Google Meet has quietly become one of the most widely used video conferencing tools in the world — shipped into every Google account, embedded in Gmail and Google Calendar, and deployed across Google Workspace as the default video call solution for millions of organisations. Its appeal is frictionlessness: no separate app download for participants, no account required to join, and deep integration with Google tools most people already use daily. For a broader walkthrough, our Complete Guide to Software and Apps is a good next read.
But knowing how to use Google Meet well — beyond clicking a link and appearing on a call — means understanding host controls, presentation tools, recording and transcript features, and the settings that make calls productive rather than just functional.
Starting and joining calls
Creating a meeting takes three forms depending on context:
- Instant meeting: meet.google.com → “New meeting” → “Start an instant meeting” → copy the link and share it. Quick but no calendar attachment.
- Scheduled via Google Calendar (recommended for planned meetings): create a Calendar event → “Add Google Meet video conferencing” → the Meet link appears automatically in the event and every invitation email. One click at the scheduled time from anyone’s calendar.
- From Gmail: left sidebar → “Start a meeting” for instant calls or “Schedule a meeting” to create a Calendar event with Meet attached.
Joining requires only the link (meet.google.com/xxx-xxxx-xxx) or the meeting code. Paste the link in any browser → the pre-join screen appears with a camera preview, microphone status, and options to join with or without audio/video → “Join now.” No account required for participants.
Practical tip: join a few minutes early to check audio and video before the scheduled start — the pre-join screen shows whether the microphone is picking up audio through the animated indicator and whether the camera feed looks correct before anyone else can see or hear you.
The waiting room holds participants until the host admits them. For sensitive meetings — client calls, confidential discussions — the waiting room ensures no one joins prematurely. As the host, a notification shows when someone is waiting → click “Admit” for each individual or “Admit all” when everyone has arrived. Participants can also be denied access by clicking “Decline.”
Host controls and participant management
Mute participants: People icon (top right) → participants panel → hover any participant → microphone icon to mute individually, or “Mute all” at the bottom of the panel to silence everyone simultaneously. Muted participants must unmute themselves — the host cannot force-unmute without consent.
Mute all on entry is the single biggest quality improvement for recurring team meetings. Rather than spending the first two minutes asking participants to mute, configure the meeting to mute all participants on entry and communicate this expectation. Every call starts in a controlled audio environment — participants unmute to speak, re-mute when done.
Lock the meeting: Security → “Lock meeting.” Once locked, no new participants can join even with the link. Lock after all expected attendees are present to prevent late arrivals from disrupting the call. Toggle off when additional participants need to join.
Remove a participant: People panel → hover the participant → three-dot menu → “Remove from call.” The removed participant cannot rejoin unless the host re-admits them. If an unexpected person joins through a shared link they weren’t intended to receive: remove them immediately and generate a new meeting link for the next session.
End call for everyone: the leave button dropdown → “End call for everyone.” This closes the meeting for all participants simultaneously — unlike “Leave call” which exits only the host while leaving the meeting running. Always use “End call for everyone” for scheduled meetings to ensure the space is fully closed.
Chat management: disable participant chat via Security → uncheck “Send chat messages.” Use the meeting chat throughout the call to post relevant links, document URLs, and key references — the saved chat export after the meeting captures all shared resources without anyone needing to note them manually.
Screen sharing and presentation tools
Click “Present now” (the upward arrow icon) → choose what to share:
- Your entire screen: shares everything on the primary monitor — anything visible can be seen by participants
- A window: shares only the selected application window — other applications remain private
- A tab: shares only a specific browser tab, with the tab’s audio shared automatically
Always share a specific window or tab rather than the entire screen for professional calls. Sharing the full screen creates risk — an email notification might show a personal message, a different browser tab might reveal something private, or a calendar notification might show personal information. The two seconds it takes to select a specific window is the worthwhile investment that prevents unexpected visible private content during a client or recorded meeting.
Whiteboard: Present now → Whiteboard → opens a collaborative Google Whiteboard. All participants with edit permission can draw simultaneously. The whiteboard persists after the call and is accessible in Google Drive. Use it at the start of ideation sessions — the sticky note tool captures ideas spatially rather than in a linear list.
