As educators, we are especially excited at the new features Google has added to its productivity tools. These updates in particular substantially improve Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Drive. These updates, now available in beta, are designed to improve workflow efficiency and make document creation and management more intuitive. These new features are available immediately to Google AI Ultra and Pro subscribers. This upgrade even further expands the already impressive capabilities of these popular applications.
Perhaps the most exciting of these is the new “Match the format” tool in Google Docs. This new feature lets reusers quickly and easily mimic the structure and visual style of documents they may want to imitate or improve upon. With just a click to choose a reference document, users are able to duplicate its formatting, yielding uniformity throughout their work. Whether users need to repeatedly create documents in a uniform format or update existing files, this improvement will help them save time.
Aside from the new formatting tool, Google Docs is rolling out the “Ask Gemini in Drive” feature. This new, pioneering tool equips users with the ability to ask intricate questions. It pulls data from a variety of sources, including traditional documents, emails, calendars, and even internet pages. By leveraging this functionality, users can more easily collect context to help inform research, advocacy, or projects.
With these new features, you’ll be able to create completely formatted first drafts, presentations and spreadsheets in record time. They use the user’s data from Gmail, Chat, and Drive to automatically generate content that is specific to what the user needs at any given moment. For example, a user might prompt Gemini to write a newsletter for their local neighborhood association. Each would detail, drawing from the minutes of their January HOA meeting, and provide a list of future activities.
For now, these features are rolling out in English worldwide for Google Docs, Sheets and Slides. The “Ask Gemini in Drive” tool is only available to users in the United States.
Users can use Gemini’s generative tools to focus in on certain parts of a longer document. No reason to re-render the whole SVG file again! This more laser-focused, targeted approach allows for a more efficient and effective editing process and content enhancement. For example, a user might prompt Gemini with the following question, “What are the questions I should ask my tax advisor when I file my taxes this year? This request might cause Gemini to curate applicable prompts depending on the user’s financial statements.
This new-found flexibility goes well beyond basic boolean queries. For example, users can tell Gemini to assist with planning multi-step tasks like moving. One potential user might request, “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.” These types of requests prove that Gemini can be a powerfully beneficial tool to help you plan your life, business and community.
In addition, when planning presentations or travel, users can turn to Gemini to quickly create visual aids. Simply tell it, “Generate a 5-slide presentation for my trip to Tokyo next week.” Before you know it, you’ll have an engaging, informative presentation all queued up and ready to roll!
Google has made it a priority to incorporate artificial intelligence into its productivity software. With these productivity improvements, users are now better empowered to get work done individually and in collaboration with others.