Google, the world’s leading search engine, has announced that it is introducing artificial intelligence (AI) tools to its email platform, Gmail, and productivity tools, Docs. This move is part of a larger push by the tech giant to bring advanced AI capabilities to its products.
According to a statement by a Google spokesperson, the company is currently testing the AI products and has made them accessible to a limited number of users of Workspace, which includes Gmail and Google’s productivity tools. The spokesperson also confirmed that the company is giving early access to the new features to consumers and some business and education users.
For now, The AI integration will let users create text in Gmail and Docs using the company’s AI technology till they gradually unveil other features.
“Whether you’re a busy HR professional who needs to create customized job descriptions, or a parent drafting the invitation for your child’s pirate-themed birthday party, Workspace saves you the time and effort of writing that first version,” Johanna Voolich Wright, vice president of product for Google Workspace, wrote in a blog post. “Simply type a topic you’d like to write about, and a draft will instantly be generated for you.”
With Google’s test, a user can go to a text box in an email and type “draft an email to the team.” The application will spit out a three-paragraph thank-you note that the user can edit, elaborate upon or turn into a bulleted list. The user can also ask the program to try again.
The introduction of AI tools to Gmail and Docs is expected to revolutionize how users interact with these products. Aside from drafting texts, For instance, AI tools can help users prioritize emails, suggest actions based on the content of emails, and even write emails on behalf of users in the nearest future.
Among the anticipatory features of AI tools to Gmail and Docs is also the ability to automate mundane tasks, such as scheduling meetings and responding to emails, workers will be able to focus on more important tasks, increasing their productivity and overall output. These features are aimed at making the email platform and productivity tools more intuitive and user-friendly.
Google has been at the forefront of AI research and development, and the company’s push to bring advanced AI capabilities to its products is in line with its mission to make information more accessible and useful to people around the world. However, the company intensified its research and production after OpenAI a San Francisco startup introduced the ChatGPT chatbot in November and watched it quickly go viral. ChatGPT lets users ask a question or make a request and responds with answers that are surprisingly sophisticated and creative. The top technology companies are now rushing to work similar capabilities into their own products. For example, Microsoft has integrated the Open AI chatbot into its Bing search engine and also working to integrate it into its office productivity tools.
Google boasts more than 3 billion users of Workspace. That includes consumers and companies, which pay for subscriptions.
A Google spokesperson said that the company is giving early access to the new features to consumers as well as some business and education users. The company didn’t say when it will release the capabilities broadly, nor did it say if the extra features will be included in existing packages or cost extra.
Google said that later this year it plans to bring out additional AI features to Workspace, including formula generation in Sheets, automatically generated images in Slides, and note-taking in Meet.
