Google introducing new UI, auto zoom and more in Meet app

Google has announced to introduce new innovations in its Meet app like a refreshed user interface (UI), autozoom, enhanced reliability features powered by the latest Google AI and tools that make meetings more engaging.

Beginning next month, desktop and laptop users will see a new, richer user interface with an array of easy-to-access features that make meetings more productive and inclusive.

The new Meet for web encompasses updates to video feeds, the viewing and presenting experience, and the bottom bar.

“In an effort to reduce meeting fatigue, we’re giving you more control over how you view yourself in meetings,” the company said in a statement late on Wednesday.

You can choose to have your video feed be a tile in the grid or a floating picture, which can be resized and repositioned.

If you prefer not to see yourself at all, you can easily minimise your feed and hide it from your own view entirely.

“We’ll also be adding a setting to enable you to turn off your self-feed across all Google Meet calls,” the company said.

To boost presenter confidence during meetings, Google has also improved the pinning and unpinning of content.

When unpinned, the presentation tile becomes the same size as other participant tiles, allowing you to see more people on the call and better gauge reactions.

“Similarly, in the coming months we’ll deliver options for customising your view in Google Meet, including the ability to pin multiple video feeds. This will provide greater flexibility in how you combine people and content, adjusting for whatever you care about most in the moment,” Google said.

In addition, Google introduced another AI-powered feature to keep the focus on people during meetings.

Autozoom helps other people see you more clearly by using AI to zoom in and position you squarely in front of your camera.

“If you move, Autozoom intelligently readjusts, so everyone in your team can stay focused on what matters. Autozoom will be available to Google Workspace (paid) subscribers in the coming months,” the company said.

The company has also updated the bottom bar in Meet app to make meetings easier to navigate.

In the coming weeks, Google will also add the ability to replace your background with a video.