Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Google is adding Gemini-powered search features to Google Drive.
- With this upgrade, Gemini will be able to search your files, folders, and subfolders and answer specific questions.
- These features are currently exclusive to Google Workspace users, which includes enterprise users and those with Gemini subscriptions.
If there’s one feature Google wants to be invariably present across all of its apps and services, it’s Gemini. In addition to the Gemini gateway (part of the Google app) on Android, the assistant has, or at least some features powered by it have, slowly crept up into other Google apps, including Messages, Photos, Home, and more. For Workspace users specifically, Google also adds Gemini-based assistive features to Gmail, Drive, and the office suite, gently reminding them of its capabilities. Now, Google is expanding its prowess in Drive, offering more insights into a folder’s contents and even sharing an overview of the files and subfolders stored inside.
Google recently announced it is rolling out Folder highlight, which provides a summary of a folder’s contents, elaborating on the purpose of the files it contains. It is augmented by an “Explore with Gemini” option that opens a side panel — just like the one Google has already been using in document previews — where you can interact with Gemini and get deeper insights.
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Based on the preview, the panel lets you ask specific questions, not just about files stored inside multiple layers of folders, but also what constitutes these files. And if you want to gather specific information, you can ask follow-up questions in the sidebar.
While the highlights feature is certainly nifty, it could bother users who don’t wish for Gemini to access the contents of their files. While these insights are turned on by default, users will have the option to disable them, but that would mean having to turn off all smart features entirely. For organizations, administrators can turn on features by default.
The other way to avoid giving Gemini access to your files is switching to a language other than English, which is currently the only language supported by the feature. The feature is seemingly only available on the web right now.
As with other smart features in Drive, this is presently limited to paying users. You must either be subscribed to Gemini’s Plus or Pro subscriptions or be a paying Google Workspace user — Google One users don’t qualify. Google says the features are already rolling out and will be available more widely in the coming weeks.
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