Workspace panels let you open a tool in a floating window on top of whatever page you are on, so you can check a contact or answer a text without leaving what you were doing. It is a beta, and you turn it on for yourself.
Turn it on
Go to Settings and open Labs.
Switch on Workspace panels. The page reloads and a panels button appears in the top bar.
Turning it on only changes your own login. Your teammates turn it on for themselves.
Open a panel
Click the panels button in the top bar and choose:
Tasks: your task board.
Contacts: search for a contact and open their details.
Conversations: search for a contact and open just their conversation.
Launch Ads: the ad gallery and the full ad wizard.
Move and arrange panels
Drag a panel to move it, and drag any edge or corner to resize it.
Minimize a panel to a small tab at the bottom left. More tabs sit beside it, and you can drag them elsewhere.
Your open panels come back when you reload the page in the same browser.
Turn it off
Go back to Settings > Labs and switch Workspace panels off. The panels button goes away.