Google Adds Audio Overview And A “canvas” Feature to Gemini

Google appears to agree with the adage that imitation is the purest form of flattery.

Google is adding Audio Overviews and a new Canvas tool to the Gemini app in response to last week’s model modifications. 

Audio Overviews, made famous by NotebookLM and Daily Listen, will soon be available on the Gemini app. When you submit papers or presentations, there will be a new recommendation chip above the Ask Gemini prompt bar. A Deep Research report may also be used to create a podcast-style conversation between two AI hosts. 

Canvas is a feature that the business added to its Gemini chatbot, which is powered by AI, on Tuesday. Conceptually similar to Anthropic’s Artifacts and OpenAI’s ChatGPT tool of the same name, Canvas offers Gemini users an interactive environment in which they may produce, edit, and share writing and coding projects.

Gemini will “summarize the material, draw connections between topics, engage in a dynamic back-and-forth and provide unique perspectives.” Today, Google warns users that Audio Overviews are “not comprehensive or objective views of a topic” and “reflect the sources you upload or are generated in Deep Research.”

Gemini product director Dave Citron noted in a blog post that was shared with TechCrunch, “Canvas is designed for seamless collaboration with Gemini.” “Gemini is becoming an even more productive collaborator with these new features, helping you realize your ideas.”

The Gemini app and gemini.google.com offer Audio Overviews, which may be downloaded and shared. Beginning today, Gemini and Advanced customers worldwide will be able to use the service “in English, with more languages coming soon.”

The AI companies’ most recent attempt to turn their chatbot systems into full-fledged productivity suites is Artifacts, Gemini Canvas, and ChatGPT Canvas. In addition to providing a means of real-time code viewing, dedicated workspaces can give more accuracy than text-based interfaces alone.

Gemini is also introducing a feature called “Canvas” that allows you to “create and edit text documents in an interactive space with changes appearing in real-time.” On a desktop, Deep Research will be accompanied by a new “Canvas” button in the prompt bar. Entering a prompt will cause your desktop to transform to a dual-pane user interface, with the Canvas next to the chat on the left.

Length: Extremely brief, brief, lengthy, extended

Tone: Formal, Very Formal, Casual, and Very Casual

Edit suggestions: Gemini will provide recommendations that you can agree with.

Gemini Canvas allows users to create long messages with Gemini that they can subsequently modify and refine. It can be accessed through the prompt bar from the Gemini app on both mobile and online devices. Through specialized tools, users may modify the tone, length, and formatting of individual draft parts using Canvas.

According to Citron’s blog post, “for instance, highlight a paragraph and ask Gemini to make it more concise, professional, or informal.” “You can click to export the content you just created to Google Docs if you want to work with others on it.”

Canvas also has programming-focused features, such as the ability to create and examine HTML, React code, and other web app prototypes, as was previously mentioned. Canvas will iteratively update a preview as users request modifications from Gemini.

Citron stated, “Let’s say you want to make an email subscription form for your website.” “You can request that Gemini create the form’s HTML and then see how it will look and work in your web application.”

Google said Tuesday that it is introducing NotebookLM’s Audio Overview feature to Gemini in addition to Canvas. Last year, Google’s NotebookLM became popular for Audio Overview, which generates audio summaries of documents, webpages, and other sources that sound like podcasts.

Audio Overview in Gemini supports a variety of file and content types, much like Audio Overview in NotebookLM. The Audio Overview shortcut is activated when a document is uploaded using the prompt bar. Once a summary has been created, it may be shared or downloaded using the Gemini app on mobile devices or the web.

As of Tuesday, Gemini users worldwide may access both Canvas and Audio Overview for free. However, Audio Overview summaries are only available in English, and Canvas’ code preview capability is currently only available online.

While Google promotes use cases like speeches, essays, blog articles, and reports, Canvas may be used as a simple text editor. It is simple to export to Google Docs once finished.

Gemini can “generate and preview your HTML/React code and other web app prototypes to see a visual representation of your design.” Canvas can also be used for coding. The Gemini web app offers these code previews

Gemini will update the preview as you request adjustments. “Creating and editing your code and design[ing] in one place, without the hassle of switching between multiple applications” is how Google describes this. You may use URLs to distribute such live previews in the meantime.

Beginning today, Gemini and Gemini Advanced customers will be able to access Canvas in all languages worldwide. Canvas will also be accessible on mobile devices in the upcoming weeks.