Google is expanding Gemini by integrating it into Google Drive, Gmail, and other apps. This new feature will allow users to access Gemini’s AI capabilities through a pop-up sidebar on Google Drive. Users can search for specific information, create agendas in Slides, generate table templates in Excel Sheets, and more. Gemini will also be available on the Gmail app for iOS and Android devices. However, these features will only be accessible to paying users through Google Workspace, Gemini Education, or Google One AI subscriptions.
While Gemini’s integration may help users work more efficiently, it raises privacy concerns as Google collects data from conversations, product usage, location, and comments to improve its AI models. It is unclear to what extent Gemini uses Drive, Docs, and Gmail data, especially for users who do not pay for access. Google claims to use publicly available information to train its AI models and build products like Gemini and Google Translate.
The rollout of the new Gemini sidebars is expected to be completed within 15 days for most paying users, with some users gaining access sooner. Despite ongoing updates to Gemini, there have been issues with its accuracy, such as creating historically inaccurate representations of people in images. Google disabled this feature in February but has not yet fixed it. However, users can still benefit from other Gemini features, such as uploading documents directly to Gemini and accessing an “Education” edition available in over 150 countries.
Overall, Google’s integration of Gemini into its various apps offers enhanced productivity tools, but users should be aware of potential privacy implications. It remains to be seen how Google will address concerns regarding data collection and use in relation to Gemini’s AI capabilities.
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https://www.pcmag.com/news/gemini-ai-comes-to-google-drive-docs-sheets-as-sidebar-gmail-summary