Google is adding an AI-powered video creation tool called Google Vids to Google Workspace. This tool assists users in creating short videos for a variety of applications. Based on user prompts, the tool suggests scripts, a visual style, voiceover and background music.
It also offers a choice of stock footage, which can be used alongside the user’s own recorded footage. Other users can provide additional content or contribute feedback.
Google Vids is the most notable new addition to Google Workspace, which gets new features across the board, mostly with help from AI assistant Gemini. Google announced the new features during Google Cloud Next 2024, which is currently taking place in Las Vegas.
Note-taking assistance and instant subtitling in Google Meet
Two new paid applications are coming to Workspace. The first is the add-on AI Meetings and Messaging, which allows users to have the AI take notes during video calls or meetings, or add instant subtitles to their conversations in Google Meet. This service supports 69 languages (equivalent to 4,600 from-to language combinations).
The subtitles will be available starting in June. The ‘Take notes for me’ feature is already available in preview. Later this year, Google will add an automatic translation service for messages and on-demand summaries of conversations in Google Chat.
Improved security
The second paid service involves enhanced security in the form of an add-on that allows sensitive files to be automatically classified and protected company-wide in Google Drive. This feature uses AI models trained with company data (while respecting privacy, Google guarantees).
Also coming are DLP controls for Gmail (beta), i.e., security measures to prevent sensitive data from being unintentionally shared, leaked, or stolen by restricting copying or printing. Google partners Thales and Fortanix provide experimental support for post-quantum cryptography (PQC) in client-side encryption to protect against quantum computing attacks. Both paid services will each be available for $10 per user per month.
In addition, Gemini will become available in Google Chat for summarizing conversations and answering questions, first in a preview version. With the arrival of Vertex AI to Workspace, businesses can also use their own data and custom AI models. This allows advanced proprietary workflows to be integrated directly into apps such as Docs and Gmail.
Existing components enhanced with AI
New features in existing Workspace components include voice prompting and instant polish in Gmail. By voice prompting ‘Help me write,’ a user can convert rough notes into a complete email with one action.
A new table feature is coming soon to the spreadsheet program Sheets, making it easy to format and organize data with a clean design. Conditional notifications based on custom triggers, such as a change in a status field, are also coming.
In word processor Docs, tabs will allow users to organize information in a single document instead of linking to multiple documents or searching through a collection of individual documents by Drive. More personalization options, such as cover images, will also be coming soon.
Finally, there will be increased capacity in Google Chat (up to 500,000 participants in a space) and interoperability with Slack and Teams.
Also read: Google Cloud unveils updates for Gemini, Imagen, Gemma and Vertex AI