Ask Gemini in Drive now searches Gmail to deliver smarter, context-aware responses

You can now use Ask Gemini in Drive to rummage through your Gmail - Engadget

The feature is now available to eligible Google Workspace, AI Pro and Ultra subscribers. Slogging through emails to find stuff can be a chore, but Google AI subscribers and enterprise customers can now get AI to do it. Google's "Ask Gemini in Drive" feature announced in March can now use Gmail as a source, just as it already can with Drive folders and files. That means you can ask it questions about Gmail threads spanning emails, files and folders, "to ensure the most helpful and accurate answers possible," Google explained in its Workspace Updates blog. To employ the new feature, you must be subscribed to Google AI Pro or Ultra, or be a Business or Enterprise user. To use it, you select Gmail from the sources in the left pane, then hit the "Ask Gemini" button at the top right. You can then pose a question like "find the email where I received approval for the Jenkins project," and it will (hopefully) find the relevant one. "Users can engage in high-context, multi-turn conversations to efficiently explore and understand content," Google explains. "Users can ground their responses in a complete view of their business context -- spanning emails, files, and folders -- to ensure the most helpful and accurate answers possible." The feature is now out of beta and "generally available" to eligible Workspace and Google AI plans.

Gemini in Google Drive can now dig through your Gmail for better answers

The feature is currently limited to Workspace and paying Google AI users. There's no questioning that Google is bullish on Gemini and wants it to be part of every other product. One of the apps that it proposes benefits hugely from the deep integration of AI is Drive. Gemini in Drive helps users by searching through different files and folders, renaming or organizing them, or answering questions specific to files or folders by peeking inside them. This information is displayed in panels that open on the side of the file or folder preview. In addition to file or folder-specific side panels, Google also offers a conversational interface in Google Drive, called "Ask Gemini," where you can ask the AI questions about a broader range of files. To make results more accurate or limit them to a smaller section, you can choose specific files or folders stored in your Drive as sources, just like you would in NotebookLM. And now, you can also include email threads for better context. Google recently announced that users can now include Gmail threads as sources for conversations in Drive. That gives users the power to work on or use documents stored in Drive while using emails for additional context to improve the chatbot's output. Imagine you're planning a trip and want Drive to give you an itinerary based on any travel plans or brochures already stored in your Drive. Along with those brochures, you can now also fetch emails confirming your travel plans, flight or hotel bookings, or other similarly useful information. Click the Add button in the sidebar, where you will now also see the option to include Gmail threads. Once you click the Add from Gmail option, a search bar will pop up where you can look for specific threads by entering a keyword. You can select multiple sources, then click the Add button in the bottom-right corner to include these threads as sources. Gmail support for Ask Gemini in Drive is rolling out to Google Workspace users and paying Google AI Pro or Ultra subscribers. The features are also limited to Drive's desktop version, and have yet to arrive on mobile apps.

Google will comb through your Gmail inbox if you ask it while working in Drive

Google is expanding the reach of Gemini inside Workspace by allowing users to pull Gmail conversations directly into Ask Gemini in Drive, giving its AI assistant deeper access to emails, documents, and folders in a single workspace experience. The feature, which is now generally available for eligible Google Workspace and Google AI subscribers, is designed to help users ask more complex questions while working inside Google Drive. Instead of manually switching between Gmail and Drive to gather information, users can now feed entire Gmail threads into Gemini alongside files and folders to generate context-aware answers. Gemini is turning Drive into a smarter workplace assistant Until now, Ask Gemini in Drive has mainly relied on files and folders as reference material. With the new update, Gmail threads can also act as sources, allowing Gemini to analyse conversations, attached documents, and related Drive files together. Google says the goal is to provide "a complete view of business context" so users can get more accurate and useful AI-generated responses. The company describes Ask Gemini in Drive as an "immersive workspace" built for deep focus and multi-turn conversations. In practice, this means users could ask Gemini to summarise lengthy email discussions, cross-reference information between documents and inbox threads, or quickly surface decisions buried across multiple conversations. Recommended Videos The rollout comes at a time when tech companies are aggressively integrating AI assistants into workplace software to reduce time spent searching for information. Microsoft has been pushing similar capabilities through Copilot across Outlook and Office, while Google is steadily embedding Gemini into every corner of Workspace. Convenience and privacy concerns arrive together For users, the update could make Drive significantly more useful as a productivity hub. Instead of treating Gmail and Drive as separate services, Gemini effectively turns them into one searchable knowledge base. That could help professionals manage projects faster, especially in workplaces where critical details are often scattered across documents and long email chains. At the same time, the feature may raise fresh concerns about how much access AI systems should have to personal or sensitive workplace communication. While Google says the functionality only works when users intentionally add Gmail threads as sources, the idea of an AI assistant "combing through" inbox conversations is likely to make some users uneasy. Google says the feature is enabled by default if Gemini for Workspace in Drive is already turned on by administrators. End users must also have Workspace smart features enabled to use Ask Gemini in Drive. The rollout began on June 3, 2026, and is gradually expanding over a period of up to 15 days. The feature is available for Business Standard and Plus, Enterprise Standard and Plus, Google AI Pro and Ultra, AI Expanded Access, and select Education plans.

Google rolls out Ask Gemini in Drive to eligible Workspace users

Google's "Ask Gemini in Drive" feature, initially announced in March, is now available to eligible Google Workspace, AI Pro, and Ultra subscribers, allowing users to search through Gmail for specific emails, files, and folders. Users can ask questions regarding Gmail threads, such as "find the email where I received approval for the Jenkins project," to retrieve relevant messages efficiently. The feature enhances data accessibility by enabling high-context, multi-turn conversations. According to Google's Workspace Updates blog, users can get answers grounded in a complete view of their business context, which includes emails, files, and folders. To utilize the feature, subscribers need to select Gmail from the sources in the left pane and click the "Ask Gemini" button at the top right. The rollout marks the transition of "Ask Gemini in Drive" from beta status to general availability for eligible users. Google emphasizes that this development will provide more helpful and accurate responses for those managing their information across various platforms.