Google has integrated its Meet video conferencing service into Gmail. Some users have already started to see a link to launch Google Meet in the left sidebar of Gmail on web, reported The Verge.

Last month, Google had said that Meet will be available for free starting early May and anyone with a Gmail ID can sign up for it and enjoy its services.

Google Meet offers features such as simple scheduling and screen sharing, real-time captions and layouts that adapt to preferences of users.

The Google Meet feature on Gmail comes at a time when a number of people are relying on a host of video conferencing apps while working from home during the COVID-19 lockdown.

Meet so far was only available for Google businesses, organisations and educational customers via G Suite. The tech giant last week said that it will be making Meet available to anyone for free on the web at meet.google.com and via mobile apps for iOS or Android.

Free access to Google Meet lets you host up to 100 participants for each of your virtual meetings.

Meet claims to keep data of users safe and secure. Users just can't simply click a link to participate in a Meet. They must log in to their Google account. The host of the Meet retains control, including the ability to admit or deny entry.

Google has recently "ramped up engineering support for Meet” to bring to users four of their top-requested features. These include a tiled layout for larger groups in calls, higher-quality video content presentation with audio, low-light mode and noise cancellation.