eSignatures will now be natively supported on Google Docs and Drive

As per a recent announcement, the tech giant Google has added eSignature support to two core apps i.e., Google Docs and Drive. Reportedly, a beta program for the said feature has been initiated. Users who are interested can try out the ability to request and obtain eSignatures. With this function, signing papers from within cloud-based productivity apps is effortless.

Since June 2022, the company has been testing the eSignature support in Docs. The feature was in the alpha testing phase until now. However, it is now being introduced as part of open beta testing. It will be available to all Google Workspace users. Moreover, the company has introduced a closed beta as well. It is targeted at selected Workspace users like Business Plus, Enterprise Starter, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Business Standard, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Essentials Plus, Education Plus, and Nonprofits customers. A form can be used to register admins of certain Workspace editions for the beta. Over the “next several weeks,” the business will analyze the applications and activate eSignatures for a limited group of users.

eSignature support finally arrived in Docs and Drive

With eSignatures, users can digitally sign documents. Several apps, like Dropbox and Adobe Acrobat, already offer this feature. When it comes to Google’s productivity tools, the lack of these tools is a major inconvenience for users. Users were required to use different apps for digitally signing documents.

After the announcement of the eSignature feature by Google in June 2022, a ray of hope and satisfaction emerged. However, it’s been a year since the announcement, and now the feature has begun rolling out. According to screenshots provided by the company, you can request a full signature or just your initials, with the “date signed” being filled in automatically. You can request numerous signatures from the same template document and view the status of any outstanding signatures.

Google will provide an audit trail report for all finished contracts later this year. Additionally, it will make eSignatures available to users who are not Gmail users. Moreover, the company will enable users to seek the signatures of several people on the same document. Last but not least, the capability to sign PDF files in Drive is also under development.

Currently, there is no information on when the eSignature feature will roll out to all eligible Workspace consumers. We also don’t know whether the feature will be rolled out to free Google accounts or not.