August 26, 2025
Adding image support to Gemini in the side panel of Google Drive
What’s changing
Users have been able to use Gemini in the side panel