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

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.

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.

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.

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.