Google introduces enhanced AI capabilities to Docs, Sheet, Meet

Google has introduced new AI capabilities, including Workspace Flows for automation, audio features in Docs, and enhancements to Sheets, Meet, and Vids. According to the tech giant, the updates will make AI more accessible, integrated into everyday work and improve productivity and streamlining workflows for businesses.

Including advanced AI capabilities in core Workspace plans is not a recent update. Recall that earlier this year, Google made AI available across all of its commercial Workspace plans.

According to Yulie Kwon Kim, Vice President, Product at Google, many businesses- large and small- have responded positively to the introduction by putting AI to work. “Gemini in Workspace now provides business users with more than 2 billion AI assists every month, helping people save time and get more done”, it said in a blog post.

These businesses include Air Liquide, Compass Real Estate, Equifax, Etsy, Globe Telecom, Rivian, Salesforce, Whirlpool, and many others.

Read also: Google introduces AI-powered weather forecasts on Search across Africa

How Workflow automation with agentic AI works

Workspace Flow uses Gems — custom AI agents users can build using Gemini — to handle specialised tasks such as chasing approvals, updating spreadsheets, and digging through documents for information.

Do you need help checking if marketing copy fits your brand voice? Want help reviewing policy documents before approving a request? Need to intelligently sort customer support tickets? 

Workspace Flows can refer to your files in Google Drive for context and use custom-trained Gems to take the right next steps. Google also indicated that it is working with other partners to connect Workspace Flows to other third-party tools so it can function beyond the Workspace environment.

The feature is being rolled out to customers in the Google alpha programme now.

New audio feature on Google Docs

Have you ever wished that you could hear someone read your presentation script aloud to you so you can catch some awkward phrasing? Or do you wish that you could get the summary of a long document during your commute? Sometimes, listening is the best way to absorb information or refine your message.

Inspired by the popularity of audio overviews in NotebookLM, Google is bringing audio capabilities directly to Google Docs. With it, you can create full audio versions of your documents or choose podcast-style overviews for the key highlights.

The audio experience will be available in alpha in the coming weeks.

Google is also introducing Help me refine in Docs. It described it as “more than just a text generator”. This feature will help users with thoughtful suggestions on how to strengthen their argument, improve the structure of their piece, or make their key points clearer.

It can also help with formatting consistency.

New insights for everyone on Sheets

This feature is for business leaders hoping everyone on their team could easily find the story hidden in the numbers, without needing to be a spreadsheet wizard. It is like having an on-demand analyst, available 24/7.

According to Kim, the AI feature can provide guidance on getting started, point out interesting trends, suggest next steps for digging deeper and create clear, interactive charts to bring data to life. You can view the demo below to see how it works.

Help me analyze is coming to Sheets later this year.

Get meeting summaries on Google Meet

We have all been there: joining a meeting late, trying to grasp the key decisions, or wanting to phrase a point perfectly before speaking up. Building on features like Take notes for me, Gemini in Meet is becoming your in-meeting advisor.

Running late? Simply ask Gemini, “What did I miss?” for a quick summary.

Want a recap in your preferred format? Gemini will generate it.

In fact, with just a chat with Gemini, it can help organise your thoughts or sharpen a point before you jump into the discussion. Hence, you can stay up-to-speed, understand the conversation, and contribute effectively.

See how it works below:

Also, now you can bring Gemini into group discussions to extract and organise the important conversations. All you need to do is simply type @gemini in any Chat conversation, and it can provide a detailed summary, highlighting open questions, key decisions, and next steps.

In all

As AI is reshaping our world and how we interact with each other, it is exciting to see how global tech giants are attempting to outdo one another to make it more efficient and more affordable.

Google’s announcements indicate AI is becoming the reality of work today, not some fantasy of the future. If anyone isn’t leveraging it, one way or the other, today to do better work, they are likely going to be left behind.