What is Google Docs AI? A practical guide to smart writing tools 2025
Stevia Putri
Marketing GeneralistShare this post
It seems like every tool we use for work is getting an AI upgrade these days, and Google Docs is no different. You’ve probably seen AI features popping up in Gmail, Sheets, and Slides, as Google has woven its AI, Gemini, directly into its workspace apps. The most obvious of these is the “Help me write” feature in Google Docs, which is supposed to be your creative writing partner.
The "Help me write" feature in the Google Docs AI.
While this built-in tool is handy for some basic writing tasks, it’s a bit like having a helpful intern who’s only allowed to read one page at a time. This guide will walk you through its main features, explain the real-world business problems you’ll run into, and show you how a dedicated AI integration can actually help your team get more done by connecting Google Docs to your entire company’s knowledge.
What is the native Google Docs AI feature?
When you hear “Google Docs AI,” people are usually talking about the smart writing features powered by Google’s Gemini AI, now built right into Google Workspace. Think of it as a writing assistant that lives inside your document, ready to jump in when you need a hand.
Based on what you ask it to do, the native AI can:
- Draft new text: You can ask it to write something from scratch, like a friendly email, an outline for a blog post, or a few social media captions.
- Rewrite what you’ve written: It can take a piece of text and help you rephrase it, make it shorter or longer, or change the tone to be more formal or casual.
- Summarize your document: Give it a long document, and it can boil it down to the key points, saving you from having to read every single word.
It’s a nice feature, but it’s not free. These tools are usually part of the paid Google Workspace plans, typically starting with the Business Standard plan. It’s a common story with AI; the most useful stuff is often behind a subscription.
What the built-in Google Docs AI is good for
Before we dive into its weak spots, it’s worth pointing out what the native tool does well. For an individual user, it can be a solid sidekick for everyday writing.
Beating the blank page with Google Docs AI
We’ve all been there, staring at that blinking cursor on a white screen. The Google Docs AI is great for just getting something down on the page. You can give it a simple prompt like, “Write an outline for a blog post about remote work challenges,” and it will spit out a structure you can start building on. It’s also good for whipping up first drafts of routine emails, simple project proposals, or meeting agendas.
Generating an outline using the Google Docs AI.
Polishing your writing with Google Docs AI
Once you have some text, the “Refine” options can help you clean it up. You can highlight a paragraph and ask the AI to rephrase it for better flow, shorten it to be more punchy, or elaborate to add more detail. The tone adjustment is especially handy. For example, you can take a dense, technical paragraph and ask it to make it a simple, client-friendly explanation.
Using the "Refine" feature of the Google Docs AI.
Getting the gist of long docs with Google Docs AI
If someone drops a 20-page report on your desk and you need the highlights fast, the “Summarize” function is a real time-saver. It can scan the document and pull out the main points, which is perfect for understanding the takeaways from long meeting notes or dense research without having to read the whole thing.
Pro Tip: To get the best results from the built-in Google Docs AI, give it clear instructions instead of asking open-ended questions. For example, instead of, “What should I write for a thank you note?”, try, “Write a professional thank you note to a client after a successful project.”
Where the built-in Google Docs AI falls short for businesses
While the native tool is fine as a personal writing buddy, its shine wears off pretty fast when you try to use it for team projects that rely on shared company knowledge. Here’s where it stumbles.
Why the Google Docs AI is stuck in one document at a time
This is its biggest problem. The built-in Google Docs AI only knows what’s inside the document you currently have open. It can’t see information in your other Google Docs, your team’s Confluence pages, or your Zendesk help articles. This means it can’t answer questions using your company’s actual knowledge. If you ask it for the “latest shipping policy,” it can only help if that policy is written in the exact doc you’re in. Otherwise, it’s clueless.
A visual comparison of a siloed Google Docs AI versus a connected AI.
