[Updated] Microsoft is testing a new Gmail and Google Drive integration on Outlook.com

Something interesting is currently happening on Microsoft’s Outlook.com webmail. The company has apparently started rolling out new integrations with Gmail, Google Calendar, and Google Drive, allowing users to access these Google services right from their Outlook.com inbox.

Outlook.com user Florian B noticed the new Google integration on the webmail this morning. We’re not seeing this on our Outlook.com emails accounts yet, so this could be a gradual rollout. Microsoft also appears to have redesigned the webmail again to add an account picker on the left sidebar, similar to what we currently have on Outlook for iOS and Android. However, moving between accounts isn’t exactly seamless as the page will reload every time you switch.

You can now add your gmail account on https://t.co/qrV9WCmJyQ ! pic.twitter.com/KYvZe6wx7q

— Florian B (@flobo09) November 20, 2019

The Gmail-Outlook integration is a good start but it still feels early. You cna't easily move from one to the other, it reload the WHOLE page from scratch each time. pic.twitter.com/H3lWrZdh6S

— Florian B (@flobo09) November 20, 2019

This is still an exciting development for Outlook.com, which could be about to lose its Microsoft focus to become to true web version of Outlook. Gmail is one of the most popular email services out there, and it will be interesting to see if Microsoft could add integrations with other email and cloud storage services going forward.

We’ve reached out to Microsoft to learn more about this Gmail integration, and we’ll update this post if we learn anything new. In the meantime, let us know in the comments if you’re also seeing this new Gmail integration in your Outlook.com inbox.

Update 11/21 8:10AM PT: We’ve just received the following message from a Microsoft spokesperson confirming the experiment: “We are always looking for new ways to extend the best email experience to our customers and can confirm that we’re experimenting with a small set of Outlook.com users to learn and gather feedback.”