Maintaining active audience engagement and reading group sentiment during virtual webinars, large company all-hands, and team standups can be challenging when participant microphones are muted. Unmuting simply to say “good idea” disrupts the speaker’s presentation flow and adds acoustic noise. To encourage lightweight, expressive feedback without interrupting presentations, Google Meet provides native In-Meeting Emoji Reactions. Attendees can send animated emoji bursts—such as clapping, thumbs up, laughter, and celebration—that float dynamically across the meeting screen and participant tiles in real time.
How In-Meeting Reactions Work in Google Meet
When you select a reaction in Google Meet, the emoji ascends on the left side of your screen and momentarily appears on your individual video tile for all call attendees to see. If multiple participants react simultaneously, emoji bursts cascade together, creating visual enthusiasm and instant non-verbal feedback.
Key attributes of Google Meet reactions include:
- Non-Disruptive Sentiment: Conveys agreement, approval, or empathy without disturbing active audio or interrupting recorded proceedings.
- Skin Tone Customisation: Supports inclusive representation by letting participants select their preferred default emoji skin tone.
- Host Moderation Controls: Meeting organisers and Workspace administrators can enable or disable reactions depending on meeting formality.
- Cross-Platform Support: Fully supported across web browsers (Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari) and mobile apps for Android and iOS.
How to Send Emoji Reactions in Google Meet (Web Browser)
Sending reactions on a desktop or laptop during a Google Meet call is fast and intuitive:
- Join your Google Meet video call.
- In the bottom meeting control bar, locate the Smiley Face (Reactions) icon situated between the Hand Raise and More Options buttons.
- Click the Smiley Face icon to expand the horizontal reaction bar.
- Click on any emoji to send it immediately (e.g., Thumbs Up 👍, Clapping 👏, Heart ❤️, Laughing 😂, Party Popper 🎉).
- To send an emoji burst, click the emoji repeatedly in rapid succession; a flurry of matching emojis will float across the meeting display.
Customising Your Reaction Skin Tone
To personalise your reaction skin tone on desktop:
- Click the Reactions (Smiley Face) icon in the bottom toolbar.
- Click the small Skin Tone selector arrow located on the far right of the reaction popup bar.
- Select your preferred tone from the palette. Meet saves this preference across all future meetings associated with your Google Account.
Sending Reactions in the Google Meet Mobile App (Android and iOS)
On mobile devices, accessing reactions is just as straightforward:
- In the active Google Meet mobile call, tap your screen to display the toolbar.
- Tap the Three Dots (More Options) button in the bottom right corner.
- Tap Reactions (or tap the reaction bar directly if visible).
- Tap your desired emoji to broadcast it to the room.
Managing and Moderating Reactions as a Meeting Host
For high-stakes executive broadcasts, academic examinations, or formal public hearings, meeting hosts may wish to turn off emoji reactions to eliminate visual distractions.
- As the meeting host, click the Host Controls icon (blue shield with a padlock) in the bottom-right corner of the meeting window.
- Under the Meeting permissions section, locate the toggle labelled Send reactions.
- Switch the toggle to Off. The reaction icon will immediately disappear from attendee toolbars, preventing emoji dispatches.
- To restore functionality, simply switch the toggle back to On at any point during the call.
Leveraging in-meeting emoji reactions in Google Meet enlivens remote collaboration, builds camaraderie, and gives every attendee a visible voice without speaking over colleagues.