Friday, February 27, 2026
We are adding two new functions to Google Sheets, =SHEET and =SHEETS. These additions help users manage and reference spreadsheets with multiple tabs more effectively. | Learn more about two new functions in Google Sheets.
To ensure better data security, starting in Q2 2026, Google Groups will launch stricter internal and external classifications on group memberships. | Learn more about internal and external membership classifications for Google Groups.
On Chrome on your computer, you can now save PDFs directly to Drive without leaving the page, and easily get back to them later in the “Saved from Chrome” folder. | Learn more about saving PDFs to your Google Drive.
Last year, we announced proactive Gemini-generated insights in Forms for short answer and paragraph questions helping form creators summarize responses to longer questions and quickly understand sentiment and feedback. | Learn more about quantitative insights from text responses with Gemini in Google Forms.
AI avatars in Google Vids provide a fast, cost-effective way to generate high-quality digital speakers. While photorealistic avatars are ideal for formal business, we are introducing new 2D and 3D cartoon-styled avatars that utilize expressive, stylized features.| Learn more about new cartoon avatars in Google Vids.
Google Vids is thrilled to announce that AI avatars and voiceovers now support more than just English. Users can now provide input in seven additional languages: French, German, Italian, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, and Japanese. | Learn more about AI avatars and AI voiceovers in Google Vids, available in seven new languages.
We are introducing a significant enhancement to Gmail’s storage and delivery capabilities for Enterprise Plus customers. To support seamless collaboration and high-fidelity file sharing, we are increasing the file size limits for both sending and receiving emails. | Learn more about the new limits for Enterprise Plus customers in Gmail.
We’re excited to announce that Google Chat is now available as a data source in the Gemini app for Workspace customers, joining Gmail, Google Drive, and other Workspace apps. | Learn more about Google Chat as a data source in Gemini app.
We are increasing the duration limits for Google Vids projects, recordings and imported media clips, giving you more flexibility to create comprehensive video content. | Learn more about expanded duration limits in Google Vids.
Last year, we announced a smoother, more modern video player in the Google Drive Android app. This updated look and feel is now available when watching Drive videos on your iOS devices. | Learn more about the video player experience in Google Drive on iOS devices.
Conversation history is coming to the Gemini side panel in Google Workspace apps. This feature will enable users to resume their conversations with Gemini across sessions. | Learn more about Gemini conversation history in the side panel.
Starting today, we’re rolling out Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image), our best image model yet, to Workspace customers in the Gemini app. | Learn more about Nano Banana 2 in the Gemini app.
The announcements above were published on the Workspace Updates blog over the last week. Please refer to the original blog posts for complete details.
Thursday, February 26, 2026
Introducing Nano Banana 2 in the Gemini app
Nano Banana 2, which replaces our previous Nano Banana model, brings the high-speed intelligence of Gemini Flash to visual generation, making once-exclusive Pro features accessible to a wider audience, including:
- Advanced world knowledge: Nano Banana 2 pulls from the Gemini model’s real-world knowledge base and is powered by real-time information and images from web search to more accurately render specific subjects. This deep understanding also empowers you to create infographics, turn notes into diagrams, and generate data visualizations.
- Production-ready specs: Make attention-grabbing assets with full control over aspect ratios and resolutions—ranging from 1K for free and 2K for paid users. Your visuals will stay sharp and perfectly sized, whether you are generating a vertical social media Story or a wide-screen presentation backdrop.
- Precision text rendering and translation: Generate accurate, legible text for infographics or marketing mockups. Users can even translate and localize text within an image to share your ideas globally.
Nano Banana 2 also dramatically closes the gap between speed and beauty, delivering high-fidelity, photorealistic imagery. Here’s what our newest model offers and has improved on from the original Nano Banana:
- Subject consistency: Maintain character resemblance of up to five characters and the fidelity of up to ten objects in a single workflow in the Gemini app, allowing you to storyboard and build narratives without altering the appearance of your inputs.
- Precise instruction following: With enhanced instruction following, the model adheres more strictly to your complex requests, capturing the specific nuances of your idea so the image you get is the image you asked for.
- Visual fidelity upgrade: Nano Banana 2 delivers vibrant lighting, richer textures, and sharper details, maintaining high-quality aesthetics at the speed expected from Flash.
Getting started
- Admins: There are no admin controls for this feature.
- End users: Visit the Help Center for more information on generating images in Gemini.
Rollout pace
- Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains: Available now
Availability
Nano Banana 2 will replace Nano Banana Pro across the Fast, Thinking and Pro models for Google Workspace customers, Workspace Individual subscribers, and users with personal Google accounts who are 18 years or older and signed in to the Gemini app.
Workspace users who have had access to Nano Banana Pro will keep access to Nano Banana Pro for specialized tasks by regenerating images via the three-dot menu.
