Google unveils new features for Docs, Gmail and more amid AI race

Amanda Pérez Pintado, USA TODAY
·2 min read

Google announced Tuesday a new set of artificial intelligence features for its various Workspace apps.

The generative AI tools include the option to automatically generate drafts based on prompts in Docs and Gmail, as well as the ability to auto-generate images, audio and video for presentations in Slides.

The tech giant is also bringing new generative capabilities for business through Google Cloud, as well as a new API for developers.

The announcement comes as tech companies race to launch new AI features amid the frenzy following the launch of the ChatGPT chatbot last year. In February, Microsoft announced the arrival of its ChatGPT-powered Bing, and Google unveiled its own chatbot, Bard, in response to ChatGPT.

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"We’re now at a pivotal moment in our AI journey," Thomas Kurian, CEO of Google Cloud, said in a blog post. "Breakthroughs in generative AI are fundamentally changing how people interact with technology — and at Google, we’ve been responsibly developing large language models so we can safely bring them to our products."

What AI tools are coming to Workspace?

Google listed a flurry of features coming to its Workspace apps, including Gmail, Docs, Slides and Sheets.

According to the company, here's what you'll be able to do with the tools:

  • Draft, reply, summarize, and prioritize your Gmail

  • Brainstorm, proofread, write, and rewrite in Docs

  • Illustrate presentations with auto-generated images, audio, and video in Slides

  • Get insights and analysis from raw data via auto-completion, formula generation, and contextual categorization in Sheets

  • Generate new backgrounds and capture notes in Meet

  • Enable workflows in Chat

Google said it will embed AI in Docs and Gmail that generates a draft text after you type a few words about the topic you want to write about. You can continue to refine and edit the draft with more AI suggestions.

When will Google launch the features?

Google said it's rolling out the features to "trusted testers" before making the tools broadly available. (The Bard chatbot was also initially available to a group of "trusted testers.")

Google Workspace has more than 3 billion users, according to the search giant.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Google unveils new AI features, including writing tool for Gmail, Docs