Google Docs is getting a new artificial intelligence (AI) feature that will let users create formatted documents from scratch. Available for Google Workspace users in early access, the ‘Help me create’ feature can also take context from files saved in the Workspace account and make documents using them. The Mountain View, California-based tech giant claims the feature can be used to create proposals, blog posts, press releases, menus for dinner parties, and more. Notably, the tech giant added an AI-powered text-to-image generation tool to Google Docs last month.
Google Docs Gets ‘Help Me Create’ AI Feature
In its support pages, the tech giant detailed the new AI feature in Google Docs. Notably, ‘Help me create’ is available as part of Gemini for Google Workspace Alpha and can also be accessed via the company’s early access testing programme. The feature will be available to all eligible users, but a global rollout might occur at a later date.
Once rolled out, ‘Help me create’ will appear at the top of a blank page on Google Docs. It will be visible next to other options such as Meeting notes, Cover images, Polls, and more. Users can also manually navigate to the feature by going to File > New > Help me create.
Help me create feature in Google Docs
Photo Credit: Google
After tapping on the AI feature, a pop-up window opens with a text field where users can add their prompts. Users can either add a general prompt for the content they want to create or add a Workspace file by typing ‘@’ followed by the name of the file and picking it from the drop-down menu.
Users can then click the Create button to let Gemini generate a fully formatted document based on the prompt or the content from the tagged file. Google recommends using natural language prompts in a conversational tone to get the desired result from the tool.
However, there are certain limitations to the tool. One, it is only available on the desktop, so the Google Docs mobile app does not offer the AI feature. Second, the tool cannot incorporate Web search results or search through the user’s Workspace files unless specifically tagged. Help me create also cannot generate cover or inline images of people. Further, it can only extract the content from Workspace files and cannot understand the structure or formatting of the source file.