The Google Docs AI can write, but it can’t do anything
The AI can put words on a page, but that’s it. It can’t connect with any of your other work apps. It can’t look up an order status in Shopify, check a customer’s subscription plan, or create a new ticket in Jira. It’s a passive writer, not an active assistant that helps you get things done.
| Feature | Native Google Docs AI | Connected AI (like eesel) |
|---|---|---|
| Drafts Text | Yes | Yes |
| Answers from Company Knowledge | No (only current doc) | Yes (across all connected apps) |
| Performs Actions (e.g., look up data) | No | Yes |
| Customizable Rules & Voice | No | Yes |
Why Google Docs AI knowledge is generic, not specialized
The AI is powered by Google’s general models, which means it doesn’t understand your company’s specific jargon, brand voice, or internal ways of doing things. The answers it gives are generic because they come from broad internet data, not your business’s private knowledge. It won’t know your product names, internal acronyms, or the troubleshooting steps your support team has perfected.
You can’t really customize the Google Docs AI
Other than fiddling with the tone, you don’t have much control over how the AI behaves. You can’t set rules for what it should or shouldn’t say, create specific instructions (like “If you don’t know the answer, tag the Head of Product”), or train it to match your company’s unique voice. It’s a one-size-fits-all tool, but every business has different needs.
Connecting your Google Docs AI to your company’s brain
The fix isn’t to ditch the Google Docs AI, but to give it a much bigger brain to work with. This is what a tool like eesel AI does. Instead of a walled-off writing assistant, eesel acts as an intelligence layer on top of all your existing tools, including Google Docs, creating a single source of truth for your entire company. It’s built to solve the exact problems that isolated AI tools create.
Bring all your knowledge to your Google Docs AI
eesel connects to all the places your company knowledge lives, not just one document. It plugs into your Google Docs, Confluence, Notion, Slack chats, and more. By doing this, it builds a unified knowledge base for the AI to use, making sure every answer it gives is accurate and based on your company’s own information.
Connecting multiple apps to enhance your Google Docs AI.
Get Google Docs AI answers based on your company’s info
With all your knowledge connected, your team can get instant answers right where they are. A support agent using an AI copilot in Zendesk can get a perfect draft reply that pulls the right troubleshooting steps from a technical guide saved in a Google Doc. Or, someone can ask a question in Microsoft Teams, and the eesel bot will find the answer in your approved wikis without anyone having to go hunting for it.
A connected Google Docs AI providing answers in Zendesk.
Automate work with a Google Docs AI that does more than write
Unlike the native tool that only writes, eesel’s “AI Actions” let the AI actually perform tasks. It can automatically sort support tickets, look up live data from other apps, and pass complex issues to the right person. This turns your Google Docs from just being pages with words into tools that help your team get work done.
A workflow for a Google Docs AI connected tool that automates tasks.
Google Docs AI: From simple writer to smart assistant
The built-in Google Docs AI is a decent feature for individual writing tasks and a great way to get past writer’s block. It’s a solid starting point for anyone looking to dip their toes into AI at work.
But for businesses that rely on shared knowledge and teamwork, its siloed design is a major hurdle. An AI that can actually help your business needs to connect your Google Docs to all your other knowledge sources and apps. Instead of just helping you write in a single document, you can give your team an AI that knows your business inside and out. eesel AI connects your Google Docs, help center, and other wikis to provide instant, accurate answers and automate tasks right where your team already works.
Frequently asked questions
The built-in AI features are typically not part of the free version of Google Docs. They are usually included in paid Google Workspace subscriptions, such as the Business Standard plan or higher.
No, this is its main limitation. The native AI can only read and process the text within the single document you have open, and it cannot connect to your team’s other Google Docs, wikis, or external apps.
The native Google Docs AI uses generic information from Google’s large language models, so its answers are not specific to your company. A connected tool builds a knowledge base from your actual company documents, ensuring answers are accurate and reflect your internal data.
For the best results, be as specific as possible with your instructions. Instead of asking a broad question, provide a clear prompt with context, such as “Write a formal email to a new client introducing our project management process.”
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