U-M Google Updates

U-M Google June-August Monthly Summary

Updates

Chat

  • Mark a thread as unread

    You can now mark threads as unread in Chat messages. Previously, you could only mark messages in the main conversation stream as unread. Learn more about marking a thread as read/unread.

Drive

  • New alert badge when accessing externally-owned or shared files

    A badge now displays on Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides files when the file is owned by or shared with someone external to U-M Google. You'll also see a pop-up with more details and the option to report the externally-owned file for abuse (if applicable). These alerts help you identify potentially harmful files and when to be cautious when sharing confidential information in external files.

    External badge alerts stating that the document is owned by/shared with someone outside U-Mthat the document is owned by/shared with someone outside U-M

  • Granular control options for who can respond to existing Forms

    Last year, Google upgraded Forms to give you more granular control over who can access and respond to them. At the time, this only applied to newly created forms. In August 2025, Google automatically upgraded all existing forms to the new controls. The upgraded experience is now similar to how you normally share Google files with external individuals. Learn more about publishing and sharing forms with responders.

    One major change is that you could previously restrict responses to “trusted domains” (i.e., University of Michigan). This capability was phased out on September 8 as part of the upgrade. Responders from trusted domains can no longer access or submit responses to these forms. You must review the sharing settings in your upgraded forms to ensure responders regain access if you used the “trusted domains” feature.

  • Restrict printing, copying, and downloading abilities of editors

    File owners and shared drive Managers can now apply printing, copying, and downloading restrictions to collaborators with edit permissions. (Editors still retain their editing abilities.) Previously, they could only apply this restriction to viewers and commenters. Learn more about restricting permissions for collaborators in Drive.

  • Send feedback directly to Form owners 

    Form responders can now contact form owners directly by clicking Help and feedback at the bottom of a form and selecting Contact form owner. Learn more about contacting form owners.

  • Search for embedded content in Sites

    When you perform a search, the results will also include content from within embedded files, such as Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, and PDFs. Previously, searching on a site only showed results from the text directly on the pages. Learn more about searching for embedded content in Sites.

  • Refreshed user interface in Google Drive for desktop app

    The Drive for desktop app will now display important information, such as sync activity, notifications, shared files, and more in a single view. Learn more about the Google Drive for desktop redesign.

    Updated Drive for desktop app interface

  • Video engagement insights in Drive

    You can view the total number of times a video is opened under a new Analytics section within the Details panel. To view the new Analytics section, open the video in Drive > click the three-dot menu > click Details > locate the "Analytics" section.

  • Thumbnail previews on video progress bars in Drive

    Similar to YouTube, you can now view thumbnail previews when hovering over the video’s progress bar in Drive. This feature is only available for newly uploaded videos.

  • Arrow keys move an object by a pixel distance in Slides

    Using the arrow keys to “nudge” an object in a Slides presentation will now move it by one pixel. If you want to move the object a larger distance, press Shift + arrow key.

Gemini & NotebookLM

  • Create quizzes in Gemini

    You can generate quizzes for any subject in the Gemini app by uploading relevant documents or entering a prompt like “Give me a practice quiz about the nervous system.” Based on the uploaded files or prompt, Gemini will generate interactive quizzes, featuring multiple-choice or true-or-false questions. Once you’ve completed the quiz, you’ll see an overall score, accuracy breakdown, and insights regarding areas of improvement and where to focus your study efforts. Learn more about creating quizzes in Gemini.

  • New study tools in Gemini

    You can now use Gemini to create flashcards and study guides, and customize the number of questions and question types in generated quizzes. Gemini will now automatically integrate visuals and YouTube videos into its responses. Finally, you can utilize the new “Guided Learning” feature, which walks you through subjects step-by-step. Learn more about Guided Learning and the other study tools in Gemini.

    User walking through the new Guided Learning feature in the Gemini web app

  • Create illustrated storybooks in Gemini

    You can now use Gemini to craft personalized, illustrated storybooks about any topic with read-aloud narration.

  • Video Overviews and upgrades to the Studio panel in NotebookLM

    Like Audio Overviews, you can now turn your notebooks and their sources into Video Overviews that are narrated by an AI voice. You have the option to customize your Video Overview by specifying topics to focus on, indicating your learning goals, describing the target audience, and more. Relatedly, you can now generate multiple Audio Overviews in a single notebook and shareable links to content, such as Audio Overviews and Video Overviews. Learn more about Video Overviews in NotebookLM.

  • Introducing Gemini Live

    Gemini Live is a conversational feature available in the Gemini mobile app. With Live, you can talk naturally with Gemini, asking it questions, brainstorming ideas, and more. You can even share your live camera view to ask questions about your surroundings. (As with other Gemini features, your interactions are not human-reviewed or used to train Google’s AI models, as long as you are using your U-M Google account to access the app.) Learn more about using Gemini Live.

  • Incorporate information from Calendar, Tasks, and Keep in your conversations with Gemini Live

    You can now reference Calendar, Tasks, and Keep in your conversations with Gemini Live. Examples include asking Gemini about upcoming meetings on your Calendar, specific notes in Keep, or upcoming Tasks. To reference Calendar, Tasks, and Keep in conversations, the “Google Workspace apps” app must be enabled in your Gemini settings.

