Google introduced new capabilities on Tuesday, Mar. 14, that leverage the company's artificial intelligence (AI) technology to generate text in Gmail and Docs. This marks a significant expansion of the company's efforts in generative AI.
New Chatbot for Gmail and Docs
According to CNBC, Gmail and other Google productivity apps are part of the Workspace where AI technologies are being tested and made available to select users.
Johanna Voolich Wright, vice president of product for Google Workspace, stated in a blog post, "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."
"Simply type a topic you'd like to write about, and a draft will instantly be generated for you," she added.
Under Google's experiment, users may compose an email by clicking the compose button and then typing "draft an email to the team." A three-paragraph thank-you letter will be generated, which may then be customized by the user via modifications and bulleted list conversion. If the user is unsatisfied with the results, they may request that the app try again.
"We are quite optimistic about the future possibilities that generative AI will bring," Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian said.
Kurian believes this innovation will alter how companies and governments engage their clients and constituents by allowing for new forms of expression and application development.
AI Integration Into Productivity Tools
Workspace has more than 3 billion users, as per Google. Customers and businesses alike may be members of a subscription service by paying a fee.
CNBC said a Google representative confirmed that the firm is providing early access to the new functions to users as well as select business and education clients. The company has been mum on whether or not the additional features would be free of charge, whether they will be included in the current packages, or when they will be generally released.
Later this year, Google wants to roll out more AI capabilities for Workspace, such as formula creation in Sheets, automatically created graphics in Slides, and note-taking in Meet.
The ChatGPT Craze
Since San Francisco-based company OpenAI released the ChatGPT chatbot in November 2022 and saw it swiftly go viral, generative AI has been the trendiest subject in tech this year. To that end, ChatGPT allows users to pose queries and make requests, to which it then provides responses that are surprisingly nuanced and inventive.
Now, the world's leading software firms are scrambling to include those same features in their own products.
Microsoft 365, formerly known as Office 365, is Google's main competitor in the business software sector. Microsoft, an OpenAI investor, will hold a LinkedIn event on Thursday, Mar. 16, to discuss AI and productivity tools.
