Google injects even more AI into Google Docs and other Workspace apps at Google I/O

At the Google I/O conference on Tuesday, Google’s much-loved – but rarely praised – Google Workspace software suite received a major injection of additional AI features that will be available soon.

Gemini 1.5 Pro, from the family of language models formerly known as Bard, is integrated into the side panel of Google Docs, Sheets and Slides, not to mention Drive and Gmail. These apps are already interconnected, but this suite of features aims to automate those connections through an AI-powered assistant with the power to – in theory – teleport from one app to another, completing work tasks that previously required previously labor-intensive.

Google is clearly envisioning a more seamless and integrated experience in Workspace, made possible by centralizing all user documents and data. With the Gemini feature constantly available on screen, users are encouraged to ask the robot daily questions or ask for small favors. In Docs, Gemini can search for details found in emails or automatically organize lists in spreadsheets.

Users are also not required to specify exactly which applications they expect Gemini to use to perform the functions in question. In the demo, a user simply asks the AI ​​assistant to help them get organized, and it invents a system where it will place files in a new folder and organize the data from said files into a spreadsheet .

If you’re excited about the prospect of an AI-assisted workflow, it’s worth stopping for a moment to think about data security. Last year, a technology/tech-giants-harvest-data-artificial-intelligence.html” target=”_blank” title=”(opens in a new window)”>New York Times report As noted, there were many internal discussions at Google when the company attempted to rework its privacy agreement to begin mining users’ publicly available Google Docs for AI training data . Google may now use this data in accordance with its User Agreement, but only chooses to incorporate data from users who opt-in to Google’s experimental features, the Times reported.

It’s also worth noting that we’ve only seen a demo so far. Until now, AI assistants have been buggy, lying robots, seemingly rushed to market far too quickly. With OpenAI hot on Google’s heels, Google’s new AI-powered glow for Workspace can’t just be trendy. As its name suggests, you must work.