Google Chat will now show “In a meeting” or “In focus time” status from Calendar

Previously, Google Workspace users could see within Google Chat whenever a co-worker had set up an “Out of office” in Google Calendar. Today, Google announced that this functionality will now be expanded so that other statuses like “In a meeting” or “In focus time” will also show within Google Chat.

This feature will be visible both on the web and mobile, which Google hopes will make it easier for your co-workers to identify when to best contact you and respect your scheduled times. In addition, Workspace Admins will have a toggle within the console where they can opt to have either or both of these two additional statuses show.

This feature will be set to ON by default but can be disabled by Admins at the domain or OU level. The rollout with be gradual with up to 15 days for visibility, starting today for Rapid Release domains and starting on March 25th for Scheduled Release domains. The feature will be available to all Google Workspace customers, as well as G Suite Basic and Business customers. Unfortunately, Google Workspace Individual users or personal Google accounts will not be part of this rollout.