How to create a poll in Google Meet to engage meeting attendees and gather reactions

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How to create a poll in Google Meet to engage meeting attendees and gather reactions
Certain business, enterprise, and education accounts can conduct polls in Google Meet.Prasit photo/Getty Images
  • You can create a poll in Google Meet by going to the "Activities" menu in the top-right of your meeting screen.
  • Only select Google account types can conduct a poll, including certain business, enterprise, and education subscriptions.
  • Only the host or a chosen moderator can create and conduct a poll and access results afterward.
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Virtual meetings on Google Meet can sometimes feel a little one-sided. It makes a big difference when participants can actively contribute to the conversation.

That's where Google Meet's poll feature comes in. You can quickly create questions featuring multiple choice answers during the meeting to help keep things engaging - and get attendees' responses on record.

Important: To use Google Meet polls, you'll need to have a G Suite Business, Essentials, Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise plus, or Google Workspace for Education Plus account.

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If you're ready to create a poll in Google Meet, access the Activities tab and select "Polls" from the list of options.

How to create a poll in Google Meet

  1. Launch a Google Meet meeting.

    Quick tip: To conduct a poll in Google Meet, you'll need to be the meeting's host - meaning either you created the meeting, or someone transferred the meeting to you to moderate.

  2. In the top-right of your video screen, click the "Activities" icon.

    How to create a poll in Google Meet to engage meeting attendees and gather reactions
    The Activities tab is to the right of the digital clock.Abbey White/Insider

    Quick tip: The Activities icon is a triangle, a circle, and a square stacked on top of each other.

  3. Select "Polls."

    How to create a poll in Google Meet to engage meeting attendees and gather reactions
    The Polls option is second on the Activities tab.Abbey White/Insider
  4. Choose "Start a poll."
  5. A form will appear allowing you to enter a question and two answer options. Fill it out.

    How to create a poll in Google Meet to engage meeting attendees and gather reactions
    Enter the information you want to poll Google Meet users on.Abbey White/Insider

    Quick tip: To add another poll answer, click "Add an option."

  6. Once you're done filling out the poll, click "Launch."

    How to create a poll in Google Meet to engage meeting attendees and gather reactions
    Launching a poll will distribute it to everyone in the call.Abbey White/Insider

    Quick tip: When you hit "Save," Google Meet will store the poll under the "Activities" tab so you can go back and edit and launch it at a later time.

  7. Once all responses are in, select "End the poll."
    How to create a poll in Google Meet to engage meeting attendees and gather reactions
    Ending the poll will prevent more people from responding.Abbey White/Insider

How to respond to a Google Meet poll as a participant

To respond to a Google Meet poll, you must join a Google Meet with an account that allows polls.

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Once a poll is live in Google Meet, you'll see a green dot over the Activities icon notifying you that a poll has launched. Click on "Activities," select the Polls option, and then select your answer from the options listed.

How to create a poll in Google Meet to engage meeting attendees and gather reactions
Check your Activities tab under Polls to see the live Google Meet poll.Abbey White/Insider

Quick tip: Google Meet will also notify you with a small pop-up message that a poll is live and ready to answer.

Google Meet will keep the poll results private unless the moderator enabled the "Show everyone the results" option. In either case, users will never be able to see the names of other respondents, just the number of votes on the poll.

How to moderate a Google Meet poll

There are a number of options and tools at your disposal to help you moderate your Google Meet poll.

  • Show the results. Before you launch a poll, you'll have the option to "Show everyone the results" using a toggle switch beneath the questions. This will make the results visible to all attendees as they respond.
  • Ask more questions. While you can only ask one question per poll, you can add additional answer options. You can also add whole new polls by selecting "Create a poll" at the bottom of your polls list.

    How to create a poll in Google Meet to engage meeting attendees and gather reactions
    You can add as many polls as you want in Google Meet.Abbey White/Insider
  • Delete old polls. To delete a poll from your polls list, you can click the trash can icon at the bottom left of a poll. Polls are no longer be visible once deleted.

How to view your Google Meet poll results

Once the Google Meet is over, the moderator will receive an automatically generated email with a report on any polls that were conducted.

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How to create a poll in Google Meet to engage meeting attendees and gather reactions
Only moderators will receive the Google Meet poll report.Abbey White/Insider

The moderator can click on the report attachment included in the email to see the names and votes of people who took the poll.

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