On November 11, Google Labs launched a new experiment called Tabletop: a shared space where a group can collaborate in real time. Drop in links, files and ideas, then mention tabletop or pick a starter template, and it generates ready-to-use tools such as trip itineraries, dinner polls, expense splitters and tournament brackets.
Once the space is ready, drop the invite link into the group chat and everyone can jump in and use it together, editing side by side much like in a Google Doc. Google's examples are deliberately everyday: a family trip, a rec league, a potluck dinner. Roman Nurik, Design and Engineering Lead at Google Labs, introduced the experiment on the official blog.
How it differs from an ordinary AI chat
The difference is what you get back: an ordinary AI chat returns an answer, while Tabletop returns a tool the whole group can use together. Itineraries can keep being edited, polls tally in real time, and shared expenses get settled on the spot, instead of the discussion getting buried in chat history. For families, clubs and teams that constantly need to settle things as a group, that saves the back-and-forth of aligning everyone.
Who can use it now, and who still has to wait
The first rollout is limited to users in the United States who are 18 or older: join the waitlist and new tables open every week. Users outside the US and under-18s still have to wait, and Google has given no timetable for wider availability. It is also still an experiment, so features can change at any time and it could end up shelved like some earlier Labs projects; Google hasn't said which model powers it either.
Users in the US who are 18 or older can join the queue on the Tabletop page on the Google Labs site. If you're not in the US, you can first look at the Disco experimental browser Google Labs launched earlier, or the Stitch update — both are already open and give a feel for how Labs works.
