Automatic translation is a much-requested feature for Google Chat, and @mentions will soon get a few changes.
The capability to “automatically detect and translate over 120 languages to a user’s preferred language” is being introduced by Google Chat. By default, messages in a different language will be translated with the option to “View original.” Chat notes the original language inline and displays the Google Translate icon.
Go to Settings > Automatic Translation > “Translate messages to your preferred language” to activate the feature, which is accessible on the web, Android, and iOS. Other items to consider are:
- “Automatic translation does not appear on message snippets in Home or notifications; it only applies to message content within the conversation stream.”
- “Only you can view these translated messages.”
- “When you change the languages in your Google account settings, please give this feature up to 24 hours to update the languages.”
- While “Automatic translation only applies to message content inside the conversation stream and does not show up on message snippets in Home or notifications,” translated messages are only visible to you.
Google Chat translations, which were first teased in April, will be made available to Workspace users in the upcoming weeks as these premium add-ons:
- Gemini Enterprise and Business
- AI Conferences and Communications
In the meantime, Google Chat is updating @mentions. To make Workspace apps look more consistent, the new design is modeled after smart chips like Drive’s. According to Google, “simplified colors” will make personal mentions stand out the most.
A one-on-one chat can be initiated by hovering over a chip, which “will show more information about the person,” and then clicking. Lastly, you can choose to “add them and send the message, or just send the message without adding them” when you mention a person who is not participating in the chat. This does not apply to one-on-one direct messages; it only pertains to Spaces and group discussions.
All Google Workspace users, Workspace Individual Subscribers, and users with personal Google accounts will be affected by these changes, which will be made available on the web initially before moving to Android and iOS in Q1 2025.