Irwin Lazar, principal analyst at Metrigy, said the addition of Ask Gemini in Chat highlights Google’s efforts to compete more directly with Microsoft Teams. “Today, chat is the first interface for worker engagement as email has fallen by the wayside,” he said. “Ideally, I’d wish to see the AI interface be equally accessible across all apps, so one could access it in Gmail, Docs, etc.”
Other AI-related updates to Workspace apps announced at Google Cloud Next include the flexibility to construct and edit spreadsheets in Sheets via natural language prompts; Gemini can orchestrate “multi-step construction” and mix data from various sources reminiscent of a user’s files, emails, and chats, in addition to the net. Gemini in Docs is getting an upgrade, too, with the flexibility to create infographics grounded in business data.
Underpinning a number of the Gemini features is a brand new work graph, Workspace Intelligence, that connects data held across emails, chats, files and the net to enhance the accuracy and relevance of outputs from Gemini agents. Workspace Intelligence “understands complex semantic relationships” between a user’s data and apps, helping to personalize these outputs by learning past work and communication patterns,” Google said.