Google has begun rolling out a new Gemini-powered assistant inside the Workspace Admin Console, alongside a quiet change to how external file sharing is reported.

• What it is: "Admin Assist" adds a conversational sidepanel and AI-generated search summaries to help administrators manage users, settings and troubleshooting directly in the Admin Console.
• Who is affected: Organisations on Google Workspace Business editions. The feature is rolling out gradually from 18 August 2026.
• Also changed: Drive's external sharing calculations in inventory reports are now off by default, meaning admins need to manually enable this setting to see which files are shared outside the organisation.
• What to do: If you rely on Drive sharing reports to monitor data leaving your organisation, check that external sharing calculations are switched on in your Admin Console.

We recommend reviewing your Drive sharing report settings this week to make sure external sharing visibility has not quietly been switched off.