Google is introducing a new Gemini AI side panel to Gmail that helps you compose emails and summarize email threads. The company is also adding the Gemini side panel to Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Drive. The release of the new features comes on the heels of Google's announcements at its I/O developer conference last month, which focused on new AI products from the tech giant.
With the new integration, you can use Gemini in Gmail to get help drafting emails, receive suggested replies to your emails, and even ask questions or search for specific information from emails in your inbox or Google Drive files.
Google says that while Gemini for Gmail will provide prompts to help you get started on your queries, you can also ask your own questions. For example, you can ask Gemini “What was my agency's PO number?” or “How much did the company spend on its last marketing event?”
These features are only available to Google Workspace customers with the Gemini Business or Enterprise add-on, Gemini Education or Education Premium add-on, or a Google One AI Premium subscription.
Image credit: Google
In Docs, you can use the Gemini side panel to create and refine content, summarize information, and brainstorm ideas. You can also create content based on other files. In Slides, you can use Gemini to generate new slides, custom images, and summarize presentations.
The Gemini panel also helps you track and organize your data in spreadsheets. You can also create tables, generate formulas, and get help to perform specific tasks. In Drive, you can use the Gemini panel to summarize documents and get quick facts about your projects.
Like the Gemini panel for Gmail, you need to be a paid Gemini user to access the Docs, Slides, Sheets, and Drive features.
Google is the latest tech giant to add generative AI features to popular everyday apps and services: earlier this year, Meta introduced AI chatbots to Instagram and WhatsApp, and Apple recently announced it would be bringing generative AI capabilities to its apps and services, including Siri, Messages, Mail, and Notes.
The recent trend of stuffing AI into everyday products may not be welcomed by everyone. Apple's upcoming AI features generated excitement, but there was also backlash when Meta added an AI chatbot to Instagram search. Until now, users who weren't interested in generative AI tools like OpenAI's ChatGPT have mostly been able to avoid them. But as tech giants continue to add AI to everyday apps and services, generative AI will become harder to avoid.