Google rolled out multiple new AI features today for its core Workspace products: Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Drive. These apps now include additional tools powered by Gemini, Google’s AI assistant. The features range from generating entire rough drafts in your Docs to finding information tucked away in the recesses of your Drive.
This Google launch is part of a larger trend in 2026, in which major software developers are continuing to bake generative-AI-based features into core user experiences—despite the lingering distaste many in the US have for tools like these. The features are coming first to English-speaking subscribers of Google’s AI Pro and Ultra plans.
For Docs, Google added “Help me create,” which attempts to generate full first drafts of your document, from a prompt, by looking at your emails and files, and searching the internet for context. This feature takes the existing “Help me write” feature in the Chrome browser even further and points to a future where humans rely on AI to craft their thoughts and share ideas with others.
Sheets and Slides both can now create similar full first drafts by pulling from information on the web and your past data. Another new, notable feature in Docs enables users to mimic the structure of past files when starting a new project. Also, Drive now includes AI Overviews of your files and more natural language searching abilities.
My tests primarily focused on the new tools in Google Docs, where I have the most familiarity. To start, I asked Gemini to draft an itinerary for some St. Patrick’s Day shenanigans. In just a few seconds, Gemini combed through my Gmail and the web to put together a short plan. I was a little creeped out when the bot correctly looked up my flight reservations to see what city I’d be located in on March 17. It also tacked on a few well-known Irish pubs where I could grab a pint of Guinness. Overall, the results of this test were quick and solid.
Now let’s raise the stakes. How convincing a first draft could Gemini generate for my job as a software reporter? WIRED’s editorial standards block the use of generative AI, rightly so, except in situations where it’s disclosed and used as an example. Rest assured, everything you’re reading here was scribbled into my notebook before being typed up.
Other digital media outlets may not have rigorous standards around AI use, and tools like “Help me create” could be forced onto early-career journalists expected to pump out numerous stories each day. I attached the press materials Google provided about today’s launch and requested a 600-word hands-on story from Gemini, with first-person insights that could help readers better understand the launch.
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