Mail

Meet

  • Customizable caption styling

    You can now customize the styling of captions in Meet, including the font size, font type, color, and background color. You can customize captions during the meeting by hovering over them or going to Settings > Captions > Customize your captions. Your settings will persist across your meetings and can be changed at any time.

  • New host management control for who can ask to join a meeting

    Meeting hosts can now control who can request to join a meeting. This option is available when the meeting access type is “Trusted” or “Restricted” and can be configured:

    • From the Calendar invite: Go to Video call options (gear icon) > Host controls > Meeting access type. When “Trusted” or “Restricted” is selected, you can uncheck the “Anyone with the meeting link can ask to join" box.
    • During the meeting: Go to Host controls (lock icon) > Meeting access type. You can uncheck the “Anyone with the meeting link can ask to join” box.

    Learn more about controlling access to Meet sessions.

Previously Communicated

None!

U-M Google April & May Monthly Summary

Updates

Google Chat

  • Real-time markdown styling and code formatting 

Markdown styling and code formatting will now be applied in real time while composing Chat messages. Previously, formatting would only be applied after the message was sent. Learn more about using markdown and code formatting in Chat.

Google Drive

  • Accessibility tags for tables, equations, and checkboxes in PDFs exported from Docs

Building upon Google’s structural and accessibility tagging additions in PDFs exported from Docs last year, they have now introduced accessibility tags for tables, equations, and checkboxes.

  • Advanced formatting for tables in Sheets

You can now toggle on/off gridlines, alternating colors, condense view, and the option to add a footer to tables in Sheets. Within a table, click the down arrow next to the table title and hover over Table formatting in the drop-down menu to find and adjust the new settings.

  • Add multiple people chips in one Sheets cell 

You can convert cells with multiple emails in one cell to people chips. Learn more about inserting smart chips in your Sheets.

Google has added a new right sidebar to Slides that allows you to explore and insert a variety of design elements quickly. These elements include:

  • Building blocks: A new library of pre-formatted pieces of content, such as agendas, quotes, or key statistics. These blocks, which function similarly to building blocks in Docs, are composed of native Slides elements and can be de-grouped and customized once inserted into your slide.
  • Stock images: Access millions of high-quality stock images in an expanded library of web images, stickers, and GIFs.
  • Templates: Modern, professionally-designed Slides templates.

User is using the new templates and building blocks sidebar in Google Slides

Learn more about using templates and building blocks in Slides.

Google has added even more Slides templates for you to use and customize.

Google Meet

Google added several new redesigns and features for customizing your Meet session with “dynamic layouts.”

  • “Portrait tiles” prioritize faces by cropping out excess background video
  • Optimized tile placement logic to enable much more efficient layouts that minimize unused space
  • Visual design refresh, including color-sampled tile theming for participants with their cameras off
  • Larger room tiles in the grid when ‘Dynamic tiles’ is not active
  • More flexibility around how tiles are cropped, including self-view
  • Increased video pin limit from three to six

These updates are currently only available for Meet sessions on the web. Learn more about dynamic layouts in Meet. (Note that U-M Google does not have access to the dynamic tiles and face match features listed in the article.)

Previously Communicated

Introducing Google Gemini and NotebookLM

We’re excited to announce that Google’s generative AI services, Gemini and NotebookLM, are now available for use with your U-M Google account.

What are they?

  • Gemini: Generative AI chat app that can be used to create new content and images, help brainstorm ideas, draft or summarize writing, explore complex topics, and assist with research and creative work.
  • NotebookLM: AI-powered research and note-taking assistant using Google’s Gemini models. NotebookLM lets you upload your own sources, such as documents, PDFs, and Google Docs, and interact with them through summaries, questions, audio overviews, and AI-assisted exploration.
    • It’s especially helpful for synthesizing large amounts of information across uploaded materials.

How do I access them?

Both services are available to all active U-M faculty, staff, and students on the Ann Arbor, Dearborn, and Flint campuses, and Michigan Medicine.

Gemini

NotebookLM

Note: Google does not display the U-M logo beside your profile picture in Gemini or NotebookLM as they do in other Google services. Ensure you are logged into your U-M Google account when accessing them.

Privacy & security

  • Gemini and NotebookLM are considered Core Services and approved for use with the same types of sensitive data as your U-M Google account.
  • Your interactions, chats, uploaded files and sources, and generated content are not human-reviewed or used to train Google’s AI models, as long as you use your U-M Google account to access the apps. This information remains in U-M Google and is not shared externally with third parties.
  • Within NotebookLM specifically, chat responses and audio overviews only use data from the sources you upload.
    • When using audio overviews in interactive mode, your voice and transcribed interactions with the AI hosts will not be stored.
  • You can view your Gemini Apps Activity at any time. Your conversation history is retained for 18 months.

Refer to Using the Gemini App and Using NotebookLM for detailed information on each service and its available features/functionality. Refer to the ITS AI Services site for more general information on Google Gemini and NotebookLM at U-M.

