AppsScriptPulse

Comment, Solutions, AI, Advanced

Exploring Workspace Intelligence Skills using the Workspace CLI and Gemini CLIs with Apps Script API Executables

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The most striking demonstration at Google Cloud Next ‘26 was the “Chat Command Centre”. Julie Quan Kim showed how a user might invoke a “regional campaign skill” to orchestrate complex tasks across Docs, Slides, and external CRM data. While we have yet to see how “skills” will be created and managed, developers can already prototype these agentic behaviours using the Workspace CLI (gws) and the Gemini CLI.

These tools are the perfect laboratories for developing “skills” that could eventually be used in your own Workspace Intelligence platform. To test the boundaries of this, I have been building a “recipe” that fetches a webpage, converts the content into a natively formatted Google Doc, and then executes additional logic via Google Apps Script.

The Practical Bridge: The Web-to-Doc Recipe

This recipe, published in this repo, hopefully demonstrates how we can orchestrate a multi-step workflow using different tools. It is worth noting that the development of this very skill was facilitated by a specialised skill-creator subagent included in the latest Gemini CLI. This dedicated assistant handles the initialisation and packaging of new capabilities, which in itself makes the transition from a manual workflow to a reusable agentic skill remarkably easy.

The core logic of the Web-to-Doc recipe is defined in a simple SKILL.md file, which instructs the local agent to follow a strict pipeline:

  1. Extraction via Node.js: The skill instructs the CLI to execute a local Node.js script (extract_article.js), which uses Mozilla’s readability and turndown libraries. This gives us a clean, “Reader View” markdown version of the article, stripping away the navigation menus and ads. With the announcement of the Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform I think it is very probable that Workspace customers would be able to use similar functions hosted in Cloud Run.
  2. Native Conversion via CLI: Next, the agent passes this markdown file directly to the Workspace CLI. By explicitly setting the MIME type to application/vnd.google-apps.document, the CLI takes advantage of the Drive API’s ability to convert markdown into formatted Google Docs. With the announcement Workspace MCPs, including Drive, a similar conversion should be possible without the Workspace CLI
  3. Refinement via Apps Script: This is my favourite part of the process. To ensure the embedded images do not overflow the document margins, the skill triggers a deployed Google Apps Script function (resizer.gs) using the gws script scripts run command. This is a level of precise document manipulation, specifically calculating page margins to ensure images do not overflow, is one that the high-level Drive API cannot perform during a simple import.

Governance and Security

Moving to this atomic, skill-based architecture is not without its friction. This homebrew approach of using different CLIs and managing authentication scopes across different local and cloud environments can be a severe headache and is very difficult to scale.

It also remains unclear if the Workspace Intelligence skills will include a script.run functionality found in the Workspace CLI. If it is included, it would be an exceptionally powerful way to extend skill capabilities. It would mean being able to build modular, portable sets of very repeatable code using the existing power, functionality and affordances of Apps Script.

This is where it will be very interesting to see how Workspace Intelligence manages this with the appropriate security and governance, especially considering the risks associated with Workspace MCP servers and the risk of indirect prompt injection attacks.

This is a rapidly evolving space. The ability to prototype these behaviours today using the Workspace CLI provides a direct path to understanding how the Agentic Enterprise could operate.

Comment, Solutions, Advanced

Atomic Skills and Role-Based Recipes: The Architecture of the Google Workspace CLI

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I have spent a significant portion of my career working with various command-line interfaces for Google Workspace, from gcloud to gam. The recent release of the Google Workspace CLI (gws), which is not an officially supported Google product but has a number of Googler contributions, represents a fundamental shift in how we interact with the entire Google API surface.

In this post, I will provide an overview of the gws tool and explain how it differs from the Gemini CLI Workspace Extensions. More importantly, we will examine the modular architecture of “Skills”, “Recipes” and “Personas” that makes this tool in my view a masterpiece in modern, role-based automation.

GWS vs. GAM: Understanding the Overlap

Many Workspace Admins are already deeply familiar with gam (Google Apps Manager), the open-source command-line tool that has long served as a staple for domain administration. While gam is exceptional for bulk administrative tasks, such as creating users, modifying groups, or auditing devices, gws serves a different primary audience.

There is certainly a slight overlap between the two. You will notice administrative skills like gws-admin-reports present in the new repository. However, gws is fundamentally a developer and agentic tool focused on individual productivity applications like Drive, Gmail, and Docs, rather than domain-wide directory administration.

GWS vs. Gemini CLI Workspace Extensions

It is easy to confuse the Google Workspace CLI with the Workspace Extensions available for the Gemini CLI, but they serve entirely different purposes. The Gemini CLI Extension is a high-level interface designed for natural language tasks, such as “Summarize my unread emails” or “Find a file in Drive.” It is a convenient, user-centric tool for common, daily interactions.

In contrast, gws is a developer’s infrastructure tool. While the Gemini Extension is about “doing,” gws is about “orchestrating.” It provides the granular, programmatic control needed to build complex, multi-step workflows that can be automated, tested, and shared across a team.

