Gemini

Google's chat with access to Drive, Gmail and Sheets, deep research and a localized interface

Gemini is Google's chat that works on top of your Google account: it reads files from Drive and emails from Gmail and answers right inside Docs and Sheets. Its office strengths are Deep Research with a finished report across dozens of sources, Gems as saved roles for recurring tasks, and work with photos, video and audio. The interface and answers are available in many languages. The paid Google AI Pro plan unlocks a stronger model, higher limits and 2 TB of Drive storage.

Free plan

A fast model with no cap on ordinary requests, a few runs of Deep Research and the strong model per day, a limited number of files per request, no Gemini side panel in Docs and Sheets

Paid plans

Gemini pricing

Tasks it handles well

• Run a quick counterparty check before a deal
• Build a competitor price review
• Write a job ad and a job description
• Write a series of company social media posts
• Prepare a structured interview
• Check a source document for required fields
• Write a sales call script
• Turn a scanned document into editable text
• Check expense reports and receipts
• Build a Boolean search string for candidates
• Reply to comments and reviews on social media
• Transcribe an audio recording of a conversation

Most useful for

• Accountant
• Lawyer
• HR manager
• Finance manager
• Manager
• Marketer
• Sales manager
• Data analyst
• Teacher
• Executive assistant
• Logistics manager
• Procurement manager

Pitfalls to watch at work

• In a personal account, turn off Gemini activity saving (Keep Activity), otherwise conversations may be reviewed by people and used for training
• When Gemini has access to Gmail and Drive it sees all your mail and files: use a corporate Workspace account for work data, keeping it off personal accounts
• Deep Research pulls sources from the web into the report: check that every link opens and really contains the stated claim
• Personal data of clients and employees goes into a request only anonymized, even on a paid personal plan

Billing

Google AI Pro is purchased through Google One and billed to your card in local currency where Google supports it, with VAT or sales tax as your country requires. The payment method is managed at payments.google.com; the business version goes through Google Workspace.

Common problems and fixes

• Gemini not working: five causes and what to do
• Gemini limits: how many requests on the free plan and Google AI Pro, and what to do when they run out
• Gemini will not open a PDF from Drive or reads it with errors: what to check
• How to delete your data from Gemini and turn off activity saving
• Gemini in Google Sheets does not appear or cannot see the data: causes and fixes

Compare Gemini with

• Gemini vs ChatGPT
• Gemini vs Claude
• Gemini vs You.com
• Gemini vs Grok
• Gemini vs Perplexity
• Gemini vs Fireflies
• Gemini vs Nanonets
• Gemini vs Kagi Assistant

Alternatives to Gemini