Have you asked two AI-generated podcast hosts to discuss the key points of your document before sending it to your boss? No? Well, you’ll get them anyway. Google has announced new Gemini features coming to Workspace apps, including NotebookLM-style artificial intelligence podcasts integrated right into Google Docs. This announcement features a wide range of new features, from an editor that can make suggestions in your documents to a tool that helps you make sense of your spreadsheets, all with Gemini at the center.
Perhaps the most surprising of these is the podcast feature, which already exists in a few places. It got a lot of attention when Google offered it as part of its NotebookLM research tool, and it’s also available in the Gemini app when you upload a file. This update, coming to Workspace accounts “in the coming weeks,” will add audio reviews right to Google Docs, as well as the ability to have artificial intelligence read your article out loud. Having your article read aloud is really useful, but I’ve used Gemini to create one of those “podcasts” based on an article I wrote, and I’m in no hurry to do it again.
Another feature that appears in Docs is the “Help me improve” prompt. Instead of just writing for you, it will leave comments with suggestions on how you can improve your existing draft. I’m familiar with this concept as an editor, and they’re very useful. If you don’t have access to a human editor, the AI version might not be such a bad idea. This version will be available “later this quarter.”
In addition, Google has some lofty but vague promises for spreadsheets. Already, you can turn to Gemini for help with specific spreadsheet questions and tasks, such as creating visualizations. A feature called “Help Me Analyze” offers more options to help you make sense of your spreadsheet. In theory, it will help you identify trends and “tips to get you started,” a sort of on-demand data analyst. It looks like we’ll have to wait a bit to try it out – it’s coming “later this year.”