The Modular Approach: Atomic Skills

The repository breaks down Google Workspace API interactions into highly modular components called “skills”. Instead of a monolithic script handling an entire workflow, the architecture relies on specific, atomic actions. Some examples from the repository include gws-gmail-send and gws-docs-write.

This atomic design means each skill has a single responsibility. For Apps Script developers, this is highly reminiscent of creating focused, single-purpose functions within an Apps Script library. By keeping these functions isolated, the code becomes easier to test, maintain, and reuse across different parts of an application.

Combining Forces: Recipes and Personas

Where this architecture becomes particularly interesting is how it combines these basic building blocks. The repository introduces the concept of “recipes,” such as recipe-backup-sheet-as-csv or recipe-create-expense-tracker. These recipes orchestrate multiple underlying skills to achieve a larger, practical goal.

In addition, these recipes are mapped to specific user “personas” like persona-content-creator or persona-it-admin. By grouping actions based on the user’s operational role, the tool becomes highly intuitive. When building Google Workspace automation tools, adopting a persona-driven approach can significantly improve the user experience: you are no longer just presenting a list of features, but offering targeted workflows tailored to what the user actually needs to accomplish their daily work.

Why this Approach Fits Workspace APIs Perfectly

This architectural choice is particularly effective given the versatile nature of Google Workspace APIs. Consider the Google Drive API, which features a generic endpoint for creating files. A basic integration might simply expose this raw “create file” capability. However, given the massive range of situations where you might want to create a file, a generic tool often leaves users or AI agents guessing how to properly format the request.

This is where skills, recipes, and personas show their true value. They allow us to dictate exactly how a file should be created for a specific context. For instance, if you want to turn a Markdown document into a natively formatted Google Doc, you could try to use the complex Google Docs API to insert text paragraph by paragraph. Instead, a targeted recipe can use the Drive API’s built-in file conversion features. By packaging instructions to upload the Markdown content and explicitly set the target MIME type to application/vnd.google-apps.document, the recipe abstracts away a complex API quirk into a reliable, repeatable action.

The Future of Agentic AI: The CLI + Skills Paradigm

As a recent VentureBeat article highlighted, the real breakthrough of gws is not that it makes Google Workspace programmable, given those APIs have existed for years. Instead, the innovation is the interface itself. By eliminating the need for custom wrappers and endless glue code, the CLI transforms Workspace from a collection of siloed applications into a single, unified programmable runtime.

This touches on a growing industry debate around the Model Context Protocol (MCP). Interestingly, while gws initially launched with a native MCP server mode, the maintainers explicitly removed it in version 0.8.0. Justin Poehnelt, one of the main contributors behind gws, refers to this overhead as the “MCP Abstraction Tax”. Exposing hundreds of granular API tools via a standard MCP server requires passing massive JSON schemas that bloat the AI’s context window and often lead to complex mapping bugs.

Instead, gws is now focused on a pure “CLI + Skills” architecture. In a related post on why developers should “Rewrite your CLI for AI Agents”, Justin outlines a shift from imperative to declarative design. An AI agent should “think” in terms of the high-level business goal (the “what”) rather than worrying about the underlying API steps to edit a document (the “how”). By moving the complex reconciliation logic directly into the CLI library, agents can simply use bash commands, a language they are already highly fluent in, to execute tasks efficiently.

Agent skills supply the “recipes” for these declarative commands, acting as modular, portable sets of instructions that teach an AI agent exactly which CLI tools to execute. The repository already incorporates over 100 of these Markdown skills, following a standardised structure. This framework is a powerful example of how we are moving away from simple prompt engineering toward “Skill Engineering”. By encoding our organisational knowledge and engineering judgement into these portable files, we ensure that AI agents follow token-efficient, reliable workflows every time they interact with our data.

Summary

The Google Workspace CLI is a glimpse into a future where our development environments are natively aware of our roles and workflows. For those interested in mastering this new framework, Anthropic recently shared a Complete Guide to Building Skills for Claude which explores the technical patterns and best practices for creating your own high-order skills.

Whether you are looking to automate your local development loop or build complex agentic workflows, the googleworkspace/cli provides the infrastructure you should keep an eye on!

Comment, AI

Google Hints at AI Advanced Services in Apps Script: Validation for a Mystic Marty Prediction

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At the Devoteam UK GDC event on the 16, October 2025 I debuted, ‘Mystic Marty’ and made three AppSheet and Apps Script predictions for H1 2026.

The Predictions

These predictions were:

  1. Deep Integration of AppSheet into Google Workspace Flows: By allowing AppSheet applications to act as both triggers and actions within Workspace Flows, AppSheet transitions from an isolated tool into a managed step within a larger, automated business value stream, preventing the creation of new data silos and process bottlenecks.
  2. AppSheet Actions within Gemini Enterprise (aka Agentspace): Integrating AppSheet into Gemini Enterprise positions it as a mechanism for structuring and exposing proprietary business data, enabling the creation of custom, data-aware agents at enterprise scale.
  3. Gemini App as a Google Apps Script Service: By making it simple for AppSheet automations to call Apps Script functions that interact directly with Vertex AI and Gemini models, this feature addresses complex, domain-specific enterprise needs that go beyond the scope of no-code solutions.

