Google Updates Workspace Apps With New Gemini Capabilities

Google said on Tuesday that Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Drive will get a number of new AI features driven by Gemini. With the help of the new tools, users can rapidly create fully formatted first drafts, slides, and sheets using data from their Drive, Gmail, and Chat. These happen to be the workspace apps for as many of us that do not know about this. This means that both Gemini Alpha corporate clients and Google AI Ultra and Pro members would now be able to access these functionalities.

Instead of requiring users to switch to a different tool or chatbot, the features are intended to make the apps more personalised and able to assist users in completing tasks more quickly within the platforms themselves.

Users can explain what they want to create using Docs’ new “Help me create” tool, and Gemini will follow their directions and collect data from Drive, Gmail, and Chat to produce a first draft. For instance, you could ask Gemini to “use the meeting minutes from my January HOA meeting and the list of upcoming events to draft a newsletter for our neighbourhood association.”

Gemini can assist you in improving certain parts of your first draft without having to start from scratch. Additionally, you can add details when necessary or enhance clarity by using the “Help me write” option.

Additionally, you can now use a new tool called “Match writing style” to assist in unifying texts when numerous individuals are working on a draft with different voices and tones. Gemini will recommend changes to maintain a consistent voice and tone throughout the document.

Additionally, a new “Match the format” option in Docs will allow you to replicate the format and structure of another document. For instance, Gemini can use information from your emails, such as flight confirmations, hotel reservations, and rental car reservations, to complete a travel itinerary template you find appealing.

Regarding Sheets, Google claims that Gemini is changing from a tool to a collaborating partner. It will swiftly generate a fully structured spreadsheet by pulling pertinent data from your Drive, Gmail, and Chat with just one query.

Users may ask it to “organise my upcoming move to Chicago,” for instance. Make a spreadsheet to keep track of moving business quotes from my inbox, a contact list for utilities, and a checklist for packing by room.

You may now use a “Fill with Gemini” tool to populate tables even more quickly for more complicated operations. Instantaneous bespoke text generation, data classification and summarisation, and real-time information retrieval via Google Search are all possible with this capability.

For example, you may have a tracker for all of your application information if you are handling your college applications. You can create column headers for the information you require and let Gemini automatically fill in the table by retrieving pertinent data from the internet, saving you the trouble of manually researching each school’s deadlines, tuition, and other details.

Using context from your files, emails, and the web, Gemini can now create a completely editable slide in your deck on Sheets that complements your overall theme. You can ask Gemini to change a slide if you don’t like it by telling it to “make this more minimal” or “match the colours to the rest of my deck”.

Google claims that in the future, Slides would enable you to make an entire presentation from a single prompt, utilising pertinent context where necessary. You can ask Gemini to “create a 5-slide deck for my upcoming Tokyo trip,” for example.

Google also said that Drive will become more of an active collaborator rather than merely a location to store your stuff. Now, Gemini will display an “AI Overview” at the top of your Drive search results, similar to what you get on Google Search, when you use natural language. You don’t need to open a document to get what you’re looking for because the overview summarises the most pertinent information from your files while referencing its sources.

You can ask complicated questions about your documents, emails, calendar, and the web with the new “Ask Gemini in Drive” function. For instance, you may query, “What should I ask my tax advisor before filing this year’s taxes?” after selecting all of your tax-related files. and receive a thorough response based on your real facts.

Google AI Ultra and Pro subscribers will be the first to have access to all of the new features, which are launching today in beta. Docs, Sheets, and Slides are available in English all across the world, but Drive is only available in the United States.

Here is the concise, restructured version of the key new capabilities:

Google Docs: “Help me create”

• Drafts documents from natural language prompts
• Pulls context from Gmail, Drive, Chat, and the web
• Refine via Gemini chat; matches reference doc style

Google Sheets: Data Automation

• Builds spreadsheets from a single prompt
• “Fill with Gemini” intelligently populates cells
• Generates models/trackers using Gmail and Drive data

Google Slides: Automated Design

• Creates full decks with layout, messaging, and branding
• Turns sketches/tables into charts and diagrams
• Builds narrative flow from Workspace data

Google Drive: Active Research

• “Ask Gemini in Drive” queries multiple files
• AI overviews with citations in search
• Summarises info, e.g., calculates tax obligations