Learn to use Gemini in your Google Drive files

Important:

Gemini for video files is only available in Alpha and Workspace Labs.
Gemini in file viewer currently supports PDF and video file types.
Some Gemini features are only available in English.

You can use Gemini in Drive file viewer to work with supported file types in several ways:

Summarize: Get a quick overview of long, complicated PDFs and videos.
Ask questions: Find specific information or insights from a PDF or video.
Create new content: Use a PDF to make something new, like a study plan or an email draft.
Bring in more information: Combine the PDF with other files you have in Google Drive by typing @.
Identify action items: To check if you missed any important action items, use your meeting recordings.

Open Drive file viewer

When you double-click a PDF or video in Drive, it opens in the overlay file viewer. To find and work with a PDF or video and open a dedicated space:

On your computer, go to drive.google.com.
Double-click a PDF or video.
Click More actions Open with Open in new tab .

Tip: To adjust the default settings to open a PDF, go to your Drive settings.

Get automatic summaries of your files

To open the Gemini side panel in Drive file viewer, you can click Ask Gemini at the top right of the navigation bar.

When you open Gemini in the file viewer, the side panel automatically summarizes the file for you. The summary gives a quick overview of the main points in the PDF or video.

Ask questions & get answers

You can ask Gemini questions about the PDF or video you're viewing.

In the side panel’s textbox, enter a question.
- You can also select a starter tile to use a template prompt.
Check the answer from the side panel.
To provide feedback on the answer, click thumbs-up or thumbs-down.

Get the sources of Gemini's answers

To generate an answer, Gemini uses the most relevant sources. These sources may include the open PDF or video, other files in your Drive, information from the web, or a mix of these sources.

To help you understand where the information comes from and verify its accuracy, Gemini provides links to the sources of its answers.

Sources are expanded by default.
Clicking on a source chip will open that source file in a new tab.

Get updates on Google Drive file changes

To get updates on recent changes to your Drive files, you can use the “Catch me up” feature on Gemini. There are 2 ways to use this feature in Drive:

Drive recent updates “Catch me up”
File-specific “Catch me up”

Learn about Drive recent updates “Catch me up”

Gemini can identify relevant files in your Drive and summarize recent updates to those files. These include:

Updates on Google Docs edits
Comments on Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides

On your computer, open Google Drive.
At the top of the “Home” page, in the “Ask Gemini” section, click Catch me up .

Tip: This isn’t meant to be comprehensive and may not identify all changes to your Drive files during the stated time period.

Learn about file-specific “Catch me up”

Important: This only applies to Google Docs.

If a file has a Catch me up badge next to the file name, there’s new information to catch up on.
If you click the Catch me up badge , it gives you an update on all changes and comments to the document since your last view.
To catch up on a specific file or multiple files:
1. On your computer, open Google Drive.
2. Select one or more files.
3. At the top, in the selection toolbar, click Catch me up .
  - Or, next to the file name, click Catch me up .

Learn about Gemini feature suggestions

Gemini feature suggestions don’t represent Google’s views, and should not be attributed to Google.
Don’t rely on Gemini features as medical, legal, financial or other professional advice.
Gemini features may suggest inaccurate or inappropriate information. Your feedback makes Gemini more helpful and safe.
Enterprise end users can submit feedback about their experience using this feature. End users are informed before they submit feedback that the feedback data shouldn’t contain personal, sensitive, or confidential information.
Your conversations with Gemini in Drive are not saved to Gemini Apps Activity. When you delete your Gemini in Drive conversation history, it doesn't delete any information that is saved to your Gemini Apps Activity. Learn how to delete your Gemini Apps Activity.