Google rolls out new Gemini capabilities to Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Drive
Source: TechCrunch
Docs
Google announced that a new “Help me create” tool in Docs lets users describe what they want to create, and Gemini will follow the instructions, gathering information from Drive, Gmail, and Chat to generate a first draft.
Example: “Draft a newsletter for our neighborhood association using the meeting minutes from my January HOA meeting and the list of upcoming events.”
After a draft is generated, Gemini can refine specific sections without regenerating the entire document. The “Help me write” tool can improve clarity or add details where needed.
If multiple collaborators use different voices and tones, the new “Match writing style” feature suggests edits to unify the document’s tone and voice.
Docs also gets a “Match the format” tool that mirrors the structure and style of another document. For instance, you can select a travel‑itinerary template and have Gemini fill it in with your own trip details by pulling information from emails such as flight confirmations, hotel bookings, and rental‑car reservations.
Image Credit: Google
Sheets
Gemini is evolving from a tool you work in to a collaborative partner. With a single prompt, it can pull relevant data from Gmail, Chat, and Drive to quickly create a fully formatted spreadsheet.
Example prompt: “Organize my upcoming move to Chicago. Create a checklist for packing by room, a contact list for utilities, and a spreadsheet to track moving‑company quotes from my inbox.”
For more complex tasks, the “Fill with Gemini” tool populates tables faster, generating custom text, categorizing and summarizing data, or pulling real‑time information from Google Search.
Use case: Managing college‑application details—set column headers for deadlines, tuition, etc., and let Gemini automatically fill the table by retrieving the information from the web.
Gemini can also generate a fully editable slide that matches your deck’s theme, drawing on context from your files, emails, and the web. If you don’t like a slide, you can ask Gemini to adjust it (e.g., “match the colors to the rest of my deck” or “make this more minimal”).
Slides
In the future, Slides will let you create a complete presentation from a single prompt, using relevant context when needed.
Example: “Create a 5‑slide deck for my upcoming Tokyo trip.”
Image Credit: Google
Drive
Drive is becoming an active collaborator rather than just a storage location. When you search in Drive using natural language, Gemini surfaces an AI Overview at the top of the results, summarizing the most relevant information from your files and citing sources, so you don’t need to open each document.
The “Ask Gemini in Drive” feature lets you ask complex questions across your documents, emails, calendar, and the web.
Example: Select all tax‑related files and ask, “What should I ask my tax advisor before filing this year’s taxes?” Gemini provides a detailed answer based on your actual data.
All the new features are rolling out today in beta and will first be available to Google AI Ultra and Pro subscribers. They are available in English worldwide for Docs, Sheets, and Slides, and in the U.S. for Drive.