Google I/O 2023: Google’s Duet AI brings more generative AI features to Workspace apps

Google on Wednesday announced a new service called "Duet AI," which will enable users to collaborate in real time with artificial intelligence (AI) across the company's Workspace portfolio including Drive, Sheets, Slides, Meet, Docs, and more. Duet AI is an umbrella term for a growing list of generative AI features across Google Workspace apps. 
 
Earlier this year, the company launched limited previews of new features that help users write text in Gmail, Docs, Sheets, and Slides with the help of generative AI in an effort to keep pace with Microsoft Copilot for Office apps. The latest announcement shows that Google is expanding access to its Bard AI, its conversational generative AI chatbot based on the LaMDA family of large language models (LLMs), to Workspace users. 
 
What’s new here as Workspace VP Aparna Pappu noted in a blog is that the Gmail mobile app will now draft full replies to your emails based on a prompt in a new “Help me write” feature. In addition, the mobile Gmail app will soon add contextual assistance, “allowing you to create professional replies that automatically fill in names and other relevant information.” 

We’re excited to expand the latest #GenAI capabilities in Google Workspace to the next group of trusted testers in our early access program → https://t.co/zSANz2rnad

Check back to see how trusted testers are using the new AI-powered features. pic.twitter.com/q8oH8LCN9e

— Google Workspace (@GoogleWorkspace) March 30, 2023

 
On Docs, Duet AI will help you generate content from scratch. You can enter a topic you’d like to talk about and a draft will be produced for it instantly, including smart chips for information like location and status. Meanwhile, for users generating their own content, Docs will include new upgraded neural models that check grammar, proofread, adjust tones, and suggest styles. These features will cover not just English, but Spanish, French, Japanese, and other languages. 
 
Meanwhile, on Slides, Duet AI will generate images using prompts, letting you embed images that aren’t present on the internet into your presentations. On Sheets, Duet AI will automate data classification and the creation of custom plans. New classification tools will understand the context of data in a cell and assign a label to it, saving you time that’ll otherwise be spent on manual data entry. On Meet, Duet AI will help you generate unique backgrounds for your video calls, helping “users express themselves and deepen connections during video calls while protecting the privacy of their surroundings.” 
 
Google said, initially, users have to sign up for a waitlist to try the new Duet AI Workspace features. Without giving a specific date, the company said that users can enter their info here to be notified as it opens the generative AI features to more users and regions “in the weeks ahead.”