How Google Docs AI Boosts Business Efficiency

Nowadays, it’s common for business tools to incorporate AI into their already helpful features. Google Docs is a prime example. As of the time of this writing, Google has recently added a “Help me create” function that can help you get a start on your next project.

Let’s take a look at how it works and how you could potentially utilize it to your advantage. 

What Purpose Does Google Docs Have with AI?

Simply put, if you have it enabled, this functionality can do much of the heavy lifting involved in creating a first draft.

Keep in mind that this feature is typically only available for Google Workspace accounts. However, Google does offer a trial to try it out for most free Google accounts. Just go into a Google Document and click the Google Gemini Star icon on the top right.

By using Large Language Models (LLMs) to predict text patterns, this kind of AI can produce text autonomously by statistically predicting the next word or character. When you consider the resources behind Google’s AI tools, it is easy to imagine that the integrated AI in Docs would be relatively capable… and, to a point, it is.

AI is generally best used as a research tool and an outline generator, almost like a very trustworthy intern. You can trust it to gather information and create an outline or rough draft, but everything still needs to be checked and adjusted to ensure accuracy and—critically—humanity.

If used properly, however, the integrated AI of Google Docs can help you milk the software for all its worth:

• Need to draft professional documentation? A simple prompt can have the AI generate an outline in moments.
• Need a summary of some existing text? Google Docs can condense a document with dozens of pages into a bulleted list of key points.
• Need to adjust the tone of something you’ve written? It can be made more professional, or more concise, or more casual in seconds… all you need to do is direct the AI.

How to Be Smart When Using AI in Google Docs

Take it from us, these tools can be functionally limitless in their utility… as long as you use them safely. There are certain guardrails you will need to have in place, such as:

Mandatory Human Review

AI hallucinations (instances where the AI’s predictions result in untrue statements) are not uncommon. Everything AI produces needs to be fact-checked, and fact-checked by a human being.

Mindful Prompting

While business-level subscriptions to Google’s services protect you from this somewhat, AI is also learning from everything it is being fed. As such, you should never provide sensitive data—trade secrets or employee data, for example—in your prompt.

Start With It, Don’t Finish

As we alluded to above, AI is a great tool for getting through the initial stages of a project. However, it can not and should not be used to generate a finished product. You need to give it the personality and heart.

Let AI Take Your Business Farther

If your IT is frustrating you, you have a problem to solve. We can help you solve it and empower you to use technologies like AI to your advantage. Find out more about what we can do by calling us at 607-433-2200.