Google announced that it is adding live captions in four new languages for Google Meet. This addition will ensure video chat service is accessible to everyone.
This year, we have seen the shift from office work to working from home. Even classrooms are now being held virtually online. All this because of the COVID-19 pandemic across the globe.
Notably, work from home has become a new norm. Moreover, this has given rise to online video calling platforms like Zoom. Seeing the surge in usage of such apps, Google also started adding several features in quick successions to its Google Meet app.
Users will obviously prefer apps, that provide them with more features and ease of use. While Zoom has all the necessary ingredients to please its users, there are many who prefer Google Meet all because of ease of access via Gmail, etc.
In efforts to make Google Meet more accessible, Google has now added support for four more languages in live captions. This feature is live for the Google Meet on the web.
The new four languages include Spanish, French, German, and Portuguese
Google Meet has had this feature of automatic live captions for over a year now. This feature allows Google Meet to transcribe the audio of the video chat into text in real-time.
This makes it easy for users who are non-speaker of English. As per the official blog, Google is expanding Google Meet live captions support for four languages, including Spanish, French, German, and Portuguese.
In the blog post, Google said that live captions are the way via which deaf and hearing-impaired users with different native languages, or users in noisy environments, take part in meetings.
Besides, the addition of new languages for Google Meet live captions will also enable more students to feel empowered and comfortable to attend the online classes.
Google has also made the live captions more ‘sticky.’ This means that even if you turn on or off the captions, or choose a certain language, your preferences will be saved. And whenever you join the video chat the next time, the same settings will be applied.
Google Meet has been adding several new features for improving the classroom experience. It has introduced breakout rooms, attendance reports, and hand-raising, which are tools helpful for educators.
FYI, Google Meet will offer unlimited calls (up to 24 hours) till March 31, 2021. So, you can make the most of it this holiday season. The new Google Meet live captions four languages support is rolling out to the web users starting December 15.