Google’s Duet AI tools for Google Workspace have been unveiled for public use, ushering in a wave of artificial intelligence enhancements for widely used applications like Gmail, Google Docs, Meet, Sheets, and Slides.
Much like Microsoft’s Office 365 Copilot tools, Google’s Duet AI tools are not offered for free. After a complimentary 14-day trial period, access to the Duet AI for Google Workspace toolkit is priced at $30 per user per month for large enterprises. Google plans to disclose pricing details for consumers and small businesses in the coming months.
These AI tools have been meticulously designed to infuse intelligence into Google’s most popular services. With a simple text prompt, users can command Duet to generate a resume template in Google Docs, compose a birthday party invitation in Gmail, incorporate illustrations into a presentation in Slides, or construct a custom form in Sheets.
Google has been rigorously testing Duet AI since its introduction at Google I/O in May, with over a million individuals participating in the trial. Aparna Pappu, Google Workspace chief, announced in a blog post during the Google Cloud Next conference that Duet AI is now accessible to all 3 billion Google Workspace accounts.
This move represents a substantial investment in AI, a technology that has experienced a transformative evolution, particularly over the past year, thanks to the widespread adoption of large language models. These AI systems are trained to identify patterns within extensive datasets culled from the internet and, with the addition of generative AI capabilities, can generate text and images based on specific prompts.
The unique strength of AI technology lies in its fusion of computational power with an interface that aligns more closely with human thought processes.
Nonetheless, AI tools come with their own set of challenges, including the propensity to generate text that may sound plausible and authoritative but could lack accuracy. For instance, when using the “help me write” tool in Google Docs, a warning appears: “This is a creative writing aid and is not intended to be factual.”
In addition to Duet AI, Google also introduced its AI chatbot, Bard. CNET has conducted comparisons of Bard with other AI chatbots, such as Bing and ChatGPT, to gauge their helpfulness and effectiveness.