As video chat surges in popularity, Google is working to integrate its business-focused video chatting software into Gmail.
This means that people with business or education Google profiles can take video calls using Google Meet directly through Gmail.com, according to Reuters.
In an interview with the publication, Google’s vice president Javier Soltero said that because so many people are stuck at home, Google has accelerated plans for a handful of new features.
One of these new features is that Meet is going to allow up to 16 callers to be displayed on the screen in a grid at once, just like popular video chat service Zoom. However, this feature will be rolled out later in April.
Meet is also slated to get new call quality updates that should help video quality in low-light and a background noise cancellation feature aimed at reducing the sound of keyboard clicks.
While I’m not sure if these improvements will be able to steal users from Zoom since its also relatively easy to use, if you’re a Gmail user, this means you have one less step between you and video chatting.
That said some people might be looking to leave Zoom after the recent privacy backlash. Since then Zoom has added more security to its meeting rooms and renewed its focus on privacy features, but who knows if it will be enough to compete with Google.
Source: Reuters
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