Google just announced that it's rolling out the artificial intelligence-powered grammar checker for Docs to G Suite users. The feature was first available via the Early Adopter Program after launching last July during the Cloud Next 2018.
Not Your Usual Grammar Checker
Google Docs already has a built-in basic spelling and grammar checker for years now. However, the new grammar suggestion tool is not the usual checker made to catch simple errors. Now, Google Docs' grammar checker is powered by an AI that uses machine translation to help identify complex grammar issues. This machine translation model is the same technology Google uses to translate one language to another.
Google worked with linguists to help the machine translation model recognize the rules of grammar, which differs depending on region, style, and language. Through this, Google was able to build the foundation for grammar suggestions in Docs.
As a result, the AI is trained to help detect simple mistakes such as the proper use of articles "a" and "an" and more complex grammar lapses such as the proper use of subordinate clause.
"'Affect' versus 'effect,' 'there' versus 'their,' or even more complicated rules like how to use prepositions correctly or the right verb tense, are examples of errors that grammar suggestions can help you catch. Because this technology is built right into in Docs, you don't have to rely on third-party apps to do the work," Google said in a blogpost.
AI-Powered Suggestions
With more grammar rules embedded in the AI, users will now start seeing more detailed suggestions in their documents.
Grammar mistakes will be underlined with a squiggly blue line. Right-clicking on it will launch a spelling and grammar menu at the top-right corner of Google Docs, where users can choose to accept or ignore suggestions.
