Google’s Gemini gets personal: AI can now analyse your Gmail, Drive and Chats

London: Google has unveiled a major upgrade to its Gemini AI assistant, expanding the capabilities of its Deep Research feature to include data stored across Gmail, Google Drive and Google Chat. The enhancement allows the AI to conduct more comprehensive and context-aware research by drawing on both public web data and users’ personal or organisational files.

The update, now available on desktop with mobile access to follow in the coming days, marks a major evolution of the Deep Research tool, which was first launched in December 2024. Previously, the feature could only analyse information sourced from the web. With this expansion, Gemini can now read and interpret files such as emails, Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, PDFs and chat logs, enabling users to generate detailed, customised summaries and reports.

Users can activate Deep Research via the Tools menu in Gemini’s desktop interface. Once selected, the system prompts them to specify which sources it should use — including Google Search, Gmail, Drive and Chat.

According to Google, the AI then formulates a multi-step research plan, synthesising the chosen material into structured, insight-driven outputs.

The tool is designed to help professionals manage complex projects by analysing internal communications and reference materials alongside live web data. For instance, teams can ask Gemini to review brainstorming notes, planning documents and relevant emails, and combine that with market information gathered online to create a product comparison or competitive analysis report.

Google describes the upgrade as a response to growing demand for personalised research assistance in workplaces where teams often juggle multiple files, threads and data sources. The company says Deep Research can now be used to create project summaries, product studies, market analysis reports or intelligence briefs without the need to manually sift through emails and documents.

The move underscores the intensifying competition among tech giants to embed generative AI more deeply into everyday productivity tools. Microsoft has been rapidly integrating its Copilot assistant across Office apps, while Apple and Google continue to prepare tighter AI integration at the system level on smartphones.

By allowing Gemini to access Workspace files, Google appears to be betting that users will increasingly rely on AI to manage time-consuming research tasks, streamlining hours of manual data gathering into minutes of automated analysis.

For now, the upgraded Deep Research tool is live for all Gemini desktop users, with a mobile rollout expected in the near future.