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How to use Gemini in Gmail and Google Docs

Gemini is built into Gmail and Google Docs, but what you see depends on your plan and your country. Here's where each feature lives, who gets it, and prompts that produce usable emails and documents.

Updated 15 October 2026

Checked against Google's help pages in October 2026. Google is moving some Gemini features around in Gmail, so buttons may shift.

Which plans include it

Note (as of October 2026): Google is building AI features such as summaries and Help me write straight into Gmail, and says that in the US, people on Google AI Pro or Ultra might not find Ask Gemini there any more or be able to open the Gemini side panel. Personal accounts can also try newer features early through Google Workspace Experiments, a tester program.

Draft an email with Help me write

1. In Gmail on your computer, click Compose, or reply to an email or open a draft.
2. Type a rough version of your message, or leave the body empty.
3. Enter your request in the prompt bar at the bottom. If it isn't showing, click Help me write.
4. Click Create.
5. To adjust it, type a follow-up such as "add that the slides are attached", or use Formalize, Friendly or Shorten. Undo and Redo move between versions.

In the Gmail app on Android, iPhone or iPad, tap Compose, then Help me write at the top right, enter your request and tap Create. Edit the text, then tap Insert. Recreate gives a fresh version, but you can't go back to the previous one.

Help me write can draw on relevant details from your other emails and Drive files without being asked. Click Sources to see which ones it used.

Summarize a long thread

1. Open the email thread in Gmail.
2. Click Summarize this email at the top. An AI Overview of the key points and replies appears.
3. If the thread gives you a task with a deadline, click Remind me next to it to add a reminder to Google Tasks and Calendar.

Use the Ask Gemini panel in Gmail

Where your plan includes it, click Ask Gemini at the top right, type a request in the box at the bottom and click Submit. Beyond drafting, it can:

• Find facts in your inbox, such as a flight time or a delivery date.
• Tidy your inbox: archive, delete, label, star or mark emails as read. Nothing happens until you confirm, and you then have 60 seconds to undo. It can only use labels that already exist, and it won't process a request that matches more than 10,000 threads.
• Handle your calendar: create, move or find events, on your primary calendar only.
• Use a Drive file: click Add sources → Add from Drive, or type @ and pick the file.

Use Gemini in Google Docs

1. Ask about the document. Click Ask Gemini at the top right. Use a suggested prompt or type your own and press Enter. Click Insert to add a result to the doc.
2. Edit with a prompt. Type an instruction in the Gemini bar at the bottom, naming a section if you want a targeted change. Suggestions appear in the document: Accept suggestion one at a time, or Accept all / Reject all.
3. Quick rewrites. Select text and click Refine on the floating bar for Rephrase or Shorten; More adds Elaborate, More formal, More casual, Bulletize and Summarize.
4. Bring in other files. In the bottom bar, click Sources → Add from Drive or other location, or type @ and choose a file.

Insert anything you want to keep. Google warns that a side-panel conversation can be lost if you refresh, reopen the doc or go offline.

Prompts that work

Google's advice is to name who you're writing to, the subject and the action you need, the tone, and any specific email or file to draw on. For documents, add a role, the task, background and the format you want. Some examples:

• Reply: "Reply to Dana. Thank her for the proposal, say we need the revised budget by Friday, and keep it under 100 words."
• Follow-up: "Polite but firm follow-up to the supplier about the invoice question I sent last week."
• Catch up: "List what I'm being asked to do in this thread, with any deadlines."
• Find: "What did Sam say about the launch date this month?"
• Summarize a doc: "Give me a five-point summary of this doc for a colleague who hasn't read it."
• Rewrite: "Rewrite the Introduction section for a non-technical reader, in under 120 words."
• Restructure: "Turn the list under Next steps into a table with columns for task, owner and due date."
• Use a role: "I'm a team lead. Draft a one-page summary of this doc for executives, with risks last."

Want answers from the web? Include "Use Google Search" in the prompt. For prompts that come back as checklists, see our prompt patterns for actionable answers.

Good to know

• Smart features must be on. In Gmail, go to Settings → See all settings → General, then Google Workspace smart features → Manage Workspace smart feature settings, make sure Smart features in Google Workspace is on, and click Save. Turning it off switches Gemini features off too.
• Separate history. Gemini side-panel chats in Gmail don't appear in your Gemini app activity; our guide to deleting Gemini history covers the app side.
• Check the output. Google notes that Gemini can be inaccurate and shouldn't be treated as professional advice.
• Work accounts: your administrator decides which features are on.

If it doesn't work

• No Ask Gemini button in Gmail. Your plan may not include it, your admin may not have enabled it, or you may be a US Pro or Ultra subscriber affected by Google's change. Help me write and thread summaries still work in Gmail itself.
• No Help me write on a free account. Without a paid plan it's US-only and limited to supported languages.
• No Summarize this email button. Turn on both Smart features in Gmail, Chat, and Meet and Smart features in Google Workspace.
• Gemini missing in Docs. On a personal account it's listed for Google AI Pro and Ultra, not Plus.

Sources

• Get started with Google Workspace with Gemini (Google Drive Help, checked 15 October 2026)
• Learn about Gemini features in Gmail (Gmail Help, checked 15 October 2026)
• Draft emails with Gemini in Gmail (Gmail Help, checked 15 October 2026)
• Catch up on email threads with AI Overview conversation summaries (Gmail Help, checked 15 October 2026)
• Collaborate with Gemini in Gmail (Gmail Help, checked 15 October 2026)
• Collaborate with Gemini in Google Docs (Google Docs Editors Help, checked 15 October 2026)
• Write & edit with Gemini in Docs (Google Docs Editors Help, checked 15 October 2026)
• Learn about prompts for Gemini in Docs, Sheets, Slides, Vids & Forms (Google Docs Editors Help, checked 15 October 2026)
• Learn about smart features & controls for Google Workspace (Gmail Help, checked 15 October 2026)
• How Gemini in Gmail, Docs and other Workspace apps protects your data (Google Docs Editors Help, checked 15 October 2026)

Frequently asked questions