You can now start a Google Meet video call much more quickly

Google is hoping to take more of the stress out of setting up online calls with a significant new update to its video conferencing software.

The company has revealed a new shortcut that allows Google Meet users to quickly starting new video conferences straight from their browser window.

The meet.new shortcuts are designed to help employees forced to work from home due to the global pandemic stay in touch simply and easily, with video conferencing tools seeing a huge spike in users in recent months.

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Meet.new

The launch basically removes one step for users looking to start a new call, offering the same functionality as selecting the “Start a meeting” button on the Google Meet homepage or clicking on the option in the Gmail sidebar. 

Users opting for a meet.new shortcut will be taken to the “Meeting ready” screen, where they can see the usual preview of their screen, as well as access a meeting URL to copy and share with contacts. 

Google introduced its .new browser shortcuts back in 2018 as a way for G Suite users to start a new document, spreadsheet, presentation slides or other file directly through their browser.

Users with multiple accounts can differentiate between them using menu bar bookmarks, for example “meet.new/1” for a personal account, and “meet.new/2” for a work account.

The news comes shortly after Google Meet finally introduced the ability to blur out call backgrounds and add in custom versions. Both Microsoft Teams and Zoom already offered this feature, and Google has now confirmed it is planning to introduce it soon on both mobile and desktop.

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Via 9to5Google