Google Gemini
Google's AI assistant for writing, images and research, closely tied into Gmail, Docs and other Google services.
What it does
Gemini answers questions, summarises documents, drafts emails and texts and helps with programming. Besides text, it handles images and audio; with Gemini Live you talk to the assistant directly. Deep Research produces detailed research reports, and in Canvas you edit texts and code together with the AI. Gems let you set up your own assistants for recurring tasks. Gemini also creates images right in the chat.
Who it suits
Teams that already work with Google Workspace: there Gemini is built into Gmail, Docs and other apps, and the Gemini app is included in all Workspace plans.
Data protection for businesses
With a personal Google account, chats are saved by default, used for training and partly reviewed by humans. You can switch this off with the “Keep Activity” setting in Gemini Apps Activity; chats are then still kept for up to 72 hours. The Workspace plans are meant for businesses: there, prompts count as customer data under Google’s data processing agreement (Cloud Data Processing Addendum) and are neither used for training nor read by humans without permission. Storage and processing in the EU can be set for the Gemini app in Enterprise Plus.
How we use it
The Gemini family also includes the image model Nano Banana and the open Gemma models. We use Nano Banana via the Gemini API in automated image workflows, for example for product images and image variants in online stores – with fixed prompt building blocks, reference images and an eye on costs. Gemma can be run locally, for example with Ollama, when no data may go to the cloud.
Limits
Usage limits depend on the plan; the most capable model is only available to a limited extent for free. Answers can be wrong and need checking. Features and availability vary by country.