Google Slides

72 'Google Slides' stories October 2014 - March 2025

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Google Slides is the newest of the three original document editing apps. After an acquisition earlier that year, it was launched as Google Presentations in September of 2007 Slides was renamed and joined the Google Drive umbrella in June 2012.

Like Docs and Sheets, Slides features document collaboration and sharing with a number of other users. It also full offline editing, slide effects, and final projects can be downloaded in a number of formats. Users can also present their presentations from the web. Companion Android and iOS apps allow users to edit while on the go.

Google Slides getting new sidebar, building blocks, and more

Abner Li Mar 31 2025 - 9:02 am PT

Google Slides on the web is getting a rather notable addition with a new right sidebar that provides quick access to creative tools, including some new ones.

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Google Slides adding themed templates to ‘build presentations much faster’

Abner Li Nov 8 2024 - 3:30 am PT

After offering basic themes, Google Slides now has templates that “help users build presentations much faster.”

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Google Slides adds multi-monitor support for presentations

Abner Li Sep 16 2024 - 11:43 am PT

The presentation experience in Google Slides is getting a nice quality-of-life update with multi-monitor support.

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Google Docs voice typing coming to Safari, Edge

Abner Li May 23 2024 - 12:43 pm PT

Google is expanding availability of voice typing in Docs beyond desktop Chrome to Safari and Microsoft Edge to allow for “more inclusive and accessible user interactions.”

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Google Docs adds formatting sidebar on Android tablets

Abner Li Feb 16 2024 - 2:16 pm PT

Instead of just a toolbar, Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides now offers a sidebar for accessing the various formatting options on Android tablets.

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Google redesigning Docs, Sheets, and Slides comments UI

Abner Li Feb 15 2024 - 3:30 pm PT

Google Docs, along with Sheets and Slides, on the web is getting a redesign of the comments view that aims to “help you find and take action on comments easier than ever before.”

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Duet AI can now remove image backgrounds in Google Slides, Drawings

Abner Li Dec 21 2023 - 4:30 am PT

While we wait for wider Duet AI side panel testing, Google is now rolling out the ability to remove the background of images in Slides and Drawings.

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Google Slides getting built-in presentation recording tool

Abner Li Nov 28 2023 - 8:57 am PT

Instead of using third-party tools, Google Slides is rolling out the ability to record yourself presenting with link-based Drive sharing once you’re done.

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Google Slides adding real-time live mouse pointers

Abner Li Sep 18 2023 - 4:55 pm PT

To aid collaboration, Google Slides on the web is getting a live pointer that allows “you and your colleagues to see each other’s mouse pointers in real-time.”

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Google redesigning Docs on Android tablets to match the web UI

Abner Li Aug 18 2023 - 1:39 pm PT

Google’s work on optimizing first-party apps for Android tablets and foldables continues with an upcoming redesign for Docs, Sheets, and Slides.

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Google Slides draw

Google Slides will let you draw and annotate when presenting

Abner Li Aug 10 2023 - 4:04 pm PT

At the moment, Google Slides offers a virtual laser pointer when presenting, but you’ll soon be able to draw too.

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Google Docs for Android will open straight into edit mode

Abner Li Jul 7 2023 - 2:34 pm PT

Google is making a change to what it calls the “First Open Experience” that will launch Docs in edit mode, with Sheets and Slides also getting a “more creation-focused experience.”

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Google Slides opens up Duet AI image generation with Imagen

Abner Li Jul 3 2023 - 9:34 am PT

Google Slides AI image

At the start of last month, Google Workspace announced that it would start public testing of Duet AI image generation in Slides, and it’s now more widely available.

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Google starts rolling out image generation in Slides, more Duet AI for Gmail and Docs

Abner Li Jun 2 2023 - 12:06 pm PT

Google is expanding Workspace Labs with a trio of new features across Gmail, Docs, and Slides, including image generation.

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Google branding generative AI in Gmail, Workspace as ‘Duet AI’

Abner Li May 10 2023 - 10:39 am PT

Google has been publicly testing features that help users write in Gmail and Docs over the past few weeks. Generative AI is now coming to Sheets, Slides, and Meet with a new name: Duet AI for Google Workspace.

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Google is directly adding search to the Docs, Sheets, and Slides toolbar

Abner Li Apr 25 2023 - 10:38 am PT

In recent years, Google has tweaked the menu bar in Docs to make it easier to find what you’re looking for. A prominent search bar is now coming to Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides.

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AI-powered hand raise gesture detection is coming soon to Google Meet

Abner Li Mar 28 2023 - 5:00 am PT

Google Meet AI hand raise

Besides Chrome updates at BETT 2023, Google shared upcoming Workspace features for education customers across Docs, Slides, and Classroom, while Meet is getting AI-powered hand raise detection.

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Material You is now available for Google Drive’s web app

Ben Schoon Mar 17 2023 - 7:53 am PT

In February, Google announced that its expansion of Material You would finally expand to Google Drive and its various tools on the web. Now, that rollout is happening widely.

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Material You redesign of Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides web apps begins rolling out

Kyle Bradshaw Mar 6 2023 - 1:29 pm PT

Formally announced last month, the Material You inspired redesigns of Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides on the web are beginning to appear for some Workspace customers.

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Google Drive, Docs, and other Workspace websites getting Material You redesign

Abner Li Feb 23 2023 - 9:00 am PT

While the mobile Workspace apps were quickly updated alongside Android 12’s Pixel launch in fall of 2021, it took much longer for Material Design 3 to arrive on the web. Following the Gmail redesign last year, Material You is coming next to Google Drive, Docs, Sheets, and Slides.

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Google Docs and Slides adding eyedropper tool to color picker

Abner Li Feb 3 2023 - 2:50 pm PT

Google is making a small but profound usability tweak by adding an eyedropper tool to the color picker in Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Drawings.

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Google Slides now lets you ‘Follow’ people through a deck

Abner Li Dec 9 2022 - 9:23 am PT

Google wants to improve the real-time editing experience in Slides with a “Follow” feature that lets you jump to whatever page a specific user is viewing.

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Google improving Gmail search with labels and related results

Abner Li Oct 20 2022 - 4:21 pm PT

Google is rolling out a trio of features to improve the search experience in Gmail with labels and related results. Chat also gets some upgrades with AI-generated summaries and inline threading for Spaces.

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Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides now offer individual control over accessibility settings

Ben Schoon Aug 16 2022 - 8:05 am PT

Google products are generally well-equipped when it comes to accessibility tools, but Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides are now picking up an enhancement to their existing tools.

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