BETT 2026: The Google Updates Every Teacher Should Know About

BETT 2026 has come and gone, and if you weren’t in London last month, you may have missed some great updates from Google. There were announcements across Google Workspace for Education and Chromebooks, and while tech conferences can sometimes feel like ‘who has the shiniest device or piece of software that doesn’t have an impact in the classroom?’  these updates from Google feel different. They feel practical, fairer, and thought-through. Here’s our take on 10 updates that we think will have the most impact in your classroom, starting with the free ones for every school, regardless of your licence.

The Bigger Picture: AI Is for Every School, Not Just Well-Funded Ones

One of the most significant updates we heard at BETT was more of a philosophical one. Google is moving several Gemini AI capabilities that were previously locked behind the premium Google AI Pro for Education licence into Fundamentals, along with some other features, into their Education Plus and Teaching and Learning licences.

Why does this matter? Because AI tools in education have, until now, largely been a privilege of schools with bigger budgets, and we know a lot of schools in the UK are facing cutbacks. It doesn’t solve everything, but it’s a change in the right direction’

1. Gemini in Gmail — Your Inbox, Finally Under Control

Gemini in Gmail is bringing Help Me Write, Suggested Replies, and AI Overviews to every Google Workspace for Education edition — free of charge. Summarise long email threads, draft professional responses in seconds, or get a quick overview of a complex parent conversation before you step into a meeting.

How it looks in practice: You arrive on Monday morning to find a lengthy thread between a parent, your SENCO, and the Head of Year. Rather than reading every message in sequence, Gemini summarises the key concerns and what’s been agreed, so you walk into the briefing informed and prepared.

Available on: All editions — rolling out in the coming months.

2. The Redesigned Google Classroom Dashboard — See What Matters at a Glance

The Google Classroom homepage is being rebuilt as a proper, role-specific dashboard. Teachers see class insights and upcoming work at a glance. Pupils see their deadlines clearly. No more hunting through multiple screens to piece together what’s happening.

How it looks in practice: At a glance, you spot that three pupils in your Year 9 class haven’t submitted the last two assignments, and engagement dropped mid-week. You have what you need for a quiet conversation on Monday, rather than finding out at parents’ evening.

Available on: All editions — piloting now.

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3. Audio Lessons in Google Classroom — Learning That Goes Beyond the Classroom Walls

Gemini in Google Classroom can now generate audio lessons as a podcast-style conversation between two people discussing a topic you set. You create it, attach it to an assignment, and pupils can listen wherever they are — on the bus, at home, or during revision.

How it looks in practice: You’re covering the causes of World War One with Year 9. Rather than pointing pupils to a YouTube video you can’t fully control, you generate a focused, curriculum-aligned audio conversation covering exactly the key points. For pupils with dyslexia, EAL learners, or anyone who absorbs content better through listening, this is a genuine step forward — and it takes about two minutes to set up.

Available on: All editions — available now globally in English.

4. Gemini Meets Google Classroom

This is one of the most useful updates in the whole set and I’m excited to play around with this. Gemini can now work directly with your Google Classroom, pulling context from your actual classes to help you get tasks done in minutes rather than hours. It understands who you teach, what you’ve assigned, and where pupils are up to.

How it looks in practice: It’s Friday afternoon and you need a cover plan for Year 7 on Monday. You ask Gemini to draft a cover lesson plan based on your current class and where they’ve got to in the unit — done in seconds. You can also ask it to identify which topics need re-teaching based on recent submissions, or get a daily digest of student engagement without leaving Classroom.

Available on: All editions — coming in the next few weeks, English only initially.

5. Help Me Write in Google Docs

Every teacher knows the feeling: grant proposal, parent newsletter, meeting agenda — and just staring at the screen. Help Me Write in the Google Docs side panel generates a draft from a simple prompt in seconds. Crucially, it can pull context from your existing Drive files, so the output is grounded in your school’s language and priorities — not generic boilerplate.

How it looks in practice: You need to write to parents about a new homework policy. Prompt Gemini with the key points and it drafts a clear, professional letter you can personalise in minutes. What might have taken 45 minutes now takes 10.

Available on: Education Plus and the Teaching and Learning add-on.

