Companion Mode in Google Meet is a feature specifically designed to make hybrid meetings more inclusive and seamless. It bridges the gap between in-room participants and remote participants by ensuring everyone can interact and collaborate without technical disruptions.
When you activate Companion Mode, in-room attendees can join a Google Meet call using a secondary device (like a laptop, phone, or tablet). This makes it possible to access essential meeting features without introducing common issues like audio feedback, duplicate video streams, or distracting echoes.
This ensures equal participation and maximum productivity, whether you’re at your desk at home or sitting in a meeting room.
Whether you’re a meeting host, a teacher conducting a hybrid class, or managing a global team, using Companion Mode in Google Meet can make your meetings run more smoothly, and here’s how it helps.
Companion Mode promotes collaboration equity by leveling the playing field for all Google Meet participants. It ensures that remote participants can interact just as effectively as those physically in the room.
Avoid interruptions caused by audio feedback or overlapping video streams. Companion Mode prevents in-room audio clashes, ensuring better audio quality for all attendees.
Features like polls, Q&A, hand-raising, and breakout rooms allow companion mode users to actively engage in meetings. These tools make brainstorming, decision-making, and feedback gathering seamless.
Live captions ensure better understanding, especially in noisy environments or when accommodating those with hearing difficulties. Add screen sharing to your meetings for robust collaboration.
Curious about how to use Companion Mode? Here's a detailed guide for desktop and mobile.
Tip: For optimal use, ensure everyone in the room is using Companion Mode on their own secondary device for a consistent, seamless experience.
Here are practical ways to get the most out of your Google Meet Companion Mode view. These tips will help you maximize engagement, inclusivity, and efficiency in hybrid meetings:
1. Encourage participation
Use interactive tools like polls or the Q&A feature to gather insights and feedback from all attendees. This ensures that both in-person and virtual voices are equally heard and valued, fostering a more collaborative environment. These features make it easy to gauge opinions, answer questions, and keep everyone involved.
2. Leverage captions
Enable live captions to improve accessibility for all participants, especially for those who may have hearing impairments or are joining from noisy environments. Captions help make hybrid meetings more inclusive and ensure that everyone can follow along with ease, regardless of their circumstances.
3. Make use of sharing your screen
Display content from your secondary device to improve presentations without duplicating video streams. This minimizes bandwidth usage and ensures the focus stays on your shared materials, avoiding distractions from multiple video feeds. It's a seamless way to present visuals or documents while maintaining a smooth meeting flow
4. Promote consistency
Ensure everyone has access to the same tools and features by encouraging all meeting participants to access Companion Mode on their devices. This levels the playing field for both in-person and remote attendees, allowing them to interact with polls, Q&A, and other features. It also creates a unified experience that supports a more productive and efficient meeting environment.
By adopting these strategies, you can make sure your hybrid meetings are more engaging, inclusive, and productive for everyone involved.
When implemented effectively, Companion Mode doesn’t just improve collaboration; it boosts overall meeting productivity. Here’s how:
To elevate your meetings, try combining Companion Mode with MinutesLink, an AI-powered tool designed to streamline your meeting experience.
MinutesLink is a smart meeting assistant built to make your meetings more productive and stress-free. It integrates seamlessly with Google Meet, helping teams focus on collaboration while it handles the tedious tasks.
Features of MinutesLink
MinutesLink saves time by eliminating manual tasks, improving the accuracy of meeting records, and keeping every participant aligned. It’s perfect for hybrid teams, making collaboration smoother and more efficient no matter where everyone is working from. If you’re tired of juggling meeting notes, tasks, and summaries while trying to stay engaged in discussions, MinutesLink is a game-changer. It removes the hassle from meetings, letting you focus on what truly matters — great teamwork and results.
Google Meet’s Companion Mode is a game changer for hybrid teams, empowering businesses, classrooms, and organizations to collaborate effectively. Whether you’re resolving in-room audio issues or ensuring collaboration equity among participants, Companion Mode has you covered.
By adding tools like MinutesLink, you can take your meetings to the next level with automated support, ensuring teams remain aligned and productive. Don’t wait to explore this tool for a better meeting experience!
Companion mode in Google Meet allows users to join a meeting on a secondary device, such as a laptop or smart display, without adding extra audio or video feeds. It’s designed to enhance collaboration by letting you access features like screen sharing, chat, polls, and Q&A while reducing distractions during the meeting.
To use Companion Mode in Google Meet, join a meeting from a second device (like a laptop or tablet) without turning on the camera or microphone. This mode is great for sharing content, accessing chat, or using other collaboration tools without disrupting the main meeting. Look for the "Use Companion Mode" option when joining the meeting link!
Google Meet companion mode is a feature that allows users to join a meeting on a second device, like a laptop or tablet, while using their primary device for audio and video. It’s especially useful for hybrid meetings, enabling participants in a shared space to access features like chat, polls, and Q&A without creating audio feedback.
To call someone on Google Meet, open Google Meet on your browser or app, sign in with your Google account, and either create a new meeting or join an existing one. Share the meeting link or code with the person you want to call, or add their email address to invite them directly to the meeting. They can then join using the link or code provided.
A hybrid meeting is a meeting format that combines in-person and virtual participation. Some attendees join in person at a physical location, while others connect remotely through video conferencing tools. This setup allows flexibility and inclusivity, accommodating participants regardless of their location.
