You know the drill: you have a meeting where part of the people are in one room and another part dials in via Google Meet. Then, if more than one person in the conference room is also using Google Meet and the microphone and audio are on, everything will start to buzz. Irritation and loss of time all over the place.
With Companion Mode, that is now a thing of the past!
What is Companion Mode
Companion mode is a way to join Google Meet video calls on a second screen for collaboration equity. To reduce the risk of audio feedback from the second screen, your microphone is off in Companion mode. Also, Companion mode isn't available on mobile devices.
Business use cases
- When you're in an office meeting room: Join using Companion mode on your laptop to share your screen or use chat, polls, Q&A, and host controls. To speak, listen to remote participants, or view the participant grid, connect with full audio and video (non-Companion mode) on meeting-room hardware or Google Nest Hub Max.
- Whenever you want a second screen: Join using Companion mode on a second screen to view presentations or captions more clearly. To speak, listen to participants, or view the participant grid, join with full audio and video (non-Companion mode) on another screen.
So you can also join the meeting twice on the same device, once in Companion mode.
Join & present using Companion mode
- To join using Companion mode on your laptop, choose one of the following options:
- Use a meeting invite:
In the invite, click Join. Then, under Other joining options click Use Companion mode. - Use a short link:
Enter g.co/companion in your browser. Then on the Meet home screen, select a scheduled meeting or enter a meeting code. - Present using a short link:
In your browser, enter g.co/present. Then on the Meet home screen, select a meeting, and choose what to share.
- To turn on your camera in Companion mode, click Turn on camera. When your camera is on in Companion mode:
- Your participant tile is displayed to other meeting participants who join with full audio and video.
- Meeting-room hardware shows your participant tile only when you raise your hand.
- Your participant tile never shows you as the active speaker, because Companion mode doesn't have an audio stream.
- To share your screen after joining in Companion mode, click Present now.
- To speak, listen to participants, or view the participant grid, join with full audio and video (non-Companion mode) on another screen.
- To exit the meeting from Companion mode: At the bottom of the meeting window, click Leave call or End call.
Hopefully, echoes in the conference room are now a thing of the past for you too. Do you have any questions about this functionality or about Google Meet in general? Send us a note, we're happy to help!
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