Google adds AI chatbot to Workspace tools to help users write, create images, manage spreadsheets

SINGAPORE - Users of Google Workspace can soon instruct an artificial intelligence (AI) assistant to help them write messages, create art and organise spreadsheets.

The Workspace AI, called Duet AI, has natural language processing capabilities similar to that which powers Google‘s Bard chatbot, and is being rolled out to a limited number of users first.

Google also released Bard, its chatbot to rival ChatGPT, to more than 180 countries, including Singapore, on Thursday. 

Gmail users can command Duet AI to help them write e-mails with a short prompt, saving time spent on crafting messages.

On Google Docs, users can make use of the AI by clicking the “help me write” pop-up and entering a topic. Once the bot is done writing, users can use proofreading tools to spot repetition and tweak the tone of voice.

A user can describe what he is trying to accomplish, and Duet AI will help to organise spreadsheet data on Google Sheets and track changes, reducing the need for manual data entry.

The AI will also be built into Google Slides to help generate visuals for presentations.

Google’s AI tools are generative, like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, meaning they can create new text and images based on simple prompts.

ChatGPT shook up industries

from education and travel to real estate and marketing following its launch in November 2022, for its ability to generate text that is indistinguishable from human-written text based on questions or prompts from a user.

Microsoft

added ChatGPT’s capabilities to its Bing search engine

in February, allowing users to generate text based on real-time information on the Web. Bard, which made a limited release in March, works similarly.

That same month, Microsoft announced 365 Copilot, a new AI tool that users can tap to draft e-mails and summarise long e-mail threads in Outlook, create PowerPoint presentations and manage Excel spreadsheets. It is being trialled by partners before its public release.

Google on Thursday also announced the general release of a new and improved Bard to more than 180 countries, bringing an end to its wait-list for access.

The chatbot can now understand Japanese and Korean, and will add support for 40 other languages soon.

Equipped with Google Lens, Bard can analyse images that users paste into their search prompts to help identify objects or generate content, like a creative caption based on an uploaded picture.

It will soon include images in its responses, such as pictures of locations suggested if tasked to create a travel itinerary.

Adobe Firefly will soon be integrated into Bard to allow text to be instantly turned into images. Firefly is Adobe’s AI image generator that joins a growing suite of image generative tools like Midjourney and Stable Diffusion.

Google did not provide launch dates for its upcoming developments.

Conversations with Bard will be saved to users’ Google accounts, but they have the option to disable this and review their prompts and delete conversations from their account, Google said.

Addressing concerns of data privacy, Google told The Straits Times that it does not use personal data from users’ Gmail or other private apps to train Bard, which it called “an experimental service”.

Google also announced 2023’s line-up of electronics, including its first foldable phone, the Pixel Fold, which will not be sold in Singapore.

The mid-range Google Pixel 7a smartphone,

which ST reviewed, will hit the shelves on May 11 at $749.

This article has been edited for clarity.