After OpenAI’s ChatGPT caught the tech world off-guard late last year, Google reportedly declared a “code red,” scrambling to devise a response to the new threat. The first fruits of this reorientation appeared earlier this year in the form of the Bard chatbot, and generative AI features integrated into Google Workspace applications. Today at Google I/O 2023, the company’s perspective on AI’s function in its cloud-based productivity suite becomes more clear. Google Duet AI is the brand name for the company’s suite of AI tools for Workspace applications.
Similar to Microsoft Copilot for Office applications, Duet AI is an umbrella term for an expanding catalog of generative AI features across Google Workspace applications. (The market appears to have resolved on marketing language portraying generative AI as your workplace ally.) First, based on a prompt, the Gmail mobile app will now draught complete responses to your emails. In addition, the mobile Gmail app will soon include contextual assistance, “allowing you to create professional replies that automatically fill in names and other relevant information.”
Additionally, Duet AI appears in Google Slides. Here, it takes the guise of presentation image generation. Similar to Midjourney or DALL-E 2, Duet AI can now transform basic text queries into images generated by AI to enhance PowerPoint presentations. It could save you the bother of searching the internet for the perfect presentation image while adding an original touch.
Duet AI can interpret the context of a cell’s data and designate it accordingly in Google Sheets. The spreadsheet application also includes a new “help me organize” feature for the creation of custom plans: describe your goals in straightforward language, and Duet AI will delineate the strategies and actions necessary to achieve them. “Whether you’re an event team planning an annual sales conference or a manager coordinating a team offsite, Duet AI helps you create organized plans with tools that give you a running start,” the company explained.
Meanwhile, Google Meet’s Duet AI can generate custom background images for video conversations prompted by text. According to Google, the feature will allow users to “express themselves and deepen connections during video calls while protecting the privacy of their surroundings.” Similar to the Slides image generation, Duet’s Google Meet integration could save you time browsing for an image that conveys the appropriate mood for your meeting (while concealing any bothersome bystanders).
Duet also adds an “assisted writing experience” to the clever canvas in Google Docs. When you enter a prompt describing the topic you wish to write about, Docs will generate a draught. The feature also functions in Docs‘ smart processors (automatic suggestions and information about project-related documents and individuals). In addition, Google is updating the built-in Grammarly-style tools in Docs. A new suggestion pane for proofreading will offer advice on writing concisely, avoiding repetition, and using a more formal or active voice. The company adds that the feature can be readily deactivated if you do not want to be reminded about grammar.
To experience the new Duet AI Workspace features, you must initially sign up for a waiting list. Google says you can submit your information on their page to be notified when it opens the generative AI features to additional users and regions “in the weeks ahead.”
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