Google Workspace: 7 Great Ways To Use The Gemini AI Sidebar
ComputerWorld, Monday, March 17th, 2025
Google Docs, Drive, Gmail, and other Workspace apps have a handy side panel where you can use Google's Gemini AI assistant. Here's how to work with it and 7 example uses that'll boost your productivity.
Google's generative AI chatbot, named Gemini, is available as a web app. But you can also access most of Gemini's AI tools in a side panel as you're using Google Workspace apps including Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, Drive, and Gmail. Using the Gemini sidebar within a Workspace app is much more convenient and contextual than copying and pasting between browser tabs.
When you're in one of these five main Workspace apps, open the Gemini side panel by clicking the nova star icon that's next to your user profile icon at the upper-right corner. From this side panel, you can instruct Gemini to generate new content (such as text, tables, or slides), make changes to your current document or other file, or analyze its content to provide context.