Google has announced new updates to Workspace for its messaging platform Google Chat, which is primarily available to all users through Gmail. These features, which include the ability to send video messages, aim to improve communication between users, save time and make it more efficient. The company is also building on the voice messaging feature it introduced earlier this year on Google Chat, taking it a step further with additional capabilities.
Video messages
In the Workspace blog, Google highlighted the introduction of video messaging capabilities in Google Chat and revealed some of the real-world use cases. It can be used by customer support or sales team members to share video updates about new features or account changes, the company says. It is also claimed to be useful for sharing company-wide updates or as a facilitator for a live meeting that members have missed.
Like any other chat message, this feature can be used in direct messages (DMs), group DMs, and spaces, and can be interacted with by quoting, replying, or reacting. Messages sent or received will be stored in the Media section of the Shared tab.
However, the video messaging feature has certain limitations, the most notable of which is its availability. According to Google, video messaging in Google Chat is not available on ChromeOS, Linux, and Firefox. Although users can receive them on all platforms, they can only be sent on the web. This feature is currently not available on mobile.
Voicemail transcriptions
In the following blog post, Google also announced the introduction of transcription capabilities for voice messages on Google Chat. After the rollout, users will now see automatic voice message transcriptions in Chat on web and mobile. It can be seen by pressing new Look at the transcript option that appears below the voice message. Alternatively, users can also choose to hide transcripts.
Google says that voice message transcripts are treated as readable text for screen readers. It will adhere to the language settings of the device.