Third-party integration has become Google"s focus with Hangouts Meet this year following the online video conferencing tool"s unveiling in March last year. In June, the search giant began allowing G Suite users to join a meeting on Hangouts Meet using their preferred systems such as Skype for Business. Now, the tool is cozying up to another Microsoft product.
Google announced today that the Hangouts Meet add-in for Microsoft Outlook is now available, allowing all G Suite users to set up a video meeting in an Outlook event or email. To get started with the new add-in, just tap on the Meet icon after installing it in order to add the video conferencing details, including the method for joining the calendar event or email.
The Mountain View-based company noted that the new add-in works in a way similar to the Hangouts video plugin for Outlook users which was introduced in 2014. The plugin allowed users to join, start, or schedule a Google Hangout session directly from the Mail or Calendar views.
While it may be odd for Google to introduce new tools that are conducive to users of Microsoft"s products, the new Meet add-in is another welcome solution meant to help customers of both companies boost their productivity.