Launching a Google Meet poll makes it available for responses. Saving a draft and publishing it are different steps, so verify the poll is live before asking people to vote. Explain the question and its privacy setting before responses are submitted.
Review the question and response mode
As a moderator on a computer, open Meeting tools and Polls. Select the prepared poll or create one with Start a poll. Check the question and answer options carefully. If the poll should be anonymous, enable Responses appear without names before saving or launching. Do not promise anonymity for a poll that was created with named responses.
Launch and confirm participants can vote
Click Launch. Google notifies participants when a moderator starts a poll. Tell the audience to open Polls, select an option, and choose Vote. Mobile participants can respond even though they cannot create polls. The moderator can also vote by choosing an option and selecting Vote. Remind everyone that submitted responses cannot be changed, so the question should be clear before anyone submits.
Manage visibility and the closing point
Use Show everyone the results if participants should see the results. That choice is separate from launching the question. In a live stream, the poll is automatically available to both meeting participants and stream viewers, and hosts cannot turn it off only for the latter. Announce when voting will close, then use End the poll when the response period ends. Check the live status instead of deleting the poll to stop voting. After the meeting, review the emailed report before describing the results as an agreed decision or sharing named responses with a wider audience.
References
Reviewed against the linked official product guidance on November 4, 2026. Features, limits, screen labels, and access can vary by account, platform, region, and organization policy.