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ZDNET Highlights
- Google announced a new “Help Me Schedule” feature.
- This enables Gemini to schedule suggested meeting times in Gmail.
- This feature only works with individual contacts.
You may already be using Google’s Gemini to help you draft emails, create presentations, and write reports on Docs. Now an AI-powered productivity tool is making its way into your calendar.
Too: How to turn off Gemini in your Gmail, Docs, Photos, and more – it’s easy to quit
Gmail’s “Help Me Schedule” feature uses Gemini to automatically schedule meetings with people whose calendars you can’t see. According to Google, this feature should eliminate the need to send multiple emails to coordinate meeting times, especially for people who don’t make their calendars visible to others.
how it works
If someone sends you an email requesting a one-hour catch-up, Gemini will suggest a time slot that suits your schedule. Then, you can edit the suggested time slots, insert them into your email, and send it to the recipient. Once they choose a time, Gemini will automatically add the meeting to both participants’ calendars.
This feature only works if both participants are communicating via Gmail and using Google Calendar to schedule the meeting. Additionally, this feature is limited to scheduling meetings with individual contacts, and doesn’t work for multiple people or group meetings.
AI and Productivity
The feature is the latest of several Gemini-powered productivity tools recently announced by Google. This year alone, Google announced that users can share Gemini Gems (custom AI agents), use Gemini to capture changes in Docs, Slides, and Sheets, and ask Gemini to clear their Gmail inbox.
Too: Use Google Chat? Gemini can now edit your messages
Companies like Google and Microsoft are investing heavily in creating AI-powered productivity tools for the workplace, aimed at enabling employees to focus less on tedious, monotonous or repetitive tasks.
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Recent research shows that Google’s Gemini and Microsoft’s Copilot are the top two AI systems that use agentic AI, which uses machine learning models to replace human decision making and solve problems in real time.
The same research claims that these types of AI systems will significantly impact enterprise operations by enabling automated problem-solving with minimal human oversight. These AI agents are becoming ubiquitous in digital workspaces spanning collaborative chat rooms, email, online meeting rooms, and cloud-based developer tools.
Also: Microsoft Copilot AI can now pull information directly from Outlook, Gmail, and other apps
However, according to new research from Atlassian, most businesses are struggling to see ROI on AI tools, even as usage is increasing. Other studies also confirm these concerns.
