The short answer
Gemini in Gmail and Google Docs can summarise threads, draft and refine emails, search and organise your inbox, schedule on your primary calendar, and draft Docs from your Drive files. The side panel needs an eligible Google AI or Workspace plan. Help me write is free for personal Gmail only in the US. Help me create in Docs, rolling out since 22 April 2026, needs Google AI Pro, Ultra or Workspace Business Standard and above.
| Prompts on this page | 14: 8 for Gmail, 6 for Docs |
|---|---|
| Open the side panel | Ask Gemini, top right of Gmail or Docs on a computer |
| Free personal accounts | Help me write, Suggested Replies and thread summaries, US only |
| Help me create in Docs | Google AI Pro and Ultra; Workspace Business Standard and Plus, Enterprise Standard and Plus, Education Plus |
| Undo a Gmail action | 60 seconds after you confirm |
What Gemini can do in Gmail and Docs in November 2026
Gemini shows up in Gmail and Google Docs in two places. The first is the side panel: on a computer, click Ask Gemini at the top right of Gmail or Docs and type a request. The second is built into the page itself: Help me write and Suggested Replies in Gmail, and a bottom bar in Docs, where Help me create drafts whole documents. Google's help pages describe what each one can do, and every prompt on this page sticks to those documented abilities.
In Gmail, Google says the side panel can summarise long threads, draft new emails or refine drafts, search your mail for details such as flight times, organise mail (archive, delete, label with labels that already exist, star, mark read or unread), schedule events on your primary Google Calendar, and manage or use Drive files. Gmail actions only run after you confirm them, and you then have 60 seconds to undo. Gemini will not process a request that matches more than 10,000 threads.
In Docs, the side panel can summarise a whole document or a selection, write and rewrite text, refine it (Shorten, More formal), pull in Drive files when you type @ or use the Sources button, generate images, and create Sheets or Slides. Since a rollout that began on 22 April 2026, the bottom bar adds Help me create, which drafts a formatted document from your Drive, Gmail, Chat and the web; Match doc format, which copies another file's layout; and Match writing style, under Tools, then Writing style. These Docs features work on desktop only.
Which plan you need for Gemini in Gmail and Docs
| Feature | Free personal Gmail | Google AI Plus, Pro, Ultra | Google Workspace |
|---|---|---|---|
| Help me write in Gmail | US only | Yes, worldwide | Eligible plans |
| Suggested Replies and AI Overview thread summaries | US only | Yes | Eligible plans |
| AI Overview in Gmail search, Proofread (web, English) | No | Yes | Eligible plans |
| Gemini side panel in Gmail and Docs | Only through Workspace Experiments | Eligible Google AI plans | Eligible plans |
| Help me create, Match doc format, Match writing style in Docs | Only through Workspace Experiments | Google AI Pro and Ultra | Business Standard and Plus, Enterprise Standard and Plus, Education Plus |
Google's Gmail help lists Help me write in English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese and Spanish. AI Inbox is US English only, and Gmail Live is in the Gmail apps for iOS and Android on Google AI plans. On a work account, your admin must have Gemini turned on and you need Workspace smart features enabled. Check current prices on Google's subscriptions page.
Gmail prompts for reading and finding
These prompts go in the Gmail side panel. Open the thread first when the prompt says "this thread", so Gemini knows which conversation you mean. The Pull action items from a thread prompt is the one most people reuse daily. The Find a detail in my inbox prompt replaces ten minutes of scrolling through search results. Gemini's answers in Gmail come from your mail; if you want it to use the web as well, Google says to include a phrase such as "Use Google Search" in the prompt.
Gmail prompts for writing and replying
Help me write works inside the compose window; the side panel can draft too and can use a Drive file as a source when you type @ and pick it. Good email prompts name the reader, the purpose, the one thing you want them to do and a length. The Draft a progress update from a Drive file prompt shows the pattern: it points at a real source so the draft contains your facts rather than filler.
Gmail prompts for organising and scheduling
These prompts ask Gemini to act, not just answer, so read what it proposes before you confirm. Gemini can only apply labels you have already created, it cannot mark several emails as spam, and it can only create events on your primary calendar. If you bulk-delete by mistake, the mail stays in Bin for 30 days.
Google Docs prompts for creating documents
Help me create lives in the bottom bar of a new document. Its best trick is reuse: tell it which existing file to copy the structure from, or which file's writing style to match, and the draft fits your team's templates. Afterwards, open Sources to see which files and pages it used, and check them.
