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ZDNET’s key takeaways
- Ask Gemini is now available for some Google Meet users.
- It offers meeting notes, key takeaways, and live summaries.
- The AI assistant protects user privacy and has some limitations.
Your Google Meet meetings are about to get more helpful, thanks to additional Gemini features built into the platform. According to Google, new Ask Gemini features include real-time summaries of what someone said in a meeting, catching up on the meeting’s contents if you join late, and identifying key points and action items during the meeting.
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Currently, you can summon Gemini to take notes for your ongoing Google Meet meeting, but there’s a minutes-long lag, and the best option is to receive Gemini’s notes once a meeting ends.
How the new features work
Ask Gemini differs from Gemini’s meeting notetaker in that it is a real-time, in-meeting tool that doesn’t store meeting information once it ends. In a blog post, Google said Ask Gemini uses meeting captions, Google search, and public websites to generate answers to in-meeting questions. Ask Gemini also uses Google Workspace resources like Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Gmail, but users must have permission to view these resources for Gemini to access them.
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According to Google, Ask Gemini acts as a personal AI-powered assistant within a Google Meet, and users’ interactions with and responses from Ask Gemini are private.
Users can consult Ask Gemini about what was discussed in a meeting before they joined, but only if Gemini’s Take Notes for Me is active. According to Google, Ask Gemini is only available in English, with more language support coming soon, though it’s unclear exactly when. This feature is also only available on desktop, and is currently not supported in breakout meeting rooms.
Google Meet meeting hosts and co-hosts can turn off Ask Gemini for all meeting participants in Host controls. If Ask Gemini is enabled for a meeting, participants will be shown a consent banner, and dial-in participants will hear an announcement that Ask Gemini is in the meeting.
How to try it
Ask Gemini is a Google Workspace-exclusive feature. Workspace is built for businesses and gives them access to Google’s range of productivity tools for $7 per month per user to start, with bespoke pricing for larger teams. Google said Workspace admins should note that Ask Gemini in Google Meet is toggled on by default, and admins can adjust it at the domain, organizational unit, or group level in admin settings.
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Ask Gemini will be available for Google Workspace Enterprise Plus, Enterprise (Standard), Business Plus, and Business Standard plans. It’s currently available for Workspace Business Plus customers, and will roll out to other Workspace plans in late 2025 or early 2026.