Google Slides has unveiled a new right-side sidebar for Workspace users, enhancing functionality with the integration of Imagen 3, which improves AI image generation. This update also consolidates pre-designed content layouts, dubbed “Building Blocks,” alongside existing features such as templates and the speaker spotlight. The main goal of this enhancement is to simplify the presentation creation process by providing users with a centralized location for design elements and insertion tools.
The new sidebar and Building Blocks are being rolled out to eligible users, with widespread availability expected by late April 2025. Although the sidebar and Building Blocks will be generally accessible, certain features, including Speaker Spotlight, Slides Recordings, and AI image generation, will be restricted to specific Google Workspace plans and Gemini add-ons. Today, Google has significantly enhanced Google Slides for Workspace users with Imagen 3, their leading text-to-image model.
This development brings improved image generation capabilities, new design elements, and easier access to templates, all aimed at streamlining the creation of presentations. The sidebar is currently being rolled out to Rapid Release domains, with a target date for broader visibility among eligible users by the end of April. In an announcement from Google, they showcased two new features along with four established ones that are now integrated into the sidebar.
Among the updates, “Building Blocks” is introduced as a library containing pre-designed Slide content, which users can directly insert and customize. Additionally, an extensive collection of stock images, GIFs, and stickers will now be accessible via the sidebar. Other existing features consolidated in the sidebar include modern templates for ease of presentation setup, AI-driven image generation for visuals, the ability to incorporate a presenter’s video feed directly into the slides, and functionality for recording presentations for later sharing.
The rollout of the new sidebar with Building Blocks is expected to take about 30 days and will be available to all Google Workspace customers, Workspace Individual subscribers, and personal Google account users. However, features like Speaker Spotlight and Slides Recordings will only be available to select Business, Enterprise, and Education plan users.
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