Google Enhances Gemini Side Panel in Google Drive with Image Analysis
Google has introduced an exciting new feature within the Gemini side panel of Google Drive, allowing the generative AI chatbot to analyze and retrieve insightful data from images stored in your cloud storage. This enhancement expands the functionality of Google Drive, making it an even more valuable tool for users.
Overview of the Gemini Side Panel Features
Since its inception over a year ago, the Gemini side panel has become a powerful assistant within Google Drive and other applications in the Google Workspace suite. Users can leverage this tool to:
- Summarize documents
- Handle PDFs efficiently
- Inquire about content in video files
- Execute natural language commands for file management
New Image Analysis Capabilities
The latest upgrade allows users to interact with the AI chatbot using prompts related to images. Users can:
- Request a summary of an image
- Generate alternative text
- Extract written text from images
- Compose narratives based on image content
A practical example includes asking Gemini to parse items from a restaurant bill and organize the information into a table format, enhancing data accessibility and usability.
Optimized for Text-Heavy Images
Google advises that this new feature performs optimally with images featuring substantial textual content, such as receipts, invoices, and contracts. The rollout is currently underway for eligible users and will be completed over the coming weeks. Accessing the Gemini side panel is as simple as clicking the “Ask Gemini”button located in the upper-right corner once an image is opened.
Availability Across Workspace Tiers
The image analysis feature will be accessible to various Google Workspace tiers, including:
- Business Standard/Plus
- Enterprise Standard/Plus
- Google One AI Premium
- Users with Gemini add-ons
It is important to note that, at this moment, image support is exclusively available in English.
Continued Innovations in Google Drive
This feature adds to a series of recent advancements made by Google in Drive, including the ability to edit uploaded videos directly through the browser, preview video thumbnails, receive summaries for file updates, pose questions about specific files, and enjoy a redesigned user interface in the desktop application.
For more details on these enhancements, you can visit Google’s announcement.
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