Google Meet
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What you can do with Meet
What you can do with Meet
With Google Meet, you can hold impromptu video meetings on the go, host or attend virtual training classes around the world, perform remote interviews, and much more.
Use this guide to schedule or join your first meeting, learn meeting controls, change your background, present in a meeting, and other common tasks.
Start a meeting from Meet
Start a meeting from Meet
Click New Meeting.
Select an option:
Create a meeting for later:
To share the meeting details for a future meeting, copy the meeting link and share with participants.
To directly start the meeting with this link, paste the link into a browser; or enter the link into the “Enter a code or link” field click Join.
Start an instant meeting: Create a new meeting and join the meeting directly.
Schedule in Google Calendar: To schedule a meeting, you’re directed to Google Calendar.
Schedule & join a meeting from Google Calendar
Schedule & join a meeting from Google Calendar
When you create an event on Google Calendar, you can add a video meeting link.
In Calendar, create an event.
Click Add guests.
Enter the names or email of the people you want to invite.
Click Save.
To notify guests, click Send.
Join a video meeting
Join from a Google Calendar event
Join from a Google Calendar event
In Google Calendar, click the event you want to join.
Click Join with Google Meet.
In the window that opens, click Join Now.
Join with a meeting link URL
Join with a meeting link URL
Sometimes there isn’t enough time to schedule a meeting and book a room. With Google Meet, you can join an impromptu video meeting by clicking the meeting link URL sent to you in a text or email.
Click the meeting link sent to you in a chat message or email.
Follow the onscreen prompts to join the meeting.
Tip: Only participants on the calendar invite can enter without an explicit request to join meetings. Participants not on the calendar invite must request to join a meeting by “knocking”, which must be accepted by the meeting organizer.
Use meeting controls
Use meeting controls
Meeting controls are in one place on the bottom bar of the meeting window
Consolidated controls provide more room for participants and content.
When you point to a control, its name appears.
To prevent accidental hang-ups, the Leave meeting button is on the right, away from the camera and mic buttons.
All captions and participant tiles appear above the bottom bar.
Add or remove people to a video meeting
Add or remove people to a video meeting
At the bottom right, click People Add people .
Enter the name or email address Send email.
Share joining info with people you add
Share joining info with people you add
At the bottom right, click meeting details .
Click Copy joining info.
Paste the meeting details into an email, or other app, and send.
Remove people during a video meeting
Remove people during a video meeting
At the bottom right, click Show everyone .
Next to the participant you want to remove, click More actions .
Select Remove from the call.
On the box that opens, select one or more of the following options:
To just remove a participant, select Remove.
To remove and mark a participant as abusive, select Fill out an abuse report.
To make sure a participant doesn’t rejoin the same meeting, select Block.
Important: If you block a user, they are only blocked from the current meeting or concurrent meetings which use the same meeting code. They can still join other meetings you host. To allow users to rejoin a meeting they are blocked from, they must be manually re-invited from within the meeting.
Change your background (before the meeting)
Change your background (before the meeting)
Go to Google Meet select a meeting.
On the bottom right of your self view, click Apply visual effects .
To completely blur your background, click Blur your background .
To slightly blur your background, click Slightly blur your background .
To select a pre-uploaded background, click a background.
To upload your own image for your background, click Upload a background image .
To add a style to your video, click a style.
To select a filter, at the bottom, tap Filters the filter you want to use.
Tip: If the filter is interactive, follow the directions on the screen to activate it.
Click Join Now.
Record a video meeting
Record a video meeting
At the bottom right, click Activities Recording.
To record the meeting captions, select a language.
In some cases, if the recording is played on Google Drive, the recording file might be ready a few hours before the captions are available.
Click Start recording.
In the pop-up screen, click Start.
Wait for the recording to start. Participants get a notification when the recording starts or stops.
Meetings can only be recorded for a total of 8 hours, then the recording stops automatically.
To stop a recording, click Activities Recording Stop recording.
In the pop-up screen, click Stop recording.
Tip: The recording stops automatically when everyone leaves the meeting.
An email with the recording link is sent to the meeting organizer and the person who started the recording.
The recording is saved to the meeting organizer’s My Drive > Meet Recordings folder.
For meetings created through:
Google Calendar: The meeting organizer is the person who creates the meeting event on Google Calendar.
The Google Meet homepage or another product such as Gmail or Jamboard: The meeting organizer is the person who launches the meeting or generates the code.
Pin a meeting participant or presentation
Pin a meeting participant or presentation
Select a participant from the "People" tab to pin them. Pin up to 3 items to see a participant and presentation at the same time.
Your meeting room: Next to the room, click Pin .
Participants, presentations, or rooms: Next to the meeting participant, presentation, or room, click Menu Pin .
Tip: If 3 items are already pinned, the option to pin is grayed out on additional tiles.
To unpin, click Menu Unpin .
