How to change Gmail's chat and video call settings
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Key notes
- Google is adding some useful integrations to the Gmail service.
- These include chat, video calls, as well as a Google Docs feature.
- For the moment, these functions are disabled for the majority of users.
- Users can also change their availability statuses in the Gmail interface.
If we remember exactly, Google revealed, last year. its plans to turn Gmail into a true communication and work powerhouse, by integrating chat, video calls, as well as a Google Docs functionality.
According to the official Google announcement, many of the Workspace apps are actually receiving various improvements and new features.
New chat and video call integrations for Gmail
The company made the decision to keep these functions disabled for the big majority of users, in the beginning.
Also keep in mind that if you were not selected by the company to be a part of this experiment, it could be that you won’t even see the new Gmail interface and its functionality right away.
Consider it a beta testing for the new features, for which Google is still relying on public testing, in order to have it up and running as fast as possible.
How do I use these new integrations?
Here are the steps you need to follow so that you can activate these special features and improve your Gmail experience:
- Open the Gmail web interface.
- Access the Settings menu, and then the see all settings option.
- Go to Chat and Meet.
- If you want to enable the new Gmail interface, select Google Chat next to Chat, and select Save Changes.
- In order to disable the new Gmail interface, switch to Off.
The new Gmail interface will be loaded once you press the save changes button on the page, and chat, rooms, as well as Meet will all be displayed on the sidebar, right underneath the email folders.
Gmail will also receive a new Google Docs feature
Some more good news is that Google enhanced the integration of the Google Docs service.
How this works is, if a user posts a link to a document, you can now open it in chat, in order to have it displayed right away.
This feature doesn’t always work in some cases currently, as in the situations where you have received a link in an email or or pop-up chat window.
And since we are talking about changes, Google also plans to rename Rooms to Space over the course of this summer.
Some fresh functionalities will be introduced, including an n-line topic threading, presence indicators, as well as custom statuses, expressive reactions.
This means that Gmail users can change their status from the top right corner when the new interface is enabled. The dropdown menu will display options to switch from automatic, to do not disturb, or away.
The only thing that remains to be seen is when exactly Google will start the rollout for these new features, to all users.
What are your thoughts on these new integrations that Google brings to the Gmail service? Share your opinion with us in the comments section below.
