Google Workspace Weekly Recap

Google Workspace Weekly Recap – August 28, 2026

Now available: A refreshed user interface for Google Meet hardware touch controllers on Neat and Poly devices

On August 26, 2026, we are officially launching our updated user interface for Neat touch controllers and the Poly TC8. Overall, the design allows users to concentrate on their meetings rather than searching for controls, resulting in a more efficient and aesthetically pleasing experience. | Learn more.

Generate interactive simulations and models in the Gemini app

Gemini can transform your questions and complex topics into custom, interactive visualizations — directly within your Gemini app chat. | Learn more.

Restrict who can view the member lists in Google Chat spaces

Space owners and managers can now control who can view the full list of members in a Google Chat space, providing enhanced privacy and administrative control for sensitive, large-scale, or external collaboration spaces. | Learn more.

Introducing data import for Microsoft Teams: An easier, faster, and higher-fidelity migration to Google Workspace

For enterprise organizations, migrating communication history and collaboration channels to a new platform can feel daunting and risk interrupting daily business operations. To make this transition smoother, we are excited to announce that migrating chat data from Microsoft Teams to Google Workspace for large scale workloads is now generally available in data import. | Learn more.

Introducing data import for Microsoft OneDrive: An easier, faster, and higher-fidelity migration to Google Workspace

For enterprise organizations, migrating files along with their permissions to a new platform can feel daunting and risk interrupting daily business operations. To help simplify this transition, we are excited to announce general availability of Google Workspace data import (advanced mode) to support large-scale file migrations from Microsoft OneDrive. | Learn more.

Preserve and reuse grouped pivot table fields in Google Sheets

Google Sheets now supports grouped field persistence for pivot tables. When you create custom groupings or work with grouped date, time, or numeric fields, these fields are now retained directly in the pivot table editor sidebar as reusable source fields. | Learn more.

Control “Take notes for me” directly from Google Meet hardware touch controllers

On August 31, 2026, we’ll start rolling out the ability to start, stop, and manage the “Take notes for me” feature directly from the Google Meet Hardware touch controller for eligible meetings. This ensures in-room participants have direct control over Gemini note-taking without being in Companion mode. | Learn more.

Google Classroom now supports Context-Aware Access controls

We’re excited to introduce the ability to specify Context-Aware Access policies to control access to Google Classroom. This update allows Google Workspace administrators to set granular security parameters for Classroom access directly from the Admin console. | Learn more.

Improving Google Calendar’s interoperability with third-party video conferencing solutions

We are introducing improvements to Google Calendar that make it easier to join third-party video meetings, including Microsoft Teams, Zoom, and Cisco Webex, when collaborating across different calendar and email clients. | Learn more.

Suppress email responses to calendar invitations and updates

We’re introducing a new per-event setting in Google Calendar that allows meeting organizers or their delegates to decide whether or not to receive RSVP emails and automatic responses, such as out-of-office messages and vacation responders. | Learn more.

Preview client-side encrypted PDF and image files directly in Google Drive, now available in beta

Previously, users needed to download encrypted non-native files to their local devices to view the contents. With this capability, authorized users can immediately preview encrypted content in their web browser without leaving Drive. | Learn more.

Gemini-based data classification in Google Drive is now available in open beta

This feature leverages Gemini models to apply data classification labels to files in Google Drive. Previously, AI classification required admins to identify and manually label training files for the AI model to learn the types of data associated with each data classification level. | Learn more.

The Google Workspace Weekly Recap for August 28, 2026, brings a wave of updates focused on a refreshed Meet hardware UI, stronger security features, AI-powered file management, and improved migration capabilities. [1, 2, 3]

A complete breakdown of the key announcements from the Google Workspace Updates Blog includes: [1]

🖥️ Google Meet Hardware Updates

Refreshed User Interface: Google launched a newly updated user interface for Neat touch controllers and the Poly TC8 hardware touch controllers. The design is streamlined to help users focus more easily on their active meetings. [4, 5]

🔒 Security & Data Protection

Gemini Data Classification (Open Beta): Google Drive has launched an AI-powered classification system in open beta. It automates file identification and labeling across Drive, making it easier for large organizations to enforce granular Data Loss Prevention (DLP) policies, establish data retention rules, and use label metadata. [3]
Client-Side Encrypted File Previews (Beta): Google Drive now supports direct previewing for client-side encrypted (CSE) PDFs and image files. Previously, users had to download these files to view them; this update maintains maximum third-party and Google-blind encryption while improving workflow speed. [3]

💬 Google Chat & Communication

Member List Visibility Controls: Space owners and managers can now restrict who can view the full list of members in a Google Chat space. This feature adds needed administrative privacy for external collaboration spaces, large-scale communication channels, or sensitive internal projects. [1]

🔄 Enterprise Migration

Microsoft Teams Data Import: Migrating chat data and communication history from Microsoft Teams to Google Workspace is now generally available for large-scale enterprise workloads. This tool ensures a higher-fidelity, faster transition to minimize daily business operational delays. [1]