Managing your appointments and work calendar could soon be much easier with a new update to Gmail.
The email provider has revealed an update that it says provides better location context for Gmail events and reply confirmations.
This means that if you have already specified that you are working from home (or office), Gmail will now offer the default method of attaching to your reply which it deems most appropriate and accurate.
Gmail RSVP
In theory, this should prevent bosses or co-workers from inviting you to in-person meetings, even though you’ve made it very clear in Google Calendar that you’re working from home that day.
“This feature is designed to improve how you and your co-workers use your scheduled workspace for meetings and events, especially in a hybrid work environment,” the company wrote in a statement. Google Workspace update blog (opens in a new tab) announcing the start.
The new add-on is now rolling out and will be active by default. It will be available to Google Workspace Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Fundamentals, Education Plus, Education Standard, Teaching & Learning Upgrade, nonprofits, and senior G Suite Business customers.
However, personal Google Accounts as well as Google Workspace Essentials, Business Starter, Enterprise Essentials, Frontline, and legacy G Suite Basic customers will not be able to use it.
New is the latest version of Google Workspace (opens in a new tab) improvements as it encourages users around the world to be more productive and collaborative.
Google Workspace first allowed users to tag if they would attend an in-person meeting in July 2021, as the coronavirus pandemic has made many in-person meetings difficult.
The next update to Google Calendar in March 2022 allowed the service to display a number of status options in Google Chat, providing additional information about what you or your colleagues are up to. Previously limited to just showing when someone was out of the office, Google Chat can now display a variety of different statuses, including “in a meeting” or “in focus time.”