What you need to know
- Google is pushing an update to Workspace customers that includes Gemini summaries of unread conversations.
- Hovering your mouse over a conversation will reveal a ‘Summary’ button, which will generate a bulleted list of ‘important’ information.
- In early October, Google Chat introduced video messaging as an extension of the previous voice messaging update.
Google is rolling out an update to its chat app that tells you everything you need to know in front Open a thread.
In a post to Workspace, Google highlighted the launch of the Gemini in Chat update, which provides AI-powered summaries of busy conversations. The company says users will soon be able to find a bulleted list of “important” points from unread chat threads within the app. Google says this feature could help users “focus” and find what’s important before tackling other tasks.
Users who open Chat’s “Home” page on the web will see Gemini’s typical starry-eyed “Summary” button when they hover over an unread conversation. Click to expand a row, like a drop-down menu. From there, users will see an “About” banner with key points that Gemini feels are important. Google says this is intended as a “summary” of the conversation.
Google Gemini’s chat overview is also being rolled out for mobile users. However, to view them, mobile users must long press on an unread chat thread. Gemini Overview automatically appears above the list of regular threading options in the app.
Of course, Google includes the classic AI tagline: “You can get things wrong.” Users may want to jump in and check on things just to be safe. Additionally, the post states that users can turn this off if they don’t want to go through Gemini for overview purposes.
The update is rolling out today (October 21) to Web, Android, and iOS users in immediate and planned release domains. Google Workspace customers with Gemini Business, Enterprise, Education, Education Premium, and AI and Messaging add-ons are eligible.
Google has been upgrading Chat throughout 2024, with the latest version made available to users in early October. This update brings video messaging similar to what you experience on WhatsApp. Google is offering users a way to record a 3-minute video in the chat app. These video messages can be sent in Direct Messages (1:1), Group DMs, and Spaces.
Additionally, this update is essentially an add-on to Google’s previous update in March, which added voice messages to chats. Instead of typing text into a DM or group DM, users can tap the microphone icon to start recording their voice. Unfortunately, voice messages are limited to business customers.
