Google Docs smart chips: turn documents into connected project hubs

Smart chips let you insert people, files, dates, Calendar events, and places into a Google Doc as interactive elements instead of plain text or pasted links. Type @ anywhere in a document to add one.

Each chip appears as a small label in your text. Hover over or click it to see a preview card with details and quick actions, without leaving the document.

Type @ on any line and a menu appears with suggested people, files, building blocks, and more. Keep typing to narrow the list. You can also browse everything from Insert > Smart chips.

Useful shortcuts:

@today         Today's date
@tomorrow      Tomorrow's date
@date          Opens a date picker
@next tuesday  A relative date
@me            Your own people chip

People chips

Type @ followed by a name or email address. Hovering the chip shows the person’s photo, email, and quick actions like sending an email, starting a Chat, or scheduling a meeting.

If a doc says to contact Sarah in accounting, add Sarah’s chip so readers can email or message her from the doc.

Mentioning someone doesn’t share the document with them. If they don’t have access, Docs prompts you to share it. You can share right then or handle it later from the Share button.

File chips

Type @ and start entering a file name. Docs searches your Drive for matching Docs, Sheets, Slides, and other files. Click the resulting chip and the file opens in a preview panel beside your document, so you never lose your place.

Because the chip links to the file itself, it always points to the current version. Common uses include linking a project plan to its budget sheet, a spec to its mockups, or meeting notes to the original agenda.

Date chips

Date chips accept natural language: @Jan 15, @1/15/2027, @next friday, or @last monday. Click a chip to change the date or its format.

Keep in mind:

Everyone sees the same date. Chips display the same way for collaborators in every time zone, in the language of the person who added them.
Hover for a countdown. Hovering shows how far away the date is relative to your own time zone.

Calendar event chips

Type @ and scroll to Calendar events, or go to Insert > Smart chips > Calendar event. The chip shows the event’s details, and if the meeting has a video call that’s starting soon or already started, you can click the chip and hit Join right from the doc.

In an agenda, this means readers can check the time and attendees and join the call from the same doc.

Place chips

Type @ and enter an address or place name, or paste a Google Maps link and press Tab. Hover the chip to open the location in Google Maps, preview it in a side panel, or get directions without leaving the doc.

These work well for client meeting locations in briefing docs, office addresses in onboarding guides, and site addresses in project specs.

Dropdowns, placeholders, and variables

Some chip types add structure to the document rather than linking to something:

Dropdown chips add a status picker inline. Use a preset like Project status or Review status, or build your own options.
Placeholder chips mark a spot for a collaborator to fill in, and you choose what type of information goes there (a person, file, date, and so on). They’re ideal for templates.
Variable chips let you define a value once, like a client name, and reuse it throughout a document. Change it in one place and every instance updates. These require a work or school account.
Stopwatch and timer chips track time directly in the doc.

Chips for the apps you already use

Chips also work with some non-Google apps. If your team uses a tool with a Google Workspace add-on that supports smart chips (Asana, Zoho Projects, and AppSheet among them), you can paste a link from that tool and press Tab to turn it into a chip with a live preview. Some add-ons also let you create a new item, like a task, straight from the @ menu under Integration.

Collaborators need the same add-on installed to see the preview. Without it, they still see the chip but get a prompt to install the add-on when they hover.

Meeting notes and building blocks

Building blocks are prebuilt sections made from chips and tables. Meeting notes is the one most teams use:

Type @meeting notes
Pick an event (type “next” to jump to your next meeting)
Docs fills in the event title, date, attendees as people chips, a notes section, and action items

If you organize the meeting, Docs offers to Share & attach the notes to the Calendar event so every attendee can find them from their calendar. If you’re not the organizer, you can share the doc, but it won’t attach to the event.

Keep in mind that the notes don’t sync with Calendar afterward. Adding a name to the doc’s attendee list doesn’t invite them, and changing the event doesn’t update the doc.

Browse the rest from Insert > Building blocks, including email drafts, project trackers, and review trackers. You can also save your own custom building blocks for reuse, though only you can insert those.

Tips

Build a team hub doc. Put chips for your key files, contacts, and recurring meetings in one document so new hires know where to start.

Use placeholders and variables in templates. Proposals, SOWs, and onboarding checklists are quicker to fill out when the blanks are chips instead of “[CLIENT NAME].”

Convert links as you paste them. After you paste a Drive, Maps, or supported third-party link, press Tab to swap the raw URL for a chip.

Limitations

Chips don’t grant access. Linking a file or mentioning a person doesn’t share anything. Check sharing before you send the doc around.
Previews follow permissions. A file chip only previews for readers who can already open that file.
Docs and Sheets get the full experience. Slides support is limited. For example, third-party links in Slides appear as linked titles with previews rather than chips.

Get more out of Google Workspace

2Fifteen Tech is a Google Workspace partner. We help teams set up templates and workflows that use features like smart chips. If you’d like help with yours, get in touch.