G Suite: Meet is now accessible from Gmail

Google’s video conferencing tool is now accessible from Gmail, to make it easier for G Suite users to switch from one communication tool to another. New features may follow soon.

Google announced on Thursday that its business video conferencing tool, Google Meet, is now directly accessible from Gmail . This new integration is currently available on Gmail for the web, and will soon be available on mobile.

"With Meet in Gmail, you can easily start or join a meeting in seconds," Google wrote in a blog post. "Our goal is to help you keep track of the day, seamlessly switching from email to video meeting, whatever form of communication you need."

Users can click "join a meeting" or "start a meeting" from the Gmail sidebar, which opens a new window.

An unprecedented success

Last month, Google reported that daily use of the video conferencing tool has increased , not least due to widespread telework due to the Covid-19 pandemic. As of March 31, daily use of Google Meet was 25 times higher than in January.

The increased need for videoconferencing tools for businesses prompted Google to intensify its promotion of the tool, in particular by renaming it recently: "Hangouts Meet" has become "Meet". Last week, Google also introduced new security features for education customers who use Meet.

According to Reuters, Google will add more features to Meet later this month, including a layout option that can display up to 16 participants at a time, better video quality when lighting is poor, and the ability to filter background noise.