Google Meet is adding live captions on the web in four languages to make meetings more inclusive, Google announced today. Live captions in Spanish, French, German, and Portuguese will be available across all versions of Meet starting today. Meet rolled out real-time captions in English last year.
“We know from our work with teachers and parents over the years how essential caption tools can be for students with learning disabilities, as well as English-language learners in both K-12 and higher education,” Google Workspace project manager Philip Nelson wrote in a blog post announcing the update. “By expanding live captions to more languages, we can help more students feel empowered to participate, and help more teachers share a space that is both accessible and inclusive.”
Google has continued to add updates to Meet as the platform has seen booming growth during the coronavirus pandemic, such as providing attendance reports with viewership data for live streamed events and allowing users to “raise” their hands in larger meetings. The company earlier announced it was extending unlimited Meet calls in its free version through March 31st for Gmail accounts.
