At Cloud Next 2018, Google emphasized machine learning to help improve work productivity. In Google Drive, “Priority” works to suggest relevant documents, while “Workspaces” help arrange files that you might need quick access to. Google is now opening this new page up for beta testing.
On the web, Priority is accessible as the first option in the navigation drawer. Up top is a carousel of “Suggested” files that users can browse through and open. Google Drive might surface files that have new comments, share requests, or resolved tasks. You’ll also be able to Reply and Share right from the Drive UI.
Google hopes that this will help users “spend less time searching for content and more time doing work that matters.”
The goal of Priority is to put your most important files in one place. Using machine learning, we identify the files that are high-priority for you to work on. When you open the page, you’ll see those files, along with comments and suggested actions.
Meanwhile, the bottom half of Priority is “Workspaces.” Users can privately organize files into a workspace without affecting their storage location or permissions. Essentially a shortcut, the feature is intended to provide faster access for a current project or documents you repeatedly access during a day of the week for a meeting.
Our studies show most users only work with around 10–20 files at any given time. Workspaces help make sure you can get to those files more efficiently. To build your workspace, you can use Drive’s intelligent file suggestions or add files manually.
Google Drive will offer suggested workspaces, or users can manually create their own.
Meanwhile, on Android and iOS, Priority is accompanied by a Google Material Theme. Drive switches to a bottom bar of Priority, Starred, Shared with me, and the standard view of your directory.
There is a new, full-width search bar at the top of the app with navigation drawer and account avatar to the right. Priority makes use of tabs for Suggested and Workspaces, while there is a Google-colored FAB in the bottom right corner.
Priority in Google Drive is still a beta, but Google is expanding availability to more customers after a small preview.
Priority in Drive is only open to G Suite Basic, Business and Enterprise, and only G Suite admins may apply with their primary domain on behalf of their organizations