Google Workspace, a cornerstone of many professionals' everyday workflows, has been at the forefront of Google's AI push. The company made the best of its AI offerings available across all Google Workspace commercial plans earlier this year. This release was well received, with Gemini providing business users with more than two billion AI assists every month, according to Google.  

At Google Cloud Next, the tech giant's annual conference on technology for business applications, Workspace received a slew of AI updates across its most popular apps, including Google Docs, Sheets, Meet, and Chat, to enhance how people do everyday work. The updates even include agentic AI capabilities. 

Also: Crawl, then walk, before you run with AI agents, experts recommend

"What we're really focused on is empowering people and teams with AI in the work that they do every single day, and it helps them get more things done, make better decisions, and even do things that they weren't able to do before," said Yulie Kwon Kim, VP of product at Google Workspace, to . 

Google Workspace Flows

AI agents are one of the biggest AI trends of the year, with assistants that can carry out tasks for you being the next evolution of AI-enabled work. To meet that demand, Google unveiled Google Workspace Flows, a feature that uses Gems, Google's custom AI agents, to handle specific tasks users need to complete. 

The setup process is meant to be straightforward. Users describe the task using conversational language, and Workspace Flows will design and build the flows without coding. The feature is currently rolling out in alpha to customers.

"The thing that we are doing is really democratizing automation for people," said Kim. "Instead of having to set up all these 'if, then' conditional kind of things, you can use natural language, everyday language, to start setting these up."

Also: Google Workspace 'Feature Drop' delivers better meetings, videos, translations

The breadth of what Gems can do can be kept as simple or broad as a user needs. For example, the technology can do something relatively simple, such as making sure the text follows brand guidelines  or something more advanced, like reviewing a customer support request, identifying a solution, writing a response, and flagging it for the team to approve and send.

Another interesting use case Kim shared is building an AI agent that researches the news for a specific topic and then compiles the insight in a convenient format at whatever cadence you'd like. This example is a standout because it shows how agents can complete simple tasks that are practical and time-consuming.

NotebookLM in Google Docs (kinda)

Google's NotebookLM tool, which converts user content into an AI podcast with two hosts, went viral because it's easy to create engaging content from lengthy text. Now, a similar feature is coming to Google Docs. 

Soon, users will be able to create full audio versions of documents or podcasts with hosts, like the experience in NotebookLM. This feature may be helpful when catching up on content during a commute or while doing chores. This feature is also coming to users in alpha in the upcoming weeks. 

Also: Google's stunning AI podcast tool gets new features that make it even better

A new "Help me refine" feature is also coming to Google Docs, meaning the tool functions more like a writing coach than your typical text generator. Furthermore, instead of writing sentences, the feature can work with your text to improve it and offer meaningful suggestions. Google said the feature should help users become better communicators over time. This feature will be available in alpha later this quarter.

Gemini in Google Meet 

Next time you are late to a meeting, you may be able to skip the fear and rely on AI. Now, users can ask Gemini, "What did I miss?" when they join a call to get a quick summary. 

Also: 5 reasons I turn to ChatGPT every day - from faster research to replacing Siri

"What's really different about this is that it's integrated with the actual video conference that's going on, so unlike some other standalone chatbots, here, you can actually catch up on what you missed," said Kim.

You can also ask Gemini for clarity by asking follow-up questions that are output in a specific format. Once you are ready to unmute, you can use AI to polish your talking points. This feature will be generally available later this quarter. 

Gemini in Google Sheets 

Google Sheets is often used to parse through robust amounts of data. However, not everyone has the skill or time to run the appropriate analysis to make something out of that information. That's where the "Help me analyze" feature in Google Sheets, meant to act like an on-demand analyst, can help. Google said the analyst can suggest where to start, point out trends, suggest next steps, make interactive charts, and more. According to the post, the feature is coming to Sheets later this year. 

Gemini in Google Chat 

Many workplace discussions take place on Google Chat. Now, users will be able to add Gemini to the conversation by typing "@gemini" in a Chat conversation and receive assistance, including summaries, next steps, key decisions, and more. This feature will be available in Labs in the coming weeks.

Also: The most popular AI tools of 2025 (and what that even means)

"You can ask Gemini to help you catch up, and it will summarize the key points of what's been discussed in the hours that you weren't on chat without you having to literally read every last thread," added Kim. 

Google's Sora competitor: Veo 2 

Google launched Vids to help businesses create compelling videos with an all-in-one writing, production, and editing assistant. Soon, users will also be able to access Google's Veo 2 model directly within Vids. The Veo 2 model allows users to create high-quality clips using text prompts. By placing it in the Vids interface, users will be able to easily convert the generated video into a project to meet their business needs. Alpha customers will have the feature rolled out to them in the coming weeks.

Artificial Intelligence

The best AI for coding in 2025 (and what not to use - including DeepSeek R1)

I tested DeepSeek's R1 and V3 coding skills - and we're not all doomed (yet)

How to remove Copilot from your Microsoft 365 plan

How to install an LLM on MacOS (and why you should)

• The best AI for coding in 2025 (and what not to use - including DeepSeek R1)
• I tested DeepSeek's R1 and V3 coding skills - and we're not all doomed (yet)
• How to remove Copilot from your Microsoft 365 plan
• How to install an LLM on MacOS (and why you should)