Google Docs prompts for editing and summarising
These prompts go in the Docs side panel, or select text first to focus Gemini on that part. Gemini can rewrite a selection and refine it with options such as Shorten, Elaborate, More formal and More casual. One limitation catches people out: the side panel conversation is lost if you refresh, close the document or go offline, so insert anything you want to keep into the document.
How to adapt these prompts
- Use @ to name files. Typing @ and choosing a Drive file is more reliable than describing it.
- Name the reader and the length. "For the finance director, under 120 words" changes the output more than any adjective.
- Ask for web search explicitly. Add "Use Google Search" when you need facts from outside your files, then check the sources.
- Save repeated prompts as skills. Google says Docs side panel skills are created and turned on in Workspace Studio first. Gems are being replaced by skills: on personal accounts, Gems become read-only on 17 November 2026 and are converted automatically.
When to use Gemini in Gmail and Docs, and when not to
Use it when the work lives in Google Workspace: it can see your mail, Drive and calendar without copying anything, and Workspace accounts are not human reviewed or used for training outside your domain without permission. Side panel conversations in Gmail are not saved to Gemini Apps Activity. For long research or heavy writing outside your inbox, the Gemini app or another assistant may be better; see our Gemini guide, Copilot vs Gemini, Notion vs Gemini, best AI for writing emails and the Gemini lessons. If your company uses Microsoft 365 instead, the equivalent page is Copilot prompts for Outlook.
Prompts to copy
Pull action items from a thread
Create a list of action items for me based on this email thread. For each one give the task, who asked for it, the deadline if one is mentioned, and quote the line it came from. Put anything that is waiting on someone else in a separate list.
You get: Your to-dos from a long thread, with owners and dates
Catch up on a project
Summarise the emails about [project name] from the last [two weeks]. Tell me what was decided, what is still open, and which messages are waiting for my reply, as three short lists.
You get: A project catch-up from your inbox
Find a detail in my inbox
Find the email where [person or company] sent [the detail, such as the contract renewal date or the booking reference] and tell me the answer, the date of the email and who sent it.
You get: The fact you need without scrolling
Draft a progress update from a Drive file
Draft an email to [name] summarising our progress on [project], using @[Drive file name] as the source. Start with the one decision I need from them, then three bullet points on progress and one on risks. Friendly but brief, under 150 words.
You get: A factual update built from your own document
Write a reply that says no kindly
Write a reply to this email declining [request] because [reason]. Thank them, offer [alternative] instead, and keep it warm and under 100 words.
You get: A polite refusal with an alternative
Refine a draft for tone
Refine my draft below so it sounds confident and polite rather than defensive, keeps every fact and date, and is no longer than it is now: [paste draft or open it]
You get: Your draft in a better tone, facts unchanged
Tidy newsletters and notifications
Find all emails from [sender or newsletter] older than [time period] and archive them. Show me the list before you act.
You get: A cleaner inbox, with a chance to check first
Schedule a meeting from email
Create a 30-minute meeting with [name] this week about [topic], at a time when my primary calendar is free, and add a one-line agenda based on this thread.
You get: A calendar invite without switching apps
Draft a proposal from your template
Draft a project proposal for [project] for [audience]. Match the format of @[template file]. Use @[brief or notes file] for the facts, include a timeline and a budget section with placeholders, and keep it under [number] words.
You get: A first draft in your team's own template
Write in your house style
Write a [blog post, client update, policy page] about [topic] for [audience]. Match the writing style of my [style reference file]. Cover [points], and end with [call to action].
You get: A draft that sounds like your organisation
Summarise a document for an executive
Summarise this document in 3 bullet points for [role], then list the two decisions it asks for and any numbers they should know. Plain English, under 100 words.
You get: A skimmable summary with the decisions pulled out
Update a section from meeting notes
Update the [section name] section based on the latest updates in @[meeting notes doc]. Keep the existing structure, change only what the notes support, and tell me which lines you changed.
You get: A current document without retyping notes
Rewrite a section for a different reader
Rewrite the selected section for [audience, such as the sales team or a new customer]. Keep every number, date and commitment exactly as written, replace internal jargon such as [terms] with plain words, put the action they need to take in the first sentence, and keep it under [number] words. Then list any sentence you were unsure how to simplify.
You get: The same facts, rewritten for a new audience
Add a sourced paragraph from the web
Use Google Search to write one paragraph on [topic] for this document, with the most recent figures you can find. List the sources you used so I can check them.
You get: Fresh outside facts with sources to verify