And Google is starting to roll out a new Gemini AI side panel in Gmail that can help write emails and summarize email threads. The company is also introducing the side panel to Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Drive. The launches of the new features come just weeks after Google announced them last month at its I/O developer conference-the content of which was largely bereft of new products but heavy on new AI offerings from the tech giant.

And you will then be using Gemini right there in Gmail to get assistance in drafting an e-mail or possible responses to an e-mail. And more importantly, you will be able to ask particular questions based on emails in your inbox or even on files in Google Drive.

Google notes that although Gemini in the Gmail will throw you some prompts to get you started exploring your questions, you are always free to ask your question. For instance, you can ask Gemini: "What was the PO number for my agency?" Or, you can ask: "How much did the company spend on the last marketing event".

Some of the features are only offered to Google Workspace users with a Gemini Business or Enterprise add-on, or a Gemini Education or Education Premium add-on, or a Google One AI Premium subscription.

The Gemini side panel in Docs is there to help you edit and write your content, summarize information, and provide ideas for you to think about. You can also generate content from other files using Gemini. For Slides, you might use Gemini to help you generate new slides as well as custom images and summarize the presentation for you.

The Gemini panel can also help you track and organize data in Sheets. You can also use it to create tables, generate formulas, and get help with doing certain things. With Drive, you can have the Gemini panel summarize documents and provide quick facts about a project.

Like with the Gemini panel in Gmail, you'll have to be a paid Gemini user to access the features in Docs, Slides, Sheets, and Drive.

Google is the latest tech giant to leap generative AI capabilities onto its widely used, every-day applications and services. In March, Meta rolled out its AI chatbot to both Instagram and WhatsApp, and Apple just announced that it would apply AI to its long list of apps and services, including Siri, Messages, Mail, and Notes.
The new wave of forcing AI into everyday products won't be welcomed with open arms. There was excitement at Apple's new AI features, but a backlash came when Meta added its AI chatbot to search on Instagram. So far, users who aren't interested in the generative AI tools, like OpenAI's ChatGPT, have had the ability to avoid them for the most part. But as the tech giants continue to add AI to their everyday apps and services, generative AI will be harder to avoid.