Do not disturb.”
- Display your availability with status notices in Chat, such as “Out of office.”
Google Chat rooms
- Assign group tasks in rooms.
- Get notified about task updates in rooms.
- Pin important rooms, so they’re easier to find and access.
- See files shared in a room.
- Open and co-edit a document with your team in a room without leaving Gmail.
Google Mail
See integrated search results and toggle between Email and Chat results in Gmail on the web.
Additional Resources
- For a detailed overview, see Google’s Get started with the new integrated Gmail.
- For steps to complete daily tasks, see Google’s Integrated Gmail experience cheat sheet.
- For help troubleshooting common issues, see Google’s Troubleshoot issues with integrated Gmail.
- If you continue to experience issues after troubleshooting, contact the ITS Service Center.
- For more information on Google Chat and Meet at U-M, see the U-M Google Chat and U-M Google Meet services pages.
Note: The new integrated experience will roll out to Android devices, with iOS updates coming soon.
According to Google, this feature should begin showing up in U-M Google on September 1, 2020, and could take 15 days or longer to become fully visible.
Interested in our latest updates about Google at U-M? Check out the Google Service Updates page or join the U-M Collaboration Forum. To receive notifications of service disruptions, join the Collaboration Services Notifications MCommunity group.
