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Google has done a fantastic job baking its AI assistant, Gemini, right into its Workspace apps, including Google Docs. It can not only refine your text, adjust the tone, and help with grammatical errors, but can also generate new ideas for your research reports.
Although Gemini isn’t a new Google product, its integration into Google Docs has changed how users interact with the chatbot – and Docs. Earlier, you had to copy-paste content into the Gemini app or its web version to build a comprehensive report. Naturally, this included a lot of back and forth.
However, now that Gemini sits directly inside Docs, you can generate coherent documents using features like file referencing. This not only streamlines the process but also leads to more refined outputs.
In this article, we’ll explore how to use Gemini to create polished reports from just a bunch of sleazy pointers, all using very simple prompts and making sure the entire thing is as quick as it can be. We’ll also explore other Gemini functions within Docs, such as summarize, shorten, and bulletize, that’ll help you fine-tune your results further.
Gemini plans and pricing
Gemini in Docs isn’t a free-for-all feature and does require a paid subscription. Businesses can purchase the Standard Google Workspace plan for $14/user/month. Although the Starter plan is cheaper ($7/user/month), it doesn't offer Gemini assistance within Docs.
Alternatively, individual users can opt for one of Google’s One AI Premium plans, which start at just $1.99 per month. Even better, you’ll get a 1-month free trial to try out the tool risk-free before committing.
How to generate polished reports from rough notes in Google Docs
Let’s say you’ve just attended the review meeting at your content management company. Good job on jotting down all the points discussed in the meeting, but of course, there was hardly enough time to turn them into a full-fledged Q3 performance report.
All you’re left with is a huge pile of rough notes (don’t fret over the spelling mistakes!) that would take hours of typing, rephrasing, and brainstorming to convert into a polished, presentable executive-level report.
This is where AI can really deliver. Here’s how to use Gemini in Google Docs:
Step 1: Select the text you want to convert into a polished report.
Step 2: You’ll see a ‘Refine’ option at the edge of the selected text. Click it.
Step 3: You’ll now see four generic options: Rephrase, Shorten, Elaborate, and More Formal. While you can choose any of these if that’s what you’re looking for, for this guide, we’ll select the ‘Modify with a prompt’ option to have Gemini perform a customized action for us.
Step 4: Type the prompt, “Turn these notes into a professional marketing performance report,” and hit Enter.
Step 5: Within a matter of seconds, Gemini will generate a detailed report with tables, headings, and bullet points, so you can rest assured the report will be skimmable and easy to read.
Step 6: If you’re satisfied with the output, you can insert the generated text into your document. Alternatively, you can use more prompts to customize and tweak the output. There’s no limit – you can fine-tune it to your heart’s (or boss’s) content.
Alternative method
You can also click the ‘Gemini’ icon in the top-right of Google Docs. This opens a side panel where you can insert prompts to refine the document.
Enter the same prompt we did in step 4 above, and Gemini will generate a report within the side panel itself. If you like the results, press Insert, or continue refining the output with follow-up prompts.
Exploring Gemini in Docs
Converting raw notes into a polished report is just one of many things Gemini in Google docs is capable of. The AI can also:
Change the tone of a document
A one-size-fits-all approach usually doesn’t work when you’re dealing with multiple stakeholders such as investors, employees, internal management, and the public at large. This is why you may have to churn out different versions of the same report that resonate with each audience.
For instance, internal management might want more technical explanations and statistical data to zero in on the company’s performance during a specific quarter. On the other hand, shareholders may not fully understand technical jargon and might be better off with simpler explanations.
Doing this manually requires hours of editing and refining the same report, which can be challenging. With Gemini, however, you can simply enter prompts like: “Rewrite this report for shareholders, who may not understand technical jargon. Use simple language, but ensure you don’t skip any key details.”
Simple natural-language prompts help you tailor tone and clarity without repetitive revisions, making the editing process faster and more efficient.
Pre-built Gemini prompts
If you already have a rough draft and don’t want a complete rewrite, Gemini’s built-in prompts can help fine-tune your document before the final submission.
You can find these prompts by clicking the help me write (pen-shaped icon) option in your document. If you don’t see it, simply click on any blank area of the page and the options will pop out.
- Rephrase: Improves clarity and fixes the writing tone as per your needs.
- Shorten: Chops down large chunks of text to generate shorter paragraphs while keeping the essence intact.
- Elaborate: Explains ideas and concepts in detail for readers who need additional context.
- More formal: Makes the text more professional, ideal for executive-facing documents.
- More casual: Converts the text into a more user-friendly and conversational tone.
- Bulletize: Makes the text more skimmable by converting it into structured bullet points.
- Summarize: Generates a summary of the entire text to help readers quickly grab the key takeaways.
Referencing files in your Drive
There may be times when you want to create a report using documents scattered across your Drive. Previously, you’d either have to open multiple tabs or copy-paste all the data into a single document to work with Gemini. However, you can now reference documents in your Drive using the ‘at’ (@) symbol.
For instance, you could enter a prompt like, “What are the key takeaways of the document @Gemini in Google Sheets?” Gemini will then generate a quick snapshot or summary of that file directly within the chat itself, allowing you to quickly find the core ideas of that particular document.
When you type the “@” symbol in the Gemini side panel, you’ll see a list of all your recent Google Drive files. You can either scroll down to choose a file or type the name of the file. Then, click the file name to reference it within the chat.
This comes in handy when you’re writing a detailed report on a complex topic with scattered notes. For example, you can ask Gemini to combine insights from @Q3 Marketing Sync, @Sales Review Q3, and @Employee Actionables to generate a consolidated Q3 performance report.
Or, if you deal with a lot of numbers and stats, you can use Gemini to fact-check the figures. For example, use a prompt like “Check whether the revenue figures in this document aligns with @Q3 Financial Report and highlight any deviations.”
Generating a report from scratch
So far, we’ve seen how you can use Gemini to convert your rough notes into a full-fledged report in a matter of seconds. However, Gemini can also help you generate documents from the ground up, from ideation to final drafts.
Whenever you open a new Google Doc, you’ll see the ‘Generate Document’ option pop up.
Clicking it opens a new window, where you can either choose a pre-made article idea or enter a prompt as per your needs.
Since we’re generating reports, you can enter a prompt that reads, “Create a Q3 marketing performance report with an executive summary, key wins, challenges, and recommendations.”
Gemini will then generate a performance report template. All you need to do next is edit company-specific information such as profit numbers, key stakeholders, website links, and so on.
Or, you could go a step ahead and reference your performance report, company website, and other data sources while entering the prompt itself. This allows Gemini to generate a more accurate and context-aware report tailored to your needs.
Why use Gemini in Google Docs
Gemini in Google Docs has reshaped how users create, edit, and refine documents. Instead of being a time-consuming, linear task, Gemini turns your documents into dynamic workspaces where you can integrate ideas and work on them in real time, with a dedicated (and very smart) AI assistant by your side.
It helps cut down clutter, saving time without compromising the quality of the final output. Gemini can structure reports, rewrite text, summarize long articles, and even adjust the article tone, all before you can take a sip from your coffee.
Since it’s deeply integrated into Docs, Gemini understands the context of your articles and reports and allows you to reference other documents in your Drive without the constant back-and-forth.
Overall, Gemini has made it easier to generate high-quality reports using everyday English, allowing users to focus more on analysis and spend less time on the unnecessary nitty-gritties of writing and editing.