Google takes on Microsoft, introduces generative AI features to Workspace apps

Google said that it will let users create text in Gmail and Docs using the company’s self-developed generative AI technology.

Google's upcoming generative AI tech in action on Google Docs (Image: Google)

Listen to this article

00:00

1x 1.5x 1.8x

Generative AI is the buzzword these days and big tech is rushing to incorporate the technology into its products. After rumours of Microsoft’s plans to integrate ChatGPT-like AI into its Office productivity apps, Google has now announced that its Workspace apps will be getting the same treatment. The company says Workspace users will harness the power of generative AI to “create, connect, and collaborate like never before.”

In a blog post from Tuesday, Google said that it will let users create text in Gmail and Docs using the company’s self-developed generative AI technology. These two apps will soon generate drafts for topics you’d like to write about instantly. You’ll be able to elaborate upon this draft or adjust the tone to be more playful or professional. “If you’re a manager onboarding a new employee, Workspace saves you the time and effort involved in writing that first welcome email,” reads the blog post.

Google adds that this feature will be rolled out to a limited set of testers in the coming weeks. The company didn’t provide a tentative date for when it’ll be rolled out widely.

Story continues below this ad

The rest of the announcement concerns new APIs and products targeted at developers.

Also read | GPT-4 to generate videos? Microsoft Germany CTO drops key details ahead of launch

Developers experimenting with AI will be able to use PaLM API to build on top of Google’s best language models. An efficient model has already been made available but other sizes will be added soon. The API also comes with MakerSuite, a tool that lets developers prototype ideas. Over time, it will have features for “prompt engineering, synthetic data generation, and custom-model tuning.”

Google is facilitating developers to build their own models and apps using generative AI. They’ll be able to do this by accessing Google’s AI models, including PaLM, on Google Cloud.

Vertex AI is also gaining support for generative AI. The platform is used by developers and businesses to build and deploy machine learning models and AI applications. This platform will now provide foundation models, initially for generating text and images, and over time audio and video.

Story continues below this ad

Additionally, Google is introducing a Generative AI App Builder that will let businesses and governments build their own AI-powered chat interfaces and digital assistants.

Like AI-powered Workspace, these products will also be rolled out only to “trusted testers” initially.