The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered a massive surge in the use of video conferencing apps and services like Zoom, Skype and Google Meet. In the course of the last couple of months, these services had gained plenty of nifty features that help users work from home.

Third-party developers are also helping to make the video conferencing a lot better. The latest effort is coming from Corey Pollock and Keyfer Mathewson. Pollock and Mathewson have developed a new Chrome extension that will enhance the Google Meet experience.

Called ‘Google Meet Enhancement Suite – Grid & more’, the extension offers features like Grid Layout, which will let you see everyone in the meeting in one view. It will also let you quickly mute yourself just by pressing a key. To be able to skip the join screen, automatically turn on captions, etc are other useful features of the new Chrome extension.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’d know that Google Hangouts Meet has recently been renamed to Google Meet.  It’s a service just like Skype and Zoom. It works by sending meeting codes or invites to the users who are willing to join.

Google Meet Enhancement Suite – Grid & more features

• Grid Layout: see everyone in your Google Meet in one view with highlighted speakers, and set it as your default layout
• Push to Talk: quickly mute and unmute yourself with the press of a key
• Auto Join: skip the join screen and get straight to the meeting
• Smart Defaults: automatically turn on captions, mute your mic, or turn your video off

If you’re using Google Meets on Chrome, you can now download and install the Google Meet Enhancement Suite – Grid & more Chrome extension here from Chrome Webstore.