Google announces Smart Canvas: Workspace takes cues from rivals

The Google I/O developer conference has just kicked off and the Mountain View company has announced a major update to Google Workspace dubbed Smart Canvas.

Smart Canvas essentially turns Workspace into a collaborative platform that seems like a mix of OneNote, Notion, and Asana. It allows you to seamlessly work on tasks, delegate tasks, present material, and more. Smart Canvas also includes voting and inclusive suggestions (e.g. changing “chairman” to “chairperson”).

You’re also getting Meet chat and video call functionality integrated into Smart Canvas, so you can quickly hop on a call and present a document without actually leaving your document. Check out the GIF below for a better idea of how it works.

Other notable features as part of the update include emoji reactions to Docs, a smarter meeting note template for Docs (importing smart chips and attached files from calendar invites), and the ability to create and edit docs, sheets, and slides from Google Chat rooms.

Would you use Smart Canvas over the likes of Asana and Microsoft Teams? Let us know in the comments.