Google Drive Gets Gemini AI-Powered Conversation Feature for Uploaded Files

Google Drive's Gemini side panel now allows users to add files as sources.

Written by Akash Dutta, Edited by David Delima | Updated: 2 May 2025 14:18 IST

Google Drive Gets Gemini AI-Powered Conversation Feature for Uploaded Files

Photo Credit: Google

Google recently released an AI-powered video transcription feature for Google Drive

Highlights

Once a source is added, users can chat with Gemini about its content
The Google Drive feature is similar to NotebookLM
The feature is only available to paid Google Workspace users

Google is adding a new artificial intelligence (AI) feature in Google Drive that will allow users to converse with Gemini about their files that are uploaded to the cloud. The Mountain View-based tech giant began rolling out the feature to eligible account holders on Thursday. The functionality is similar to the one offered by NotebookLM, where users can add a source and then chat with the AI about its content. Google says the new feature will let users easily learn more about the files stored on the cloud storage platform.

Google Drive Users Can Now Chat With Gemini About Files

In a blog post, the tech giant explained how the new AI functionality coming to Google Drive will work. The Gemini feature arrives just two months after the company rolled out the AI-powered video transcription feature in Drive, which allows users to view and search captions in a video file.

The new conversation feature is aimed at users who want to learn about the content of files and documents stored on Google Drive. The company is also offering granular control to users so that they can choose which files are analysed by the AI chatbot.

Google Drive Will Now Let Users View and Search Video Transcripts

Gemini's conversation feature in Google Drive
Photo Credit: Google

To use the feature, users will first have to open the Gemini side panel in Drive. Then, they can select the files they want to add as sources. Once selected, the AI chatbot analyses the content of the file and can respond to any query users have. For instance, users can ask Gemini to share insights from a major sales deck prepared for a client or to summarise a large legal document.

Google Drive's Document Scanner is Getting an Auto Enhancement Feature

Notably, the chatbot in Google Drive is grounded in the sources users add. Grounding, in AI parlance, means that the AI only uses the knowledge within the instructed files to generate responses. This ensures that it does not pick information from a low-quality source or even its own knowledge base, minimising the risk of hallucination and mistakes.

You Can Now Edit Your Images Directly in the Gemini App

The new feature will only be available to paid subscribers of Google Workspace. This includes Business Standard and Plus subscribers, Enterprise Standard and Plus subscribers, those with Gemini Education or Gemini Education Premium add-ons, and individuals with the Google One AI Premium subscription. The company rolled out the feature on Thursday, and it can take up to 15 days before all eligible accounts receive it.

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Further reading: Google Drive, Gemini, Google, AI, Artificial Intelligence, Enterprise

Akash Dutta Email Akash Dutta

Akash Dutta is a Senior Sub Editor at Gadgets 360. He is particularly interested in the social impact of technological developments and loves reading about emerging fields such as AI, metaverse, and fediverse. In hi... more »