Google Docs wants to save you from long-winded comments with emoji reactions

Ever find typing out comments in Google Docs to be a bore? You'll be glad to know emoji are soon coming to the word processor, and it'll allow you to respond to people quickly and easily without even touching your keyboard. The feature was revealed at Google I/O 2021 with a release date of later that year, but a new blog post has confirmed it'll be rolled out to certain subscribers by the end of the month.

The new feature will be on by default, and it'll appear between the Add comment and Suggest edits buttons whenever you highlight text. Clicking on the smiling face icon will bring up every emoji available - and it's based on the latest Emoji 14.0 - so you can quickly pick an option or search directly for what you need.

Google will also note the emoji skin tone and gender preferences you've used in the past, and it'll reflect those when you next want to comment. It connects with other Google services, such as Chat, so it'll automatically know what skin tone or gender you're likely to use. This month, Google Meet is also getting an emoji feature, with the company confirming the feature is rolling out by the end of April.

Google Docs itself has had a bit of an overhaul in recent months with new features such as a pageless format, an email draft template, and even a new feature that lets you know when your writing is repetitive.

The new emoji reactions will be available from April 20th, but some users may find they receive them before that. So far, Google has confirmed they will be available for Google Workspace Essentials, Business Starter, Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Standard, and Enterprise Plus subscribers. The blog post explicitly says they won't be available for "Enterprise Essentials, Education Fundamentals, Frontline, and Nonprofits, as well as G Suite Basic and Business customers." Hopefully, this feature will roll out to all Google Docs users in the future, but for now, it's limited to business accounts.