Last month, Google introduced free access to advanced features of then Hangouts Meet (now rebranded as Google Meet) for G Suite and G Suite for Education customers. The free availability of those tools was initially set to expire on July 1 as part of Google"s effort to help customers work remotely amid the shelter-in-place program.
Today, the search giant announced that it is extending access to those features until September 30 at no cost for all G Suite and G Suite for Education customers. This move is still in aid of businesses and organizations impacted due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Google Meet"s advanced features include support for up to 250 participants in a call, live streams with up to 100,000 viewers, and the ability to record calls and save them on Google Drive. These features are typically available only to G Suite Enterprise customers for $25 per month for each user.
Google also revealed today that Meet has seen a spike in usage as people stay at home to help stop the spread of the virus. Earlier this week, the video conferencing service gained more than 2 million new users who are spending over 2 billion of combined minutes in a single day, the company notes.