Raise your hand to speak
Raise your hand to speak
You can virtually raise your hand in a video meeting to let others know you have a question or to indicate that you want to speak.
Raise your hand
Scroll to the bottom of the screen click Hand raise .
Lower your hand
Scroll to the bottom of the screen click Lower hand .
Hold a Q&A session
Hold a Q&A session
During a video meeting, you can use Q&A in Meet to submit and upvote questions without disrupting the flow of the meeting or an important presentation. After a meeting, the moderator gets a detailed report of all the questions.
Ask other participants a question
In a meeting, at the bottom right, click Activities click Questions.
At the bottom right, click Ask a question.
Enter your question click Post.
To ask your question anonymously, check the option "Post Anonymously."
Find, upvote, or delete a question
In a meeting, at the bottom right, click Activities click Questions.
To sort questions by popularity or chronologically, next to "Popular," click Down arrow and select an option.
To view everyone’s questions, click All questions.
To view only your questions, click My questions.
To upvote a question, on the question, click Upvote .
To delete a question, on the question, click Delete .
Use a virtual whiteboard for brainstorming
Use a virtual whiteboard for brainstorming
You can start or open a jam with Google Jamboard during a video meeting in Meet. Jamboard is a virtual whiteboard where you can brainstorm ideas with others.
With Meet, you can also use Miro, a third-party whiteboarding application. The Miro add-on in Meet lets you collaborate on a Miro whiteboard with other video call participants in real-time.
Let people vote in a poll
Let people vote in a poll
In Meet, you can use polls to identify topics that need more discussion or to get real-time feedback from your co-workers. A moderator can create polls for participants to vote on. During the meeting, participants get a notification about the poll and can submit a response. After the meeting, the moderator gets an email report with the poll results, which includes the names and answers of the participants.
Create a poll (for meeting moderators)
In a meeting, at the bottom right, click Activities click Polls.
Click Start a poll.
Enter a question and add options for the poll.
Tip: You can let users respond anonymously to Polls. Before you save or launch your poll, turn on Responses appear without names .
Choose one:
To post your poll, click Launch.
To save your poll so you can launch it later, click Save.
Tip: Polls you save remain listed under Polls for the duration of the meeting. After the call ends, all polls are permanently deleted. Meeting moderators are emailed a polling report at the end of the meeting.
After a poll is launched, to vote on your own poll, select one of the optionsclick Vote.
Submit a response for a poll (for meeting participants)
In a meeting, at the bottom right, click Activities click Polls.
In the poll, select your response click Vote.
Tip: After you click Vote, you can’t change your response.
Use breakout rooms
Use breakout rooms
Create breakout rooms during a video meeting
On your computer, start a meeting.
At the bottom right, click Activities Breakout rooms.
Tip: To prevent students from having the ability to create breakout rooms, admins should reserve Meet creation privileges for faculty or staff only.
In the Breakout rooms creation panel, choose the number of breakout rooms. You can create up to 100 breakout rooms in a call.
Call participants are distributed across the rooms. To manually move people into different rooms, you can:
Enter the participant’s name directly into a breakout room.
Drag and drop a participant’s name into another breakout room.
Click Shuffle to randomly mix up the groups.
At the bottom right, click Open rooms.
In Google Meet, if the meeting moderator allows, you can join a breakout room and have a discussion in a smaller group. Meeting participants with non-Google user accounts need to join the main meeting room first, before they can be assigned to a breakout room as anonymous users. You can’t add non-Google users to breakout rooms via Google Calendar.
Create breakout rooms in advance on Calendar
In calendar.google.com choose either:
For a new meeting:
Create a new Google Calendar event.
Click Add Google Meet video conferencing.
Add participants.
Click Change conference settings .
On the left, click Breakout rooms .
Choose the number of breakout rooms, then choose an option:
Drag participants into different rooms.
Enter names directly into a room.
Click Shuffle to mix the groups.
Click Save.
For an existing meeting:
Open an existing Google Calendar event.
Click Edit event .
Under Event Details, click Change conference settings .
On the left, click Breakout rooms .
Choose the number of breakout rooms, then choose an option:
Drag participants into different rooms
Enter their name directly into a room
Click Shuffle to mix the groups
Click Save.
Live stream a video meeting
Live stream a video meeting
When you need to present to a large audience, use Meet (or Calendar) to create a live-stream event. Up to 250 participants can attend. Or, you can add up to 100,000 view-only guests. You can’t see or hear view-only guests in the meeting, and they can’t present, record, or control streaming.
Create a live stream event
Open Google Calendar.
ClickCreateEventMore options.
Add the event details, such as date, time, and description.
Add the guests that can fully participate in the video meeting.
All guests added to this event can be seen, heard, and present their screen.
People from other organizations and trusted domains can be added. Only people in your organization can record and control streaming.
Next to Join with Google Meet, click the Down arrowAdd live stream.
Click Add live stream again to confirm.