Resources
- Keyword: Nano Banana 2: Closing the gap between speed and beauty
- Keyword: Introducing Nano Banana Pro
- Google Workspace Admin Help: Turn the Gemini app on or off for users
Thursday, February 26, 2026
Gemini conversation history is coming to the side panel in Google Workspace
Conversation history is coming to the Gemini side panel in Google Workspace apps. This feature will enable users to resume their conversations with Gemini across sessions. This history will only persist in a single app and conversations will remain private. For example, a conversation in the side panel of Google Docs will not appear in the side panel of Google Sheets, and a conversation in the side panel of a shared file will not be visible to other users with access to that file.
Timeline
- As of February 25, 2026: Admin controls for conversation history are available. See below for more details and recommended actions.
- Starting March 3, 2026: Conversation history will start rolling out to end users participating in the Gemini Alpha and Workspace Labs programs.
- No sooner than March 17, 2026: Conversation history will begin rolling out to all other Workspace users. We’ll provide an update on this blog before that rollout begins.
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Accessing conversation history in the side panel of Google Drive |
Deletion controls
This launch includes two new controls for administrators to ensure conversation data management aligns with organizational policies: the ability to decide if users can manually delete their history and the ability to set automated retention periods to manage the data lifecycle effectively. These settings can be configured at the domain, organizational unit, or group level.
This launch does not include Vault support or the ability for end users to auto-delete conversations; we’ll roll these features out in the future. Stay tuned to the Workspace Updates blog for more details when these features launch.
Getting started
- Admins: Visit the Help Center to learn how to manage Gemini in Workspace conversation history for your organization using the settings below.
- Manual deletion: This setting is ON by default, meaning end users can manually delete individual conversations unless the setting is changed.
- Auto-deletion: Conversations are stored indefinitely by default, unless admins enable auto-deletion. If enabled, admins can choose to delete inactive chats after three months, 18 months, or three years.
- End users: Once the feature is live, users can access their history within the Gemini side panel of the specific app they are using.
- History will only begin to populate once the feature is live for a specific user; conversations held prior to the rollout will not be saved.
- Users must have smart features and personalization turned on to access Gemini in Workspace services.
- Conversations remain private; users can only view their own individual history.
- Depending on the admin settings above, users may be able to manually delete individual conversations.
Rollout pace
- Admin controls
- Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains: Available now
- End-user visibility
- Users in Gemini Alpha program: Full rollout (1–3 days for feature visibility) starting on March 3, 2026
- All other users in Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains: Extended rollout (potentially longer than 15 days for feature visibility) starting on March 17, 2026
Availability
- Business: Business Starter, Standard, and Plus
- Enterprise: Enterprise Starter, Standard, and Plus
- Other Editions: Frontline Plus
- Education: Education Plus
- Other Add-ons: Teaching & Learning
- AI Add-ons: Google AI Pro for Education
- Consumer: Google AI Pro and Ultra
Note: Gemini in Workspace is currently available to users over the age of 18 with eligible Google Workspace plans.
Resources
- Google Help: Manage Gemini conversation history settings
Wednesday, February 25, 2026
Introducing a new video player experience in Google Drive on iOS devices
Last year, we announced a smoother, more modern video player in the Google Drive Android app. This updated look and feel is now available when watching Drive videos on your iOS devices.
Getting started
- Admins: There is no admin control for this feature.
- End users: Visit the Help Center to learn more about storing & playing video in Google Drive.
Rollout pace
- Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains: Available now
Availability
- Available to all Google Workspace customers, Workspace Individual Subscribers, and users with personal Google accounts
Wednesday, February 25, 2026
Expanded duration limits in Google Vids
We are increasing the duration limits for Google Vids projects, recordings and imported media clips, giving you more flexibility to create comprehensive video content.
- Vids projects: The maximum length for any Vids project is now 30 minutes, up from 10 minutes previously.
- Recordings: The maximum length for any video or audio clip created directly in the Vids recording studio is now 30 minutes.
- Imports: You can now import video or audio clips up to 95 minutes in length (or up to 4 GB in file size).
Note: While you can import clips up to 95 minutes, you must edit them down to 30 minutes or shorter within Vids to unlock full editing capabilities for that clip.
Why it matters
As video becomes a primary tool for sharing knowledge at work, we want to ensure you have the space to tell your story without technical interruptions. These expanded limits are particularly useful for:
- Admins: This update reduces the need for users to pre-edit or compress large video files before bringing them into Workspace, ensuring a smoother workflow and better protection for sensitive organizational data within the Vids environment.
- End users: Whether you are recording a deep-dive training session, a lengthy project post-mortem, or importing a recorded town hall meeting for highlights, these higher limits allow you to capture more context in a single take.
Getting started
- Admins: There is no admin control for this feature.
- End users: There is no end user setting for this feature. Visit the Help Center to learn more.
Rollout pace
- Rapid Release domains: Full rollout (1–3 days for feature visibility) starting on March 3, 2026
- Scheduled Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on March 17, 2026
Availability
- Available to all Google Workspace customers, Workspace Individual subscribers, and users with personal Google accounts
Resources
- Google Help: Google Vids storage, object & version history limits