6. Gemini in Google Slides and Forms

These two updates solve the same problem. You’ve already done the hard work building a lesson, so why start again? Gemini in Slides generates complete, visually coherent presentations from a prompt or an existing Drive file, with custom images that actually match your lesson theme. Gemini in Forms takes that same lesson content and converts it into a ready-to-use quiz or assessment automatically — then summarises pupil responses so you can see class-wide trends at a glance.

How it looks in practice: You’ve taught a lesson on the causes of World War One using a Slides presentation. One click converts those slides into a quiz. Once pupils complete it, Gemini tells you 70% struggled with entangling alliances — so you know exactly where to focus next lesson. No more retyping, no more guessing where the gaps are.

Available on: Education Plus and the Teaching and Learning add-on.

7. Google Vids — Polished Video Lessons Without the Production Headache

Google Vids uses Veo 3.1 to help you create professional instructional videos from a simple prompt or slide deck. Two features stand out for classroom use. First, AI presenter avatars with realistic lip-syncing — ideal for flipped learning or a series of revision videos where you don’t want to record yourself every time. Second, the “Ingredients to Video” feature: upload three photos and a short prompt and Vids generates a short, cohesive clip — perfect for a lesson hook that grabs attention in the first few seconds.

avatar-led series pupils can revisit at home. For lesson starters, you upload three images of urban decay and Vids creates a hook that gets Year 10 thinking before you’ve said a word.

Available on: Education Plus and the Teaching and Learning add-on.

8. AI Writing Feedback in Google Classroom — A Sounding Board, Not a Shortcut

Meaningful written feedback is one of the most valuable things teachers do — and one of the most time-consuming. Gemini in Google Classroom now suggests feedback on pupil writing. The keyword is suggested — this is not about replacing your professional judgement, it’s about giving you a starting point you can refine and personalise.

How it looks in practice: A pupil submits a Year 10 English essay. Gemini drafts an initial response flagging strengths in argument structure but noting that evidence needs development. You adjust the tone to match what you know about that pupil, add a specific example, and publish it. What took 8 minutes per pupil now takes 3. Across 30 essays, that adds up.

Available on: Education Plus and the Teaching and Learning add-on.

9. Rubric Import in Google Classroom — Stop Retyping Things You’ve Already Written

This one is small but anyone who has ever spent 20 minutes retyping a marking rubric into Classroom will appreciate it immediately. You can now upload any existing rubric — a PDF, a Google Doc, a file from your Drive — and Classroom converts it into a digital rubric automatically, ready to attach to an assignment.

How it looks in practice: You have a department-wide essay rubric saved as a Word document. Instead of rebuilding it from scratch in Classroom, you upload it, Classroom parses it into the correct format, and you’re done. Consistent marking criteria across the department, no extra effort.

Available on: All editions — available now.

10. Create Presentations in the Gemini App — From Lesson Plan to Slides in Seconds

If you’ve ever needed a presentation in a hurry, this one is for you. Using Canvas in the Gemini app, you can type a simple prompt or upload an existing document, and Gemini generates a complete slide deck — with a theme, structure, and relevant images already in place. When you’re happy with it, you export it directly to Google Slides with a single click to refine, collaborate, or teach from straight away.

How it looks in practice: You’ve already planned a lesson on the Victorian Era for Year 7 — the lesson plan is written up as a Google Doc or PDF. Rather than spending another hour rebuilding that content as a presentation from scratch, you upload it to the Gemini app and it generates a structured, visually coherent slide deck based on what you’ve already planned. Export it directly to Google Slides, make a few finishing touches, and it’s ready to teach from. The thinking was always yours — this just removes the repetitive build work that comes after it.

Available on: All editions — available now.

A Final Thought

The great thing about these announcements is that Google is really trying to focus on returning time to teachers and to extend the opportunity for schools to engage with AI, regardless of their budgets. The fact that several of the most impactful features of AI are free for every school that has a Google Fundamentals licence, I think, is the real story behind BETT this year.

The technology is only ever as useful as the thinking behind how you use it, but the direction of travel feels right this time. These aren’t features built to impress, but have real pedagogy behind them and some great ways of potentially using them.

What do you think of the updates?