Artificial Intelligence has changed the way mankind interacts with technology, the main revolution occurs when AI advances from chat-based interfaces into productivity suites. This is what Google’s newest features update to Gemini ends up doing. With Gemini Canvas and Audio Overview features, Google has made its assistant more interactive, collaborative and practical for users that use it for writing, coding, and content summarization. Therefore, Gemini puts itself as a competitor, marking AI-enabled workspaces as the next best thing in digital productivity.
In order to further integrate AI into productivity, Google has introduced Canvas in its Gemini chatbot. Announced on Tuesday, Canvas allows users to draft, revise and share writing and coding projects with a highly interactive workspace. The Audio Overview feature which can be found in Google’s NotebookLM tool is also archived to migrate this feature into Gemini, allowing users to produce document and web page audio summaries that sound similar to a podcast.
This indicates that Google is trying to compete strongly with OpenAI ChatGPT and Anthropic’s Claude, all of which recently launched similar workspace features. Thus, Google’s approach integrates tightly within its existing ecosystem, allowing seamless collaboration and effective content refinement options within the Gemini platform.
Image Credits: Google
Canvas Dynamic Workspace for Writing and Coding
Having converted the Gemini simple chatbot into a workspace where users create and code content with Gemini, canvas draws much from the interaction between the user input and Gemini. Users will create long drafts with Gemini’s assistance and refine these drafts by using Canvas. Edits include tone variability, reduced total length and a final format that is appropriate for making polished content. Gemini Product Director, Dave Citron wrote in a blog post,
“Canvas is designed for seamless collaboration with Gemini. With these new features, Gemini is becoming an even more effective collaborator, helping you bring your ideas to life.”
Citron explained in the blog post,
“For example, highlight a paragraph and ask Gemini to make it more concise, professional, or informal. If you want to collaborate with others on the content you just made, you can export it to Google Docs with a click.”
Canvas goes far beyond just writing and offers programming capabilities as well. It allows users to generate and preview their HTML, React code, and other web app prototypes in real-time. The feature allows for repetitive changes, where developers can refine code with Gemini’s assistance. Citron wrote,
“For example, say you want to create an email subscription form for your website. You can ask Gemini to generate the HTML for the form and then preview how it will appear and function within your web app.”
For now, Canvas is available on the Gemini app on the Web and Mobile, and the feature that enables users to preview the code is accessible only through the Web.
AI-Powered Audio Overview
Google is enhancing its Gemini platform with Audio Overview support. The feature gained fame on NotebookLM last June, where it converted documents, web pages, and other sources into audio summaries cast in a realistic, almost podcast-like style. Users can upload content in multiple file types via the input bar, which will automatically generate an audio summary. After that, it is up for download and shared via the Gemini app on the web or mobile. The audio overview promises to be a bonus for professionals, researchers, and students who want to process large amounts of text quickly. As it stands, the feature is limited to English only.
Google’s AI Strategy
This Canvas and Audio Overview implementation was part of a larger Google plan to improve its AI productivity suite, Gemini. With competition from OpenAI and Anthropic intensifying, the latest feature from Google aims to improve and enhance user engagement and efficiency within the rest of Google’s AI ecosystem. Starting this Tuesday, Canvas and Audio Overview began their free global availability. Meanwhile, the code preview feature of Canvas remains solely confined to the web, while the rest can look forward to more ongoing developments in Google’s AI.
While there is another exciting step ahead with Google Canvas and Audio Overview, this also emphasizes a growing competition among AI giants. Real-time document and code editing makes it less easy to differentiate AI assistants from traditional office software, meaning tools such as Gemini become more integrated within professional and creative workflows. Yet, the true challenge is to see how deep the rivalry goes, with Microsoft Copilot and ChatGPT’s enterprise features being apparent contenders. In the best-case scenario, considering all the right moves, Gemini could end up being the best choice for an AI workspace.