The Validation

Roll forward one week to the Google Workspace Developer Summit in Paris, and we had confirmation in a presentation by Luke Camery (Product Lead, Enterprise Collaboration at Google) that Google is in the early planning stages of an AI Advanced Services in Apps Script which would be launched in 2026.

Not only that, but a free quota was being considered, which would avoid the need for users to create an associated Google Cloud Project (GCP). The details are still being worked out and this offer is subject to change, but the fact it is being considered answers a lot of the questions I hear on this topic from the community.

The Method Behind the Mysticism

These predictions weren’t just guesswork. They stemmed from both historic product knowledge and more significantly from an analysis with Gemini of the ‘DORA: The 2025 State of AI-assisted Software Development’ report and in particular exploring how high-quality internal platforms can unlock and amplify the value of AI.

The report’s emphasis on internal platforms as a key enabler for AI was a clear indicator. It suggested that Google would inevitably need to provide more powerful, integrated tools—like AI services in Apps Script—to allow enterprise developers to build these exact kinds of high-value platforms.

For a deeper dive, you can read my full analysis here: DORA 2025 Insights: Is Gemini Enterprise the Answer to the AI Challenges?

What This Means for Apps Scripters

The hint of a free quota, is more than just interesting news—it signals a significant potential shift for the Apps Script community. The removal of the GCP barrier, in particular, would allow seamless access to powerful AI tools, allowing Google Workspace users an opportunity to experiment with generative AI in their automations.

While Google’s plans are “subject to change”, the direction seems clear. The integration of AI Advanced Services directly into Apps Script could represent the next major evolution of the platform, moving it from a tool for automation to an integrated high-value platform for intelligent application development. As always, we’ll be watching this space closely.

Solutions, AI, Intermediate

Supercharge Your Apps Script Code Reviews with Gemini for Workspace and a Simple Exporter Tool

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As developers, we are constantly looking for ways to improve our workflow and the quality of our code. The recent rise of powerful AI assistants, like Google’s Gemini, has opened up new frontiers for productivity, particularly in the realm of code reviews. These tools can offer instant feedback, suggest optimisations, and spot potential bugs we might have missed.

However, there’s often a practical hurdle: providing the AI with the complete context of our project. For Google Apps Script developers, this can mean the tedious process of copying and pasting code from multiple .gs and .html files, not to mention the crucial appsscript.json manifest.

To solve this, I’ve developed a simple tool built, fittingly, with Apps Script itself. It’s a Google Sheet that lets you export an entire Apps Script project into a single, neatly formatted JSON file, ready to be added directly to the Gemini App or a Gemini Gem.

Why This Approach?

  • Holistic Reviews: By packaging every file—including the manifest with its scopes and dependencies—you give the AI the bigger picture leading to more accurate analysis.
  • Boosted Efficiency: Forget manual copy-pasting. A couple of clicks are all it takes to get a complete project export, saving you time and preventing errors.

How It Works & How to Prompt Gemini

To get the most out of your exported project file, it helps to understand its structure and how to tell your AI assistant what it’s looking at.

The JSON Structure

The tool uses the official Google Apps Script API to fetch your project’s content. The resulting .json file contains a list (an array) of File objects. Based on the official documentation, each object in the list represents one file from your project and looks something like this:

{
  "name": "Code",
  "type": "SERVER_JS",
  "source": "function myFunction() {\\n  Logger.log('Hello, world!');\\n}"
}
  • name: The name of the file (e.g., “Code”, “Index”, “appsscript”).
  • type: The kind of file it is. This will be SERVER_JS for .gs files, HTML for .html files, and JSON for the appsscript.json manifest.
  • source: The actual code or content of the file as a string.

Prompting Gemini for the Best Results

When you upload this file, you can give Gemini a simple instruction to ensure it understands the context. Here is a sample prompt you can adapt:

“Please review the attached Google Apps Script project. The JSON file contains an array of file objects, where each object has a ‘name’, ‘type’, and ‘source’. Please analyse all the files together as a single project to provide a comprehensive review.”

This prompt tells Gemini exactly how to interpret the file, ensuring it sees the appsscript.json manifest for its scopes, the server-side logic in the .gs files, and any client-side .html files as a complete, interconnected project.

Tip: For scripts bound to a Google Sheets, Docs, or Slides, to get the most accurate review, add these documents to your Gemini conversation alongside the exported JSON file to give Gemini the complete context.

Take It to the Next Level: Create a Custom Gem

To save even more time, you can embed these instructions into a custom Gem in the Gemini App. This creates a reusable ‘persona’ for your code reviews. When creating your Gem, you can provide it with more detailed instructions to focus its analysis.

Here is a more advanced set of instructions you could use for your “Apps Script Code Reviewer” Gem:

You are an expert Google Apps Script developer who specialises in writing clean, efficient, and secure code.

When I provide a JSON file, it will represent a complete Apps Script project. The file contains an array of file objects, each with a 'name', 'type', and 'source'.

Your task is to perform a thorough code review of the entire project. Please analyse all files together.

