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Is ‘Gemini for Google Workspace’ worth it?

Mar 5

6 min read

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A few days ago a banner appeared in my workspace account inviting me to add in ‘Gemini For Workspace’.  


Is ‘Gemini for Google Workspace’ worth it?


To answer this question there are probably four other questions you should be asking first:

  • What is it and what can it do?

  • Does it fit into my AI Strategy?

  • Do I have the Governance and Risk Frameworks in place to support its use?

  • What ethical considerations should I be considering?


What is Gemini for Google Workspace and what can it do?


If you have not been following the world of AI you might not know that Gemini is Google's equivalent of ChatGPT.   It was initially called Bard.   Alongside this sat Duet AI for Google Workspace.   


On February 22nd Aparna Pappu, GM and Vice President, Google Workspace announced the following:


“Starting today, Duet AI for Google Workspace will now be Gemini for Google Workspace, giving customers access to Google’s most capable AI models. As part of this update, Gemini will be built into the Workspace apps that millions of customers use every day. Gemini for Workspace will also include a new standalone experience that allows users to chat with Gemini and features enterprise-grade data protections. This new experience begins rolling out today.” 


You can access it the same way you would access Chat GPT as a stand alone free app.  However, now Google has built it into their Workspace App’s including Gmail, Sheets, Docs and Slides as described above.


To access it you add it to your account as you would any other additional paid feature.



Gemini for workspace plans


If you download the Gemini for Google Workspaces Handbook they give you the following example…


Imagine a sales leader has learned that a potential customer is looking to change providers and has to bring the team together to get a proposal created on the same day. With Gemini: The team defines roles and responsibilities in a Meet call. They then receive a transcript of the meeting. 

  • They use Gemini in Docs to organize the transcript per action item owners, who then use Gemini to create a project tracker in Sheets, write a sales proposal in Docs, build a slide deck in Slides, and draft the email to initiate the engagement with the customer in Gmail.

  • To help the team move fast, Gemini can provide summaries of email threads in Gmail, so everyone stays on top of communications and knows what to do next. 

  • With Gemini, the team went from internal chat to outreach in a few hours instead of days.


***  The Handbook clearly states ‘This guide highlights existing and soon-to-be released features in Workspace”.


There are plenty of great examples in the handbook which will add a lot of value when they are released but they are not here yet.


I asked Gemini For Workspace in Docs for five reasons why it is worth spending the money on this new addition.  It quickly gave me the following:

  1. Seamless integration with Google Workspace: Gemini for Workspace is deeply integrated with Google Workspace apps like Gmail, Docs, Sheets, and Slides, making it easy to access and use without switching between different platforms.

  2. Enhanced productivity: Gemini for Workspace can help you write better emails, create more engaging presentations, analyze data more effectively, and collaborate more efficiently with your team.

  3. Time-saving: Gemini for Workspace can automate repetitive tasks and provide real-time assistance, freeing up your time to focus on more strategic work.

  4. Improved communication: Gemini for Workspace can help you generate clear and concise messages, improving your communication with colleagues, clients, and partners.

  5. Innovation and creativity: Gemini for Workspace can help you think outside the box and come up with new ideas, fostering innovation and creativity in your work.


I jumped into Slides and asked it to generate ‘an image for a blog about gemini for workspace and the value it adds’. It gave me the image on the left.….  Not overly compelling. It did do a better job of ‘a frog in boiling water’


Googleforworskspace
From in boiling water










Sheets is underwhelming.  At this point you can just use it to put together tables using the ‘Help me Organize’ function.  However  -  “Help me organize” currently can't be used to edit or refer to existing content in your spreadsheet.


The ‘Help me Organize’ function can be a great starting point if well prompted.    I asked for a five day tour of Croatia including things to see and places to stay.  Here is a sample of its response… (not bad).



I asked for a go to market plan for a new technology and got the following…  (not so helpful).



There are no doubt a lot of other features that I have not covered, but hopefully this starts to give you a feel for how it works and how it can potentially be used.



Does it fit into your AI strategy?


Do you have a documented AI strategy?   


Assuming you do then is should be fairly straight forward to review the functionality above and work out where it fits.


A good strategy will be looking for ways to both Automate (replaces human decision-making and actions with technology) and Augment (enhances human intelligence, rather than operating independently of, or replacing it).  Generative AI has the capacity to do both.  In this context it can give back time through automating tasks but it can also enhance.


Your AI strategy should not stand alone from your overall business strategy and your approach to technology and systems.  A major focus for most organisations is simplifications and reducing the number of applications.  One of the big wins for Gemini for Workspaces is that it sits within the existing Goolge Stack.  So if this is already your system of choice then you are not sending staff off into yet another system and it is complimenting your overall strategy goal of simplifying your stack.



Do I have the Governance and Risk Frameworks in place to support its use?


Have you done an AI Governance assessment and worked through the process and policies you should have in place and your tolerance for risk?   Is there clear accountability and oversight?   Is your culture one of openness and transparency?


One big Governance and Risk box that Gemini for Workspace ticks is around Privacy.

The functionality that exists today in Gemini for Workspace is clunky and still has a long way to go. You can access a lot of the functionality that exists today via the free version.


BUT


Everything you put into the free version can be used by the model for training it

Everything can be access and reviewed by a human

Other companies can potentially access everything


Lots of employees in organisations are leveraging Generative AI models to boost their productivity but are sharing IP, customer information and so much more with the world without knowing it (or they do know and don’t care)


Using Gemini for Workspaces you have your own private environment that leverages Generative AI but does not share your work with the world.


Google states the following:


“Generative AI does not change our foundational privacy protections for giving users choice and control over their data. To that end, here are key facts about how Workspace data is handled.

Your data is your data. The content that you put into Google Workspace services (emails, documents, etc.) is yours. We never sell your data, and you can delete your content or export it.  Your data stays in Workspace. We do not use your Workspace data to train or improve the underlying generative AI and large language models that power Gemini, Search, and other systems outside of Workspace without permission.  Your privacy is protected.”


The cynic will question if we can trust Google.  The reality is that many of the world's top organisations have been trusting Google with their data for years and if your organisation is using the Google Suite then you do too.


What ethical considerations should I be considering?


The ethical considerations here are the same ones being raised with all of the Generative AI solutions.  The grounding of the models leave them open to bias and misinformation.  There are risks around plagiarism and copyright.  It is expensive to build and run.  Should your customer data and interactions be used?  Do you have their permission?  The list goes on.


As I write this Google is struggling with the operation of their model creating images.   In an effort to reduce bias in the creation of images they have created new problems.   When prompted Gemini software created images of historical figures in a variety of ethnicities and genders.  This came out of their effort to deal with the fact that when prompted for an image of a judge you always got a man.  When asking for a gunman the person was always black.


Workshopping these and other ethical considerations with your teams is a great way to engage them around ethical use of AI in the workplace and to explore the ethical considerations your organisation needs to have in front of mind.  


Generative AI is very much in its formative stage.   Accountability and human review remain vital.   Just ask Canadian Airlines who recently lost a court case involving a chatbot providing inaccurate information to a customer.


Conclusion - Is ‘Gemini for Google Workspace’ worth it?


That depends on how you answered the questions above….  but if you are an existing Google Workspace user then probably yes.


The privacy of my data is why I have signed up. It is not hard to get $30 of productivity out of the tool now and as more functionality is released I look forward to being able to privately review survey results and analyse data, create useful images and a lot more.




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  • Explore and workshop AI Ethics

  • Build and refine AI Strategy

  • Establish AI Governance and Risk Frameworks


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