Co-watching videos: Present now → A tab → select a YouTube tab → the video plays for all participants synchronised with audio shared automatically. Use for training sessions, product demos, or tutorials so all participants watch together without needing to open the link separately.
Share audio from your computer: when sharing a tab or the entire screen, the “Share tab audio” checkbox at the bottom of the share dialog enables computer audio to be transmitted. Without this enabled, participants see the screen share but hear silence when any video plays.
Recording, transcripts, and AI features
Recording is available on Google Workspace Business Standard and above. Start: Activities (lightning bolt icon) → Recording → Start recording → a notification informs all participants. Recordings save automatically to the organiser’s Google Drive in “Meet Recordings” and a link is emailed to all participants.
Use recordings for async review: record training sessions, product demos, and onboarding walkthroughs — the recordings create a referenceable library without requiring every future team member to schedule a live session.
Transcripts are generated automatically for meetings when recording is enabled on eligible Workspace plans. The transcript appears alongside the recording in Drive and is emailed to all participants. Transcripts are editable — participants can correct misrecognised names or technical terms after the call. The transcript provides the raw material for meeting notes without anyone needing to take notes during the call. After the meeting, review the transcript, extract decisions and action items, distribute a cleaned-up summary — faster and more complete than real-time note-taking.
Gemini AI features (Workspace plans with Gemini add-on):
- Take Notes for Me: generates a structured meeting summary automatically, appearing in a shared Google Doc after the meeting ends — sent directly to the organiser’s Drive and shared with all participants, removing the distribution step entirely
- Studio Background: removes or blurs the background using AI without a green screen
- Studio Lighting: digitally improves the video feed’s lighting when the physical environment is dim
Enabling Studio Lighting and background blur together produces a significantly more polished video appearance without changing anything in the physical environment — useful for calls from home offices, hotel rooms, or any location where background or lighting is not ideal.
Settings, accessibility, and mobile
The Settings menu (gear icon, bottom right) provides control over audio, video, and captions. The Audio tab allows selecting the microphone and speaker separately — important when using a Bluetooth headset for audio while the laptop camera provides video.
Noise cancellation (Settings → Audio → Noise cancellation) uses AI to remove background sounds — keyboard typing, air conditioning, traffic — from the microphone feed. Enable it for calls from noisy environments; disable for music or any situation where natural ambient sound should be transmitted without filtering.
Live captions: click the CC button or press C to enable captions in real time at the bottom of the screen. Captions benefit not only participants with hearing difficulties but also anyone joining from a noisy environment, participants whose first language differs from the meeting language, and any call where audio quality is inconsistent. Enabling captions by default is an inclusive hosting practice that costs nothing in call quality.
The mobile app (iOS and Android) provides the full meeting experience on smartphones. One mobile-specific advantage: the rear camera can be shared as the video feed rather than the front camera — useful for showing a physical document, product, or environment to remote participants without a document camera. Tap the camera flip icon during a call to switch.
Our guide on scheduling with Google Calendar covers creating Meet calls directly from calendar events, while our guide on using Zoom effectively covers the alternative for teams needing breakout rooms, polling, and webinar features that Meet doesn’t offer in the same way. For Google’s official documentation on Workspace Gemini AI features in Meet, Google Meet Help covers availability by Workspace plan and regional rollout status.
Google Meet vs Zoom — quick comparison
- Choose Google Meet if: the team is already in Google Workspace; meetings include external participants who shouldn’t need to create accounts; zero-installation joining is important; Calendar integration is the primary scheduling tool
- Choose Zoom if: breakout rooms, polling, and webinar features are required; the team hosts large events with structured Q&A; high-quality video with advanced host controls matters; meetings often include participants outside the Google ecosystem
- Choose Microsoft Teams video if: the team is all-in on Microsoft 365 and channel-based conversation before and after calls is important
For teams already embedded in Google Workspace, Meet is the lowest-friction default — no separate licencing, no separate app for participants, and calendar events automatically contain the meeting link. The question is whether the team’s specific meeting needs require capabilities (Zoom’s breakout rooms, webinar tools, or poll functionality) that justify maintaining a second video platform alongside Meet. You might also run into How to Use Google Workspace.