Interested in learning more about Gemini and NotebookLM at U-M? View the ITS instructional support workshop - "From Idea to Insight: Exploring Gemini and NotebookLM for Education"

U-M Google March Monthly Summary

Updates

Google Chat

When mentioning (“@”) an individual that is not already in a Chat group, direct message, or space, Google will prompt and ask if you’d like to add them to the group or space and send the message, or send the message without adding them. This will not work for one-to-one direct messages. Learn more about mentioning or adding someone to a conversation in Chat.

New Google Chat prompt asking if you'd like to add an individual to a group conversation or space

You can now create names for existing and new group direct messages in Chat. Group names are visible to all members of the group direct message. Named groups will continue to appear in the “Direct messages” section of your Chat sidebar. Learn more about naming a group direct message.

Similar to custom sections in Slack, you can now organize your Chat conversations (including DMs and spaces) into custom-named sections. You can also modify the height of each section, reorder them based on preference, toggle the Unread button on or off, and start a new DM or space message from the three-dot icon next to the Unread button. While this new experience is visible on mobile devices, you can only create and manage sections on Chat for the web or in Gmail.

To create a new custom section, hover over the three-dot icon beside the Direct Messages or Spaces section headers, select Create new section, and enter the name for the section. You can then either drag and drop conversations into the new section or hover over the conversation to find the three-dot icon menu and select Move conversation. Learn more about creating and organizing sections in Chat.

Within Google Chat, a user hovers over a conversation, clicks the three-dot icon, and moves a conversation to a new custom section.

Google has introduced a new “Board” tab in all one-to-one and group direct messages and Chat spaces. Selecting the board will open a right panel displaying it alongside the message stream. Boards feature sections for pinned messages and resources. This feature is similar to Slack canvases.

By default, all members in a conversation can pin, add resources, edit, and delete information from the board, with the exception of announcement spaces. Space Managers can also restrict who can update a board. Learn more about the Board tab in Chat.

Google Chat space displaying the new Board tab, opened on the right side with a red box around it

Google Drive

  • Instant playback after video file uploads 

You can now watch videos the moment you upload them to Drive on the web. This feature eliminates wait times between uploading and playback, while ensuring that your videos are still fully processed. Learn more about storing and playing videos in Drive.

Similar to the Sheets functionality that helps you convert data to drop-down chips in one click, you can now use bulk chip conversion for people chips. If you have a column of data that includes a variety of email addresses, Sheets will show a “Convert to people chips” suggestion when you click into your data range. By hovering over that indicator, you can preview the suggestion and then convert your data to people chips in one click. You can also change the format for these people chips from the default of “First Name Last Name” to “Last Name, First Name” or “Email address.” Learn more about inserting smart chips in your Sheets.

Within a Google Sheets spreadsheet, a user clicks into a data range, hovers over and clicks the new "Convert to people chips" option

You can now view and search transcripts for videos you’ve uploaded to Drive. The transcript appears in a sidebar next to the video player and highlights the currently spoken text. Your video must have captions enabled to access this feature (click the CC button in the lower right corner of the video player to enable it). To access the transcript, open a video with captions, click the gear icon in the lower right corner, and select Transcript from the drop-down menu. Learn more about turning on video transcripts in Drive.

Google Meet

Google has added several more options for how in-meeting reactions are experienced through screen readers. The following options have been added for in-meeting reactions: 

  • Don’t announce reactions: No announcements or sound when a reaction is received
  • Play a sound for all reactions: Play a sound when a reaction is received
  • Announce all reactions: Announce only the emoji when a reaction is received 
  • Announce all reactions and senders: Announce the emoji and who sent the received reaction

You can access and adjust the settings at any time during the meeting by pressing Shift+R. Settings will persist from meeting to meeting. Learn more about using Meet with a screen reader and Meet accessibility in general.

Previously, Meet live captions were displayed in real-time, but disappeared as the conversation continued. This update makes it possible to scroll back and review the last 30 minutes of captions during a meeting.

Previously Communicated

Update to “Make changes to events” permission on shared Google calendars

Introducing Grackle: New accessibility add-ons for Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides

The ITS Digital Accessibility team is excited to introduce Grackle, a set of accessibility checker add-ons designed for use with your U-M Google account. Grackle can help you create accessible documents, spreadsheets, and presentations in Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides.

Grackle’s integration into Docs, Sheets, and Slides provides intuitive tools for spotting and resolving accessibility issues as you edit. Ensuring digital accessibility is not just a best practice; it's a vital component of the University of Michigan's commitment to equity and inclusivity. Grackle empowers you to create barrier-free content that everyone can access and enjoy, aligning with U-M policy and our compliance standards of WCAG 2.1 AA.

Benefits of using Grackle:

  • Check and fix accessibility issues directly within U-M Google to ensure your documents are user-friendly and inclusive.
  • By meeting accessibility standards, your content becomes more usable for a diverse audience.
  • Gain insights into accessibility best practices as you compose and edit, with guidance available as needed.

There are three separate add-ons you must install from the Google Workspace Marketplace to begin using the tools:

Refer to the ITS Digital Accessibility site for more information on installing and using each tool:

Join the university community in making strides toward a more inclusive digital landscape for all!