Google is making it easier for Android apps to detect and block sideloading Key Takeaways Google Meet Add-ons SDK is now available for developers to create interactive experiences within the platform. New features like Figjam, Lucidspark, Miro, Polly, and Read NoteTaker enhance the meeting experience. Workspace administrators can control feature availability and meeting hosts can allow contributors to add activities.
Google Meet is a popular video conferencing solution enjoyed by Workspace customers and regular Google account owners alike. It is usually neck-and-neck with rival services like Zoom and Skype, but some might argue it doesn't offer as many integrations as a purpose-built communications platform like Slack. Google has unexpectedly fixed this by enhancing the availability of the Meet Add-ons SDK, but it might be a while before we see the best of this change.
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Make Google Meet video meetings as painless as possible
In its current state, Google offers many tools for Meet users, like the Whiteboard to brainstorm ideas together. However, anyone reliant on third-party tools even within the organization would be all too familiar with the use of extensions to integrate even simple tools like a meeting recorder into the app. That experience is set to change, because instead of trying to give users everything by itself, Google is finally willing to let other developers give it a shot themselves.
The company just announced that the Google Meet Add-ons SDK is now readily available. This means developers can create interactive experiences that work within Meet's main window or side panel where the chat appears, and deliver a more cohesive user experience without depending on workaround browser extensions. Confusingly, Google is also calling these SDK-powered additions "extensions" but they are listed separately on the Google Workspace Marketplace. Once installed, they show up under Meeting Activities on your call.
Ready to hit the ground running Source: Google
Google already has a handful of Meet extensions ready, from popular collaboration tools like Figjam, Lucidspark, Miro, Polly for polls, and Read NoteTaker for notes. Like a screen share, users can have the add-on show on the main stage, or confine it to the sidebar and keep the focus on the call participants.
Since these add-ons are a shared experience, Workspace administrators will retain feature availability controls for their team. Separately, meeting hosts can decide if they want contributors to add activities. Google has graciously made this enabling SDK available to all developers immediately, and feature availability isn't restricted by Google account type either. However, it might be a few months before apps you love to start building user experiences around this kit.