Google has made its Workspace suite (earlier called G Suite) free for everyone. It’s Gmail, Documents, Calendar, Google Meet, and Google Chat — all within one platform. And what this new change means for you is that now you can connect with groups of hundreds of connections, create and collaborate with them all in one place.
Now, to get this, you just have to turn on an option called Google Chat within your Gmail settings.
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How to enable Google Chat in Gmail
Here’s how it goes:
- Open Gmail.
- Click Settings at the top right corner. Then click on See all settings.
- In the subsequent settings page, tap on Chat and Meet from the top menu bar.
- Within the Chat option, select Google Chat and click on Save Changes at the bottom.
That’s it. Now, you’ll be welcomed by the new Gmail interface. In the dialog box that pops up, tap on Get Started to get a quick walkthrough the features.
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Speaking of which here are the —
Google Workspace Features
Google Workspace was introed in October 2020 and here are the goodies that the overhauled G Suite offer:
- Smart suggestions in emails or documents
- Tag other users while drafting a message in Gmail to the whole group or scheduling a meeting invite or any tasks in a shared Calendar
- Present Google Docs, Sheets and Slides right within your Meet calls
- Use Smart Canvas to generate a checklist in Google Docs and quickly assign roles and next steps
- Use Rooms in Google Chat as a central place to connect, create and collaborate with others. In the coming few months, Google is planning a transition from Rooms to Spaces. This will bring new features like in-line topic threading, presence indicators, custom statuses, expressive reactions, and a collapsible view, and seamless integration with your files and tasks.
Now besides this free Workspace, there is a paid variant also called Google Workspace Individual, which offers “premium capabilities, including smart booking services, professional video meetings, personalized email marketing and much more on the way”.
