Express Yourself in Spreadsheets: Google Sheets Now Supports Emoji Reactions

A recent Google Sheets update has everyone talking and for a good reason! Google has enriched its spreadsheet software with a fresh twist by enabling users to append emoji to their comments. This addition now provides a way to spice up your task assignments or instructions with a personal touch.

The update, shared in a Google Workspace blog post, is all about enhancing collaboration. The post highlights that the update aims to let users effortlessly and creatively express their views about the content of the spreadsheet.

As from this update, Google Sheets users will see a "smiley face" icon appearing when they hover over a comment in a file. On clicking this icon, the emoji reaction panel appears, where users can browse and select from the wide spectrum of Google Workspace emojis.

Not requiring any admin controls and switched on by default, this feature started its roll-out on October 19. It's accessible to all Google Workspace clients and those with personal Google Accounts.

Earlier, Google had already initiated similar updates for Google Docs. In August 2022, the feature to incorporate emojis within work by searching and inserting symbols in the text was introduced. Rewinding further to April 2022, Google added an emoji reaction feature to Google Docs that lets users react to sentences or blocks of text akin to reacting to messages in group chats. This was aimed to offer a less formal commenting alternative.

The most recent upgrade is a step further in Google Workspace's mission to make Docs and similar services even more invaluable for its global clientele.

Google has also beefed up its word processing software with several novel "assistive writing" features. These include synonym recommendations and sentence structuring suggestions. It will also monitor for any "inappropriate" language use and instances where using active voice would be more effective than the passive.