1In one sentence
On Google AI Pro (and business plans) a Gemini panel opens inside Gmail, Docs, Sheets and Slides so it can draft, summarize and organize the file you are looking at; free accounts can get a lot of the same by asking the Gemini app to look at Gmail and Drive for them.
2New words
- Help me write — the pencil-and-sparkle button in a Gmail compose window or a Google Doc. You describe the email; it writes a draft, then offers Formalize, Shorten, Elaborate.
- Side panel — the Gemini column at the right of Gmail or Docs, opened by the star icon at the top right.
- Connected apps (the message box calls them "connectors") — in the Gemini app, the setting that lets Gemini read your Gmail, Calendar, Drive and more when you ask. Since October 2026 you find them under Customize in the left sidebar, and there are 40+, including outside services such as Instacart, OpenTable and Adobe (most of those in US English only). You can turn each one on or off.
- @mention — typing @Gmail or @Google Drive in the Gemini app to tell it which app to look in. The gray hint in the box, "Type @ for connectors, skills and more", is about this.
3Why you would want it
An email arrives; you want a polite reply in thirty seconds without leaving Gmail. The order spreadsheet is messy; you want totals. Gemini inside the app means no copying, and it sees the whole thread or sheet.
4The map
| Where | What it does | Plan |
|---|---|---|
| Gmail: Help me write | Drafts or polishes an email in the compose box | Plus and up |
| Gmail: side panel | Summarizes threads, finds "the email about the invoice", drafts replies | Pro and up, business plans |
| Docs: side panel | Summarizes, rewrites sections, drafts new text | Pro and up |
| Sheets: side panel | Suggests formulas, builds tables, explains data | Pro and up |
| Gemini app with connected apps | @Gmail find my last three emails from the flour supplier and summarize them | Free (where available) |
5Try it now
- Open Gmail on a computer. Click Compose. In the bottom toolbar, look for the pen-with-sparkle icon (Help me write). If it is there, type: Reply to a customer who asked if we make gluten-free bread: yes on Saturdays, pre-order by Thursday.
- If the icon is missing, go to gemini.google.com. Click Customize in the left sidebar, then Connected apps, and switch on Gmail. (On older screens: Settings & help, then Personal Intelligence.)
- In a new chat type: @Gmail What was the last email I received about an invoice? Summarize it in 3 lines.
6What you will see
In Gmail, a draft appears in the compose box with buttons to refine it. In the Gemini app, a short answer that quotes your actual email, with a card linking to it.
7Watch out
- The in-app panels are the one clearly paid door. Older articles say "free with Workspace" because business plans include it; a personal free account does not.
- Connected apps mean Gemini reads your email when you ask. It is off by default, not yet available in the EU, UK and Switzerland, and you can turn it off per app or for one message (the Personal intelligence switch under + and More tools).
8Go further
Read Chapter 1.14 to do all of this with your voice.