Google has been busy making a bunch of announcements for its cloud-based productivity apps this week, centered largely on Duet AI integration. There are some other useful updates on the way to several apps, including Google Chat.
A beta feature now available in many Workspace plans (with full availability on the road map early next year) that enables interoperability of messaging between Chat and other services including Slack and Microsoft Teams, and Google says it has teamed up with a company called Mio to power this functionality. , indicates that this could be useful for organizations that use a variety of communications applications.
"We know that communication and collaboration happen across multiple channels and tools," Google wrote in a post. "This can cause lost messages, isolated connections, and a frustrating experience monitoring multiple chat tools." He notes that organizations need Mio licenses to use this feature. According to the GIF shared by Google, it appears that if you edit a message in one of the connected apps, the change will be repeated in other apps.
Meanwhile, 9to5 Google reports that the chat will get support for voice messages, and this will enable users to "save typing and allow recipients to hear the tone and context of the message," according to Google.
The feature is supposed to be available in early 2024, but it is unclear if it will be available in group chats and individual direct messages and it is also uncertain if there will be support for copying from the jump.
Back at I/O, we got an idea of some of Google's big plans for generative AI, including integrating the Duet AI virtual assistant into its Workspace productivity apps, and the company is now starting to roll out Duet AI to those who pay for versions of Docs, Gmail, Sheets, etc. Geared toward professional use, the virtual assistant is also making its way to Google Meet and Google Chat.
There is a free trial of Duet AI for Google Workspace. However, to use the virtual assistant in cloud apps after that, large organizations will need to pay $30 per month per user, according to The Verge. Microsoft charges the same for 365 AI Copilot in Office apps. Pricing for Duet AI for small enterprises has not yet been finalized.
Duet AI has a lot of tools designed to lighten your workload. You can use it to create a complete email draft in Gmail. It can look through emails, a wide range of documents, and spreadsheets to create a summary of recent business activities (such as your company's quarterly performance). The assistant can then create a presentation for you based on their findings — but be sure to review the slides to make sure all the facts and figures are accurate before presenting them to your bosses. Of course, Duet AI can create images as well.
The virtual assistant will be able to help you on other fronts as well, including Google Meet and chat. It has somewhat different functionality in Meet, because it can help you "look your best with a studio look, studio lighting, and studio sound," Google Workspace general manager and vice president Aparna Pappu wrote in a blog post. Duet AI could use face detection and dynamic tiles to give everyone in the meeting room their own video, perhaps with the idea of making all participants feel more engaged and connected.
Meet will be able to offer captions translated into 18 languages. Google says the app can tell if someone is speaking in another language and display the translated text in real time. (For comparison, Zoom has offered its live transcription service to users for free for about two years.)
Duet AI's note-taking functions should also come in handy. Take Notes for Me will prompt the assistant to jot down action items, capture video excerpts, and then send a summary to the audience after that happens. If you can't join a meeting at first (or you fell asleep in it, we're not judging you), Duet AI can catch you up on what you missed with an in-progress summary.
If you can't attend the meeting at all, you can send a Duet AI on your behalf. The assistant can communicate your points to other attendees making sure you get a summary afterwards. However, if all participants use Duet AI as their proxy, Meet will obviously be able to detect this and end the meeting.