If you’re a Google Meet user, a newly announced feature from the company could mean the end of clumsy and confusing calls, as it introduces the ability to automatically see a pop out window of the call, when the user changes tabs.
It’s a basic feature, but a welcome one, and just the latest in a long line of subtle additions that help Meet continue to go from strength to strength.
Read on to find out how to enable the new feature, and when you can expect it to land.
Automatic Picture in Picture Comes to Google Meet
If you’re a Google Meet user, then you’ll know all too well the trials of straying from the dedicated Meet browser tab, perhaps to check on some figures, or take notes, only to lose track of the meeting itself.
It can prove very frustrating, and hold up meetings, when the participants can’t even see each other. It’s especially an issue if information is being presented on the Meet screen, but you need another tab open to cross reference.
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Now, that issue will be a thing of the past, as with Google’s latest feature, should a user navigate away from the call, a box will automatically pop up regardless of the screen they’re on, so that it’s easy to follow along. It’s worth noting that the picture-in-picture (PiP) feature is present in older versions of Meet, but needed to be manually activated, something of a pain when in the middle of a call.
In order to set PiP automatically, you’ll need to navigate to ‘view site information’ in the Chrome URL bar, and setting ‘automatic picture in picture’ to on,
The feature is being rolled out now on Rapid Release domains, with a scheduled release for everyone else starting from September 10th.
Automatic PiP will only be available to computer users.
Image courtesy of Google
Google Meet’s Ever Growing Feature List
The new automatic PiP feature may seem like a small one, but it will be a game changer for Google Meet users, and will make meeting run a lot more smoothly.
Google hasn’t rested on its laurels when it comes to new Meet features, with a steady stream of new one being released on a regular basis, making constant quality of life improvements.
At the end of last year, it added AI hand recognition, so that users can physically raise their hands to make a point, replacing the need to click a button (though you can still do that, if you really love clicking buttons).
It also introduced an automatic noise reduction feature for participants who join a call from their phone, meaning that others on the call won’t hear the barista shouting out coffee orders in whatever Starbucks you happen to be working in that day.
Google has worked hard to constantly improve Meet after the pandemic-influenced boom of web conferencing platforms in 2020. While Zoom still remains the most well-known, we actually rate Google Meet very highly in our research – we rate it over Microsoft Teams, not to mention Zoom.
If you’re looking to find out which web conferencing platform would suit you best, be sure to check out our free comparison tool.
