Google Meet already is an incredible communicative tool just from its premise. Other than the obvious video and audio aspect, you can use its chat box to speak your mind without verbally interrupting the current discussion. But Google has been looking to expand the ways you can interact in calls with other users with in-meeting emoji reactions. Despite being first revealed over a year ago the option hadn't actually rolled out — until now. Google has confirmed that the long-awaited feature will finally arrive to end users in April.

In a blog post comprised of a number of Google Workspace announcements, the company confirmed that emoji reactions are all ready to go. Emoji reactions are present in many social media apps, but Meet's implementation will give them genuine usefulness, equipping you with a handful of emoji you can use to send feedback immediately — throw a laugh reaction if the host said something funny, or spam them with hearts if you like what they're saying. They'll be very helpful to give more life to your meetings.

Google Meet emoji reactions anim

Emoji reactions are faster than comments, and they're not as invasive as interrupting someone unnecessarily by enabling your mic to speak. Reactions will be shown live to both the host and other participants in a feed on the left of the screen and over a member's video tile (or alongside their name if they don't have their webcam on).

If you want to try emoji reactions, you should see a button with a waving hand symbol at the bottom of the screen (alongside other call controls) within the next few weeks.