No doubt you have heard a lot about the rise of AI. But what does it mean? 

Google sees AI as the third significant shift of the internet age. The first was the internet itself; the second was the rise of mobile as a mass concept. 

Gemini, Google’s next big thing, isn’t their first foray into AI. Google has been slowly incorporating AI into Workspace but not as flashy add-ons; instead, they have seamlessly integrated AI into Workspace. 

In recent years, Google has looked to start building standalone AI systems. 

The first, in 2017, was the invention of the “Transformer”, a specially developed machine learning architecture that could interpret a “language model”. This allowed it to understand the meaning of each word, alongside where the word should appear in a sentence. This allowed researchers to train AI to generate extended responses which mimic human conversations. 

Transformers were swiftly followed by BERT in 2018, a large language model (LLM) which pushed AI's ability to understand language to the furthest it had ever been. Google has kept developing, and PaLM2 is its latest iteration of LLM, powering public-facing services such as Bard.

But Gen AI is a step above these. It is the future. 

What is Gen AI?

Generative (Gen) AI is a system which can produce a wide range of content based on user text or speech inputs. This gives them various uses; Google sees it as a business aid within Workspace. People are always looking for ways to be more efficient and productive within their workflow. Gemini can help achieve this. 

How can Gemini help your business?

Like many AI tools in the industry, Gemini is in the early stages of its rollout, with an exciting list of features set to be added in 2024. However, this doesn’t mean that there isn’t still plenty that Gemini can do currently. 

Write Smarter in Docs

The first feature of Gemini has been integral in the writing of this blog. Most effective in Google Docs and Slides, predictive text is a real timesaver when writing long-form text such as this. 

It is a basic premise: as I type, AI predicts what I might write next. It sounds simple, but writing 1000-word pieces like this takes a fraction of the usual time. In an overall workflow, this quickly starts to add up. 

Another feature of Gemini is Smart Canvas. Using the ‘Help Me Write’ prompt, users can write a short description of what they want to be created. The example given below is a job post for a sales representative. Gemini then creates a job description based on the request but also includes intelligent chips where variables (location, company name, salary) would be. Say it needs the company name in three areas within the document; when the user types it in the first box, it will auto-fill the rest that requires that field. 

All this is done without you ever having to leave the document so that you can flow from concept to completion faster.  

Write emails on the go in Gmail

Like Smart Canvas, Gemini can draft full emails based on user input. However, the AI input doesn’t stop there. Once the fully drafted email is complete, if you start to edit it to suit your needs, Gemini will begin to make further suggestions that align with the tone of your changes. 

Not only will Gemini save you time in avoiding the blank stare we all do when we start an email, but it will also save you time editing it.

Organise your data in Sheets

Sheets has embedded Gemini into its ‘Help Me Organise’ capability. Users can describe what they are trying to create, and Gemini will generate a custom template that allows them to start building. 

For example, you're in a project management role and have been asked to create a tracker for a future website launch. You can ask Sheets to create a table with deliverables, owners, due dates and project status. 

Like that, you instantly have the tools to start building your project plan. 

Visualise your creations in Slides and Meet

Many of the features discussed so far have been text-based, but the beauty of Gen-AI is that it can also generate images. 

From a business point of view, creating unique and compelling visuals can be time-consuming and often expensive. 

Using Gemini, you can easily create original images for your slides and backgrounds for your meeting by simply typing what you want to be created. You can be more specific with your prompts to get tailored responses or keep them simple to create a more generic response.

For example, in the two images below, image one is a request for a ‘formal dinner table in front of an awards ceremony stage’, and the second is a cyberpunk version of the same request.

In Meet, users can create generated backgrounds to suit their needs. Companies managed to create generic backgrounds using still images; however, with Gemini, you can take this further as you can tell AI which background you would like. 

Imagine you are celebrating an accomplishment with a bespoke visual background for the meeting that can be changed to a different original one in time for the next meeting- all just in a few clicks. 

Change how you look and sound in Meet

Enhanced video quality can improve camera quality in low light using AI to simulate studio lighting. AI-powered enhanced audio can improve the audio experience caused by poor microphone quality, noisy environments or poor network connectivity. It will also help users who join your call using the Meet mobile app to sound as clear as the other participants. If you are working across languages, Meet can use Gemini to provide real-time captioned translation so that language isn’t a hurdle in business.   

AI is the most exciting opportunity in tech; if it hasn’t already, it will completely transform how we all do our jobs. When looking at AI to boost your business, Gemini can significantly increase your workflow productivity.  

Whether you are considering a move to Google Workspace or want to learn more about adding Gemini to your existing Workspace, contact our dedicated Workspace team today!