The fact that artificial intelligence will change the way we work is a given. Discussions around it have been ongoing ever since the first chatbots became a commercial product—tools in the hands of both everyday users and businesses. While there is plenty of research on the impact large language models will have on professions, initiatives like Google’s aim to reshape how we approach daily work in the most practical way. The kind of work that, five days a week and roughly eight hours a day, involves gathering information, writing documents, filling spreadsheets, and perfecting presentations. To tackle all of this, Google today globally introduces Gemini in Google Workspace, the productivity suite currently used by 3 billion people and counting over 11 million business customers.
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The Goal: Optimization
“Today, people spend 90% of their work chasing time, perhaps collecting information or summarizing documents just to have a conversation with a client,” explains Yulie Kwon Kim, Vice President of Product at Google Workspace. “As we move forward and tools become increasingly automated, we can spend more time talking to people.” This AI-driven approach remains, therefore, human-centered. “People will always be the ones with ideas; we are not completely outsourcing thinking. What I find exciting is that now AI can handle all the most time-consuming and challenging tasks, allowing us to focus on the more creative or strategic aspects of our work.”
What’s New in Google Workspace
After taking the first step with Gmail—where some Gemini features recently became free for Google Mail users, though currently only in the U.S.—the company is now bringing AI capabilities to other productivity suite tools: Drive, Docs, Sheets, and Slides are the stars of this latest “makeover.”
Starting from scratch often means the blank page lingers for too long. Between notes, emails, and documents to draw inspiration from, getting stuck is a common scenario. Google’s answer is a series of features designed to “unlock” our creative process and automate routine tasks in Docs. For example, with “Help me create”, users can ask Gemini to generate a first draft (already formatted) summarizing emails, chat conversations, documents, and even web content. Alternatively, the chatbot can harmonize text across the document (“Co-editing”), reuse formatting from other documents with one click (“Match doc format”), or adapt a paragraph to the overall style of the file (“Match writing style”).
But that’s not all. “Gemini can also help retrieve documents you forgot to mention,” says Yulie Kwon Kim. “For instance, you can ask AI to use three specific documents, as you already do with NotebookLM, and Gemini will then suggest other files from Google Drive that may be relevant.”
Slides also get a makeover, integrating Gemini to simplify creating new files. On one hand, it helps professionals edit existing slides to ensure consistent styling across all pages; on the other, it allows creating entirely new presentations from scratch—not only applying style but also generating new content based on existing documents and conversations—with a simple text prompt.
AI-Powered Updates for Drive
Drive also receives AI-powered upgrades. The idea is to solve a common problem: helping users find lost documents when they don’t remember the file name or key details, only a vague memory. By using natural language queries, just as we might ask a partner to help find a lost item at home, file searching becomes simpler. AI Overview—similar to what is already found in Google Search responses—is integrated to summarize results, or users can engage in a Q&A session with the chatbot via “Ask Gemini.”
Smarter Spreadsheets with Gemini
The final update concerns the complex world of spreadsheets. In Google Workspace Sheets, Gemini can assist not only with filling individual cells (the long, tedious process called data entry) by pulling information from other files or Gmail/Drive conversations, but also with creating entire charts from scratch without specialized spreadsheet skills. It can even optimize tasks that normally require deep knowledge of complex formulas or models. “For those without data analysis expertise, complicated tasks could take forever, and even with unlimited time, they might not succeed,” explains Yulie Kwon Kim. “With this new feature, you can watch Gemini work in real-time on the sheet after verifying the sources it’s using.”
When and Where Gemini for Google Workspace Will Be Available
To optimize your workflow with Google’s AI-powered innovations, a subscription is required. The new Google Workspace features are globally available for users with AI Pro and Ultra subscriptions, and for enterprises that are Gemini Alpha clients. Additionally, the Workspace profile must have English (U.S.) as the default language. To change your profile language, go to your account, select the personal info tab, and choose your preferred language. Drive-specific features, however, will initially only be available in the United States.
