Google introduces Tabletop for collaborative planning and group activities
Google has introduced Tabletop, a Google Labs experiment that lets groups create and use customizable interactive spaces together in real time. The service can turn links, files and ideas into tools such as trip itineraries, dinner polls, expense splitters and tournament brackets.
- Tabletop is a Google Labs experiment for real-time collaboration.
- Users can add links, files and ideas, then prompt @tabletop.
- The experiment can generate itineraries, polls, expense splitters and tournament brackets.
- Spaces can be shared through an invite link for simultaneous group use.
- Tabletop is rolling out in the U.S. for people aged 18 and over via waitlist.
A shared space for group decisions
Tabletop is designed for activities where several people need to contribute, organize information and make decisions together. Google gives examples including planning a family trip, running a rec league and hosting a potluck.
Users can add their links, files and ideas to a Tabletop space, then prompt @tabletop to generate a custom interactive experience. They can also choose a starter template instead of building a space from scratch.
Interactive tools generated from prompts
According to Google, Tabletop can create several formats for group planning and participation. These include interactive trip itineraries, dinner polls, expense splitters and tournament brackets.
The range of examples shows how Google expects the experiment to be used across different kinds of shared activities. A group could use an itinerary to organize a trip, a poll to make a dinner decision, an expense splitter to manage shared costs or a tournament bracket to structure a competition.
Google describes the spaces as customizable, so groups can begin with their own material and ideas before generating the interactive experience they want to use together.
Tabletop is available through a U.S. waitlist
Once a space is ready, its creator can share an invite link in a group chat. Everyone can then join and use the space at the same time, in a way Google compares with working in a Google Doc.
Tabletop is rolling out in the U.S. to people aged 18 and over through a waitlist. Google is directing interested users to labs.google/tabletop to sign up.
For users who are accepted into the rollout, the experiment offers a single shared location for group activities that might otherwise require separate links, messages and manual coordination. Its value, based on Google's description, comes from combining group input with interactive formats that can be used together in real time.