Click SaveSend.
Note: Streaming does not automatically start. During the meeting, at the bottom right, click, click Live StreamingStart streaming.
Track attendance in video meetings
Track attendance in video meetings
You can use attendance reports in Meet to keep track of who attended video meetings and for how long. After the meeting, the organizer receives an email with an attached Google Sheets attendance report with the participant's name, email, and the length of time the participant stayed on the call.
Track attendance in Google Meet
Inside a meeting:
From the bottom, click Host controls .
From the side panel that opens, toggle Attendance tracking on or off.
Track attendance from your Calendar
Go to calendar.google.com and chose one:
Create a new event click Add Google Meet video conferencing.
On the right, click Change conference settings .
Check the box next to "Attendance tracking" click Save.
Finish setting up your event.
Click an existing meeting click Edit event .
Under event details, click Change conference settings .
Check the box next to "Attendance tracking" click Save.
Adjust your camera, microphone, or speaker settings
Adjust your camera, microphone, or speaker settings
You can adjust your camera and microphone in Meet so others can hear you and see your video better.
Change your camera settings
On your computer, open meet.google.com.
Join a video meeting.
Before you join or during the meeting, click More Settings .
On the left, click Video Camera.
Select a setting.
At the top right, click Close .
Change your speakers and microphone settings
On your computer, open meet.google.com.
Join a video meeting.
Before you join or during the meeting, click More Settings .
On the left, click Audio the setting you want to change:
Microphone
Speakers
Optional: To test your speakers, click Test.
At the top right, click Close .
Filter out background noise
Filter out background noise
To help limit distractions in your video meeting, noise cancellation in Meet can remove background noises such as typing, closing a door, or the sounds of a nearby construction site.
Turn on noise cancellation before a meeting
Go to meet.google.com select a meeting.
Before you join, on the top right, click More options Settings .
Click Audio .
Turn on Noise cancellation.
Click Join now.
Turn on noise cancellation in a meeting
On the bottom, click More options Settings .
Click Audio .
Turn on Noise cancellation.
Turn on captions during a meeting
Turn on captions during a meeting
You can turn captions on to view subtitles as everyone speaks during a video meeting. When you turn on captions, they will be visible on that particular device. In order for other participants in the meeting to see captions, they’ll have to turn it on for their devices as well.
Turn captions on or off
On your computer, go to Google Meet.
Join a meeting.
At the bottom, click Turn on captions or Turn off captions .
Change captions language during a meeting
Change captions language during a meeting
Change the language
At the bottom of the meeting screen, click Menu Captions .
Choose a language Apply.
Use Companion mode
Use Companion mode
Companion mode is a way to join Google Meet video calls on a second screen for collaboration equity. To reduce the risk of audio feedback from the second screen, your microphone is off in Companion mode.
Business use cases for using Companion mode:
When you're in an office meeting room—Join using Companion mode on your laptop to share your screen or use chat, polls, Q&A, and host controls. To speak, listen to remote participants, or view the participant grid, connect with full audio and video (non-Companion mode) on meeting-room hardware or Google Nest Hub Max.
Whenever you want a second screen—Join using Companion mode on a second screen to view presentations or captions more clearly. To speak, listen to participants, or view the participant grid, join with full audio and video (non-Companion mode) on another screen.
Use a meeting invite:
In the invite, click Join. Then, under Other joining options, click Use Companion mode. If you are in a conference room, check in so that your name and the room name appear on your participant tile. See Use Companion Mode for hybrid learning & collaboration.
Use a short link:
In your browser, enter g.co/companion. Then on the Meet home screen, select a scheduled meeting or enter a meeting code.
Present using a short link:
In your browser, enter g.co/present. Then on the Meet home screen, select a meeting, and choose what to share.
To turn on your camera in Companion mode, click Turn on camera .
When your camera is on in Companion mode, your participant tile:Shows up to other Meet users who join with full audio and video
Shows up on meeting room hardware only when you raise your hand and/or are checked in
Never shows as an active speaker
To share your screen after joining in Companion mode, click Present now .
To speak, listen to participants, or view the participant grid, join with full audio and video (non-Companion mode) on another screen.
To exit the meeting from Companion mode: At the bottom of the meeting window, click Leave call .
Start a video meeting from Gmail
Start a video meeting from Gmail
Open Gmail and in the sidebar, click MeetNew meeting.
Note: If you don't see Meet in Gmail, check your Gmail settings.In the Share your new meeting window, click Join now.
If you want to join using your computer’s camera for video and microphone for audio, click Join now.
If you want to dial in by phone, click Join and use a phone for audio and follow the on-screen prompts.
Join a video meeting from Gmail
Join a video meeting from Gmail
Open Gmail and in the sidebar, click Meet.
Choose an option:
Click Join a meeting and enter a meeting nickname or code Join.
To join a scheduled meeting, point to a meeting under My meetings Join now.
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