At I/O 2021, Google previewed a deeply integrated and more interactive Workspace experience. Now, we’re back with new Smart Canvas features, including AI summaries in Google Docs, collaborative email templates, and more.
Officials claim that the new AI feature is designed to provide an overview of the main points in the document so that users can quickly parse important information and determine the priority of attention.
Starting today, the summary section will appear on the left side of the document (above the outline). In addition to automatic generation, users can also create manually.
As more employees move to a hybrid office and printing needs are greatly reduced, today’s update also introduces the pageless format, which was first introduced in May.
When enabled, teams can more easily collaborate on documents such as wide tables, large images, or comment details. If you want to print or convert to PDF format, you can easily switch back to a paginated view with just one click.
A core part of the Smart Canvas, the so-called @menu, allows users to quickly create lists or view contact information for colleagues. Google Docs is introducing a new email draft template so users can collaborate on drafts with others.
When done there is an option to export to Gmail, and the relevant fields can be auto-populated. Interested friends can pay attention to the updates in the next few weeks.
Google Maps welcomes the smart chip, allowing users to preview address links in documents. Click to see a thumbnail with useful information (e.g. location image/address), or click a thumbnail to open a preview in the document side panel.
Finally, the Smart Canvas experience in Google Forms will introduce formula corrections in the coming weeks to help users better troubleshoot errors and gain insights and resolve issues faster.