With Flows, the Google Workspace productivity suite gets a tool that lets anyone automate workflows.
The company announced this at the Google Cloud Next conference. Unlike traditional automation tools, Workspace Flows can perform tasks that require context and reasoning. The system uses Gems that can handle specialized tasks. Gems are customized AI agents that a user builds themselves using Gemini.
The Gems can use files in Google Drive as context and then take the appropriate next steps. One example is handling a customer service request. Flows looks at the form, analyzes the core problem, searches for solutions and drafts a response for the support team.
Users describe what they need in natural language to Flows, and the tool then builds the desired workflow without the need for complex coding. Google is also working on integrations with third-party tools.
Help in Docs
Google is also adding audio functions to Docs. Soon, users can create full audio versions of their documents or choose podcast-style summaries of the most important points. These audio functions are a result of the popularity of audio summaries in NotebookLM.
Google is also introducing ‘Help me refine’ in Docs. Instead of just rewriting sentences, this function offers suggestions to strengthen arguments, improve the structure or make key points clearer. The aim is not only to improve documents, but also to help users become more effective communicators.
Data analysis and video creation
With ‘Help me analyze’ in Sheets, all team members have access to a virtual data analyst. This function offers starting points for analysis, points out interesting trends and creates clear, interactive graphs to bring data to life.
For Google Vids, the company’s video app, there will be the option to directly generate high-quality, original video clips. Google’s Veo 2 model powers this function and allows users to generate specific images without complex video editing software.
Improvements in Meet and Chat
Google Meet will have new AI functions that act as a personal advisor during meetings. For example, users can ask what they missed for a quick summary. They can also ask specific questions about topics that were discussed.
In Chat, Gemini can now be directly involved in group conversations by typing @gemini. The AI can then provide a detailed summary with outstanding questions, important decisions and next steps. These features help teams work more efficiently by extracting important information from conversations.
According to Google, companies that use Google Workspace with Gemini can rely on secure and private data processing. Their information is not viewed by people, not used to train Gemini models outside their domain without permission, and is never sold or used by external parties.
Techzine is at Google Cloud Next this week. Keep an eye on the website for the latest developments at the conference.
Tip: Google introduces e-signature feature in Google Workspace