Specifically, focus on:

1. **Best Practices:** Check if the code follows the official Google Apps Script style guide and modern JavaScript (ES6+) conventions.  
2. **Performance:** Identify any potential bottlenecks, inefficient loops, or excessive API calls.  
3. **Security:** Look for any potential security vulnerabilities, especially concerning data handling and web app permissions.  
4. **Clarity and Readability:** Assess the code for clarity, and check for adequate comments and meaningful variable names.

Please provide your feedback in a structured format, starting with a high-level summary and then a detailed list of suggestions, grouped by file.

If you are suggesting code revisions, provide the fully revised file.

Getting Started

Here’s how to set up your own Apps Script project exporter.

Step 1: Prerequisites – Enabling the Apps Script API

The tool relies on the Apps Script API to fetch project files. To use it, you first need to link your script project to a Google Cloud Platform (GCP) project where the API is enabled.

  1. Create a GCP Project: If you don’t already have one, create a standard GCP project by visiting the Google Cloud Console.
  2. Enable the Apps Script API: Within your GCP project, navigate to the “APIs & Services” dashboard, click “+ ENABLE APIS AND SERVICES”, search for “Google Apps Script API”, and enable it.
  3. Configure the OAuth Consent Screen: Before the script can be authorised, you must configure the consent screen.
  • In the GCP Console, navigate to “APIs & Services” > “OAuth consent screen”.
  • Choose Internal for the User Type and click Create.
  • Fill in the required fields (App name, User support email, and Developer contact information) and click Save and Continue. No other configuration is needed. As this is for internal use, you do not need to submit the app for verification.
  1. Link to Your Apps Script Project:
  • Open your Apps Script project (the one containing the exporter code).
  • Go to “Project Settings” (the cog icon ⚙️).
  • Under “Google Cloud Platform (GCP) Project”, click “Change project” and enter your GCP project number.

Step 2: Setting Up the Exporter Sheet

  1. Make a Copy: Click this link to make your own copy of the pre-configured Google Sheet Template.
  2. Configure the Destination Folder:
  • In your new sheet, go to Extensions > Apps Script.
  • In the Code.gs file, find the line const DEST_FOLDER_ID = '...';
  • Replace the placeholder ID with the ID of the Google Drive folder where you want your JSON exports to be saved. You can get this from the folder’s URL (it’s the string of characters after folders/). Tip: Your copy of this template can be shared with your colleagues. Also share the folder with them so that the script can write the export file.
  1. Save and Authorise: Save the script project. Return to your sheet and reload the page. A new “Script Exporter” menu will appear. The first time you run it, you will be prompted to authorise the script’s required permissions.

Step 3: Exporting Your First Project

Using the tool is the easiest part!

  1. Find the Script ID: First, you need the ID of the project you wish to review. The easiest way to find this is by copying it from the script editor’s URL.
  • For standalone scripts: The URL will look like https://script.google.com/d/THIS_IS_THE_ID/edit. The ID is the long string of characters between /d/ and /edit.
  • For container-bound scripts (in a Sheet, Doc, etc.): From your Google Sheet or Doc, open the script editor via Extensions > Apps Script. The URL in this new browser tab will have the same format. Copy the ID from there.
  1. Run the Exporter: In your exporter sheet, click Script Exporter > Export Script Project.
  2. Paste the ID: When the dialog box appears, paste in the Script ID you just copied and click OK.
  3. Check the Output: The script will fetch the project files, create a JSON file in your designated Drive folder, and confirm with a success message. A log of the export, including a link to the file, will be automatically added to the “Execution Log” sheet.

You can now head over to the Gemini App (gemini.google.com), add the JSON file from Google Drive, and start your comprehensive code review!

I hope you find this tool as useful, it’s a small optimisation, but one that hopefully makes integrating Gemini for Workspace into our daily Apps Script development practices that much smoother. I’d love to hear if you use this or similar approaches and any other tips you have for Gemini assisted Google Workspace development. Happy scripting!

Community News

AppsScriptPulse 2024 Rewind: The Year’s Top Posts

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It’s time for a special “rewind” of top community contributions to AppsScriptPulse in 2024. As part of this revisit, here are the hottest posts that got everyone buzzing each month of the year.

January: The Gemini API and Function Calling (with Martin Hawksey)

Kicking off the year was my own “GenAI for Google Workspace: Exploring Gemini API Function Calling with Google Apps Script — Part 3“. This post delved into the powerful synergy of Gemini and Apps Script, showcasing how to create personalized mail merges using Google Sheets. The key takeaway? Gemini can define functions that your code can actually execute – opening up a whole universe of creative solutions with Apps Script at the helm!

February: Mastering Smart Chips in Google Sheets (with Ben Collins)

February saw us diving headfirst into “The complete guide to Smart Chips in Google Sheets” by Ben Collins. This post was like a treasure map to unlocking the hidden potential of Smart Chips in Google Sheets. We learned how to wrangle and extract data like pros, especially with that super useful dot syntax in formulas. The focus was on the no-code awesomeness of Smart Chips, but Ben teased us with a promise of more developer-focused insights on the Totally Unscripted show – talk about leaving us wanting more!

March: Conquering the CASA Tier 2 Security Assessment (with Kelig Lefeuvre)

March brought a bit of a challenge – navigating the CASA Tier 2 Security Assessment. But fear not, because “Guide to completing Casa Tier 2 Security Assessment for Google Apps Script (and how to scan your Google Apps Script project for CASA)” by Kelig Lefeuvre came to our rescue. Kelig, a Product Engineer at Scriptit & Folgo, provided a developer’s-eye view of the entire process, complete with insider tips you wouldn’t find in the official documentation. This post was a lifeline for anyone looking to publish their masterpiece on the Workspace Marketplace or working with those restricted scopes.

April: Choosing the Right API Call Method (with Justin Poehnelt)

April had us making crucial decisions – “Google Apps Script: google.script.run vs. doGet/doPost Endpoints” by Justin Poehnelt helped us navigate the tricky choice between google.script.run and GET/POST endpoints (doGet and doPost). Justin laid out the pros and cons of each approach, even throwing in some code snippets to get us started. Talk about a helpful hand in picking the perfect tool for our Apps Script arsenal!

May: A Security “Gotcha” and Solutions for Sheets Imports (with Justin Poehnelt)

May threw us a bit of a curveball with Google Sheets’ security updates. “Allowing access for IMPORTHTML, IMPORTDATA, IMPORTFEED, IMPORTXML, and IMPORTRANGE on behalf of the user in Google Sheets” by Justin Poehnelt explained how the enhanced security measures for external data sources impacted both users and developers. Thankfully, Justin also provided the antidote – we learned to use the Sheets API to grant access programmatically, making sure our automations continued humming along smoothly.

June: Bridging AppSheet and Cloud SQL with Ease (with Vo Tu Duc)

June brought us the “ultimate” guide – “The Ultimate Guide Connecting AppSheet to Google Cloud SQL and MySQL databases” by Vo Tu Duc, a Google AppSheet GDE. This post was like having a personal tutor guiding us through the entire process of setting up Google Cloud SQL, building a MySQL database, and weaving it all together with AppSheet. Vo also explained why this setup is the holy grail for large-scale AppSheet apps that need a bit more muscle than Google Sheets can provide. Screenshots galore made this guide a breeze to follow, even for Cloud newbies!

July: Docs and Markdown: A Match Made in Apps Script Heaven (with Kanshi Tanaike)

July saw the worlds of Google Docs and Markdown colliding – in a good way! “Using Google Drive API and Google Apps Script to convert between Google Docs and Markdown” by Kanshi Tanaike highlighted the awesome new ability to export Docs to Markdown and bring Markdown files into Docs. Kanshi shared sample scripts for both conversions using the Drive API, paving the way for automation wizards to work their magic, especially when dealing with GenAI output in Markdown format.

August: Happy Birthday, Apps Script!

August was a time for celebration – “Celebrating 15 years of Apps Script 🎉 🥂” when we commemorated the journey of our favourite scripting tool. We got a link to a festive YouTube Short and took a reflective look at how far Apps Script has come, where it’s headed, and why it’s more relevant than ever in this age of GenAI.

September: Workspace Developer News – Docs, Meet, Chat, and More (with Chanel Greco)

September brought a whole bag of treats in the Workspace Developer News roundup – “Google Workspace Developer News: Create and organize Docs with the new ‘tabs’ API methods and more” by Chanel Greco. We learned how to use the Docs API or Apps Script to become masters of tabs in Google Docs, plus we got new tricks for Google Meet Add-ons and Chat apps. It was a buffet of updates that kept us busy experimenting all month long!

October: Iterators and Generators – Our Apps Script Power-Up (with Bruce Mcpherson)

October was all about leveling up our Apps Script game – “Optimising Google Apps Script: Efficiently handling large datasets with iterators and generators” by Bruce Mcpherson showed us how to harness the power of these JavaScript concepts to efficiently process large datasets in Apps Script. Bruce, never one to shy away from a challenge, provided clear explanations, practical examples, and even a clever workaround for Apps Script’s lack of native generator support. Talk about a knowledge drop that left us feeling like coding superheroes!

November: Programmatically Protecting Our Precious Sheets (with Kanshi Tanaike)

November brought us some serious control-freak vibes (in a good way) with “Going beyond the menu: Programmatic controlling Google Sheets protection using Google Apps Script” by Kanshi Tanaike. We went beyond those basic menu options, learning to use Apps Script and the Sheets API to manage sheet and range protections like true automation ninjas. Kanshi provided use case examples that demonstrated how to achieve granular control and build protection workflows that would make even the most security-conscious spreadsheet guru proud!

December: Exponential Backoff – Taming Those Rate Limit Errors (with Phil Bainbridge)

December had us facing those pesky rate limit errors head-on, armed with the knowledge from “Beginner’s guide to exponential backoff in Google Apps Script for handling rate limit errors” by Phil Bainbridge. This post gave us a beginner-friendly introduction to the art of exponential backoff, complete with sample code to put the theory into action. Phil even shared a real-world scenario where this technique saved the day, proving that even infrequent errors can be tamed with a bit of coding finesse.

That’s a wrap on our AppsScriptPulse “year in review”! These posts were more than just code snippets; they were mini-masterclasses that helped us grow as Google Workspace developers. So, huge thanks to all the authors for sharing their knowledge and expertise! Now, go forth, fellow developers and no-coders, and create amazing things! Happy Scripting!!!

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The Transformative Power of Generative AI: Reimagining the Enterprise with Gemini for Google Workspace

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This article was co-authored with Gemini for Google Workspace. You can read the full transcript of our conversation.

I appreciate this isn’t the typical Pulse post, but in my mind a lot of Google Workspace Developers who subscribe to this site have a wider interest in Google Workspace. Having worked with and supported a number of customers exploring Gemini for Google Workspace I thought it would be useful to sharing some of my thoughts and observations regarding the transformative power of Generative AI. As part of this I share insights around:

  • The importance of change management in adopting GenAI.
  • Mastering the art of prompting and interaction.
  • The need for continuous learning in a rapidly evolving landscape.
  • The future of human-AI collaboration.

Introduction

Imagine collaborating with an AI to draft a compelling marketing campaign, brainstorming ideas in a fluid conversation, and watching as it generates compelling copy and visuals in real-time. This is the power of generative AI tools like Gemini for Google Workspace, and it’s transforming how enterprises work.

My own journey with generative AI began in late 2023 when I had the opportunity to be part of Google Cloud’s trusted tester program. Working with early models in MakerSuite, Bard, and Duet AI gave me a glimpse of this transformative power. I was immediately struck by the shift to a conversational paradigm. We’re no longer just issuing commands to machines; we’re engaging in dynamic dialogues to create and innovate.

Having now supported several businesses with Gemini for Workspace ‘proof of value’ pilots, I’ve come to realize that simply introducing these powerful tools isn’t enough. To truly unlock the potential of generative AI like Gemini, organizations need a multifaceted approach. This includes investing in training, fostering internal “champions,” strategically identifying pain points for improvement, measuring success, and thoughtfully disseminating new ways of working. This is the key to successfully integrating this revolutionary technology into the enterprise.

The Promise of GenAI for Enterprise Productivity

McKinsey’s research paints a compelling picture of generative AI’s potential to revolutionize productivity. They estimate that generative AI could add the equivalent of $2.6 trillion to $4.4 trillion annually across the 63 use cases they analysed. This staggering figure underscores the transformative impact this technology could have on businesses across various sectors, from automating mundane tasks to unlocking entirely new levels of creativity and efficiency.

But the true promise of GenAI extends far beyond simply saving time. Tools like Gemini empower employees to:

  • Improve quality: By providing intelligent suggestions, generating alternative approaches, and catching errors, GenAI helps elevate the overall quality of work.
  • Upskill and learn: Gemini not only provides answers but often explains the “why” and “how” behind them, offering valuable learning opportunities and fostering deeper understanding.
  • Conduct advanced analysis: With the ability to analyse vast amounts of data, GenAI unlocks new levels of insight and understanding that were previously impossible.

Just this week, I was working with a pilot participant from a company’s People team. They needed to analyse an employee satisfaction survey with hundreds of free-text responses. Imagine the task: categorizing those responses by theme, extracting key quotes, and generating a comprehensive report with recommendations. Gemini was able to analyse all the responses and create a draft report in minutes – a task that would normally take a full day. While the person still needed to check the data and refine the report, having this head start, complete with accurate thematic categorization and relevant quotes, significantly enhanced their efficiency and allowed them to focus on higher-level analysis and recommendations.

These benefits highlight the transformative potential of GenAI to not just speed up work, but to fundamentally enhance the way we work and the value we create.

The Importance of Change Management

Introducing a powerful tool like Gemini into an organization is more than just adding a new piece of software; it requires a fundamental shift in how people work and think about their roles. This is where change management becomes crucial. The ADKAR model, which focuses on Awareness, Desire, Knowledge, Ability, and Reinforcement, provides a useful framework for navigating this transition.

  • Awareness: First, employees need to be aware of what Gemini is, its capabilities, and how it can impact their work. This goes beyond simply showcasing features; it’s about communicating the ‘why’ behind the change and painting a clear picture of how Gemini can benefit them individually and the organization as a whole.
  • Desire: Next, we need to foster a desire to use Gemini. This involves addressing concerns, highlighting the advantages, and creating a sense of excitement about the possibilities. One of the biggest hurdles is overcoming the mindset of ‘I need to do this myself.’ Many employees have never had the experience of having an assistant, so it’s about encouraging them to embrace Gemini as a valuable partner that can augment their capabilities and free them to focus on higher-value tasks. In one of my pilot programs, an employee was hesitant to use Gemini in Gmail because it felt like ‘cheating’ to spend less time writing emails. To address this, I explained that Gemini wasn’t about cutting corners; it was about freeing up time for more valuable activities. By using Gemini to generate a first draft, the employee could then dedicate more time to refining the message, adding personal touches, and ensuring the communication was truly impactful. This reframing helped the employee see the value of GenAI not as a replacement for their skills, but as a tool to enhance them.
  • Knowledge: Once the desire is there, employees need the knowledge to use Gemini effectively. This involves providing comprehensive training on the tool’s functionalities, best practices for prompting, and strategies for integrating it into their workflows. It’s about equipping them with the skills and understanding to truly leverage Gemini’s potential.
  • Ability: Knowledge is not enough; employees need the ability to apply what they’ve learned. This requires hands-on practice, opportunities for experimentation, and ongoing support. It’s about creating a safe environment where people can explore, make mistakes, and learn by doing.
  • Reinforcement: Finally, to ensure lasting adoption, reinforcement is key. This involves recognizing and rewarding successful use of Gemini, providing ongoing support and resources, and continuously communicating the benefits and impact of the tool. It’s about creating a culture where GenAI is seamlessly integrated into the way work gets done.

Addressing the “Assistant Mindset”

A key element of this change management process is helping employees embrace the “assistant mindset.” This means moving away from the idea that they need to do everything themselves and towards a collaborative approach where they leverage Gemini as a powerful ally. It’s about reframing their roles, recognizing that delegating tasks to Gemini can free them to focus on more strategic, creative, and fulfilling aspects of their work.

Mastering the Art of Prompting and Interaction

While generative AI tools like Gemini are incredibly powerful, their effectiveness hinges on our ability to communicate our needs and intentions clearly. This goes beyond simply typing in a text prompt; it’s about mastering the art of interaction and understanding the full range of ways to make the most of Gemini’s capabilities within Google Workspace.

Prompt Engineering: The Basics

Effective prompting is essential for getting the most out of Gemini. Here are a few key principles to keep in mind:

  • Be clear and specific: The more specific your instructions, the better the results. Instead of asking “write a training plan,” try “create a training plan for a new sales onboarding program, including modules on product knowledge, sales techniques, and company values. The plan should be structured for a 3-day program with a mix of presentations, role-playing activities, and online assessments.”
  • Provide context: Give Gemini the information it needs to understand your request. If you want it to summarize a document, provide the document or a link to it.
  • Experiment and iterate: Don’t be afraid to try different prompts and refine your approach based on the results. Prompt engineering is an iterative process.

Beyond Text Prompts: Unlocking Advanced Capabilities

But mastering Gemini goes beyond just text prompts. It’s about understanding how to fully utilize its potential within the Workspace environment. Here’s where things get really interesting:

  • The Gemini Side Panel: This powerful tool allows you to interact with Gemini in more sophisticated ways. You can drag and drop files, incorporate information from multiple sources, and apply Gemini’s analytical capabilities to generate insights and create new content. For example, I recently worked with a client who was impressed with Google Meet’s “take notes for me” and transcript features but found themselves spending significant time reformatting these into structured meeting minutes. I showed them how to use the Gemini Side Panel to combine three files – the meeting agenda, the Google Meet transcript, and an example of minutes from a previous meeting – and then use a prompt to generate new minutes from the transcript, formatted in the same way as the previous minutes. This saved them a huge amount of time and effort.
  • Contextual Awareness: Gemini is designed to understand the context of your work within Workspace. This means it can access and process information from your emails, documents, and other files, allowing for more intelligent and relevant responses.
  • Multimodal Interaction: Gemini is not just about text. It can also process images and potentially other forms of media in the future, opening up even more possibilities for creative expression and problem-solving.

By mastering these advanced interaction techniques, you can unlock the true power of Gemini and transform the way you work.

Looking Ahead: The Future of Work with GenAI

As we’ve seen, generative AI tools like Gemini have the potential to revolutionize the way we work. But the journey has just begun. One of the defining characteristics of this technology is its rapid pace of evolution. New features, capabilities, and ways of interacting with Gemini are emerging constantly. This presents both exciting opportunities and unique challenges for enterprises.

The Need for Continuous Learning

In this dynamic environment, continuous learning is no longer a luxury; it’s a necessity. Employees need to be equipped with the skills and mindset to adapt to new features and functionalities as they become available. Organizations need to foster a culture of continuous learning and provide ongoing support and resources to help their teams stay ahead of the curve.

This rapid evolution was evident in one of our recent pilot programs. At the start of the pilot, Gemini’s ability to analyse quantitative data in the Side Panel within Google Sheets was limited. However, just a few weeks in, Google pushed an update that significantly enhanced these capabilities. This step change opened up a whole new range of possibilities for our pilot participants, but it also highlighted the need for ongoing awareness and education around new features and functionalities.

Human-AI Collaboration: A New Era of Work

The future of work with GenAI is not about humans being replaced by machines; it’s about humans and AI collaborating to achieve more than ever before. This requires a shift in mindset, where we view AI as a partner that can augment our capabilities and free us to focus on higher-value tasks.

Imagine a future where:

  • Marketing teams use GenAI to brainstorm creative campaigns and generate compelling content.
  • Sales teams use GenAI to analyse customer data and personalize their outreach.
  • HR teams use GenAI to streamline recruitment processes and enhance employee engagement.
  • Engineering teams use GenAI to write and debug code, accelerating development cycles.

This collaborative future requires us to develop new skills, embrace new ways of working, and cultivate a mindset of continuous learning.

Responsible AI: Ethical Considerations

As we integrate GenAI into our workflows, it’s essential to consider the ethical implications and ensure responsible use of this powerful technology. This includes:

  • Data privacy and security: Protecting sensitive information and ensuring compliance with data protection regulations.
  • Bias mitigation: Being aware of potential biases in AI models and taking steps to mitigate their impact.
  • Transparency and explainability: Understanding how AI models arrive at their conclusions and ensuring transparency in their use.

This also extends to establishing clear guidelines and policies around the use of GenAI within the organization. In our pilot programs, we’ve been actively helping businesses explore these questions. For instance, in one organization, we facilitated a discussion around the feasibility of having a policy where any content or analysis generated with the assistance of Gemini was clearly noted in the document, presentation, or other output. This type of proactive policy-making can foster transparency, build trust, and ensure that GenAI is used ethically and responsibly.

By embracing these principles, we can harness the transformative power of GenAI while building a future of work that is both innovative and ethical.

Conclusion

The era of generative AI has arrived, and tools like Gemini for Google Workspace are poised to revolutionize the enterprise. But technology alone is not enough. To truly unlock the transformative potential of GenAI, organizations need to invest in change management, foster a culture of continuous learning, and embrace a collaborative approach to human-AI interaction. By doing so, they can empower their employees, enhance productivity, and shape a future of work that is both innovative and ethical.

The journey may be challenging, but the rewards are immense. Let’s embrace this new era of work with open minds, a willingness to learn, and a commitment to responsible AI practices. The future is collaborative, and it’s powered by generative AI.

Source: The Transformative Power of Generative AI: Reimagining the Enterprise with Gemini for Google Workspace

Community News, Official News

Attention Google Workspace Admins and Developers: New Google Workspace Admin Console API (Policy API) and GAM access

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Google recently announced an open beta of the new Policy API. This new API now means developers can read a number of Google Workspace Admin settings programmatically, including those applied at an OU and group level.

This API provides access to the settings that are part of the recommendations published in CISA’s Google Workspace secure configuration baseline, with plans to increase the coverage and functionality of the API.

Additionally, GAM7, the recent merge of GAM and GAM-ADV, has been updated with the ability to read policy data, further streamlining policy management tasks.

You can read more about Audit security settings using the Policy API, now available in open beta and Announcing new policy commands in GAM 7.00.27

Community News, Official News

Calling all Google Workspace Developers! Your feedback is needed

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Steven Bazyl, Head of Google Workspace Developer Relations, recently distributed a survey aimed at getting feedback on the Google Workspace platform. This is your chance to influence the future of the platform.

The survey is short and focuses on key areas like:

  • Overall satisfaction with Workspace Platform as a development environment
  • Your experiences with specific Workspace components (Meet, Chat, Gmail, Drive, Editors)
  • The biggest challenges you face in Workspace development
  • Your suggestions for improvements

By sharing your insights you have an opportunity to help shape the platform to better meet your needs and make your development workflows more efficient. I would encourage you to complete the survey (it only takes a few minutes) and share with other Google Workspace developers.

Don’t miss this opportunity to make your voice heard as this is the final week that the survey is open!

Survey link: Complete the Workspace Platform Developer Survey
LinkedIn post: Google Workspace user group post

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In-person Google Cloud Next ’23 MUST see: Getting the most out of Google Workspace with Apps Script, tips and tricks

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In this session learn about combining APIs, automation, configuration as code, and more to improve your productivity using Google Workspace.

If you, or someone you know, is lucky to be at Google Cloud Next ’23 on Day 1 and would like a turbocharge to your Apps Script journey head down to the Moscone South, Lower Level and towards the Innovators Hive Theater for 11am as you’ll be in for a treat as Kara Ireland and Charles Maxson will let you know “How to get the most out of Google Workspace with Apps Script”.

I was part of a similar session at Next ’18 and it was great to meet in person new and established Apps Script users, many of them I’ still in touch with today. If you end up going say ‘hi’ to Kara and Charles from me.

Source: Getting the most out of Google Workspace with Apps Script, tips and tricks

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Everything Google Workspace (and a little more) available online at Google Cloud Next ’23 Aug. 29-31, 2023

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Next ’23 is our global exhibition of inspiration, innovation, and education. It’s where decision makers, developers, and anyone passionate about an accessible, scalable, socially responsible cloud come together to share challenges, solutions, 10x ideas, and game-changing technologies.

Google Cloud Next ’23 is just around the corner and if you are attending in person the Google Workspace Developer Relations team will be there in force giving various talk as well having a booth at the Innovator Hive. Chanel Greco has also put the call out to:

Bring your biggest smile for the community picture at our booth at the Innovators Hive:
📷 Day 1: 1PM
📸 Day 2: 11AM
😁 Day 3: 1PM

If you weren’t fortunate to snag a ticket to attend in person you can still register for complimentary access with a digital pass. I’ve also compiled the Everything Google Workspace (and a little more) playlist  of sessions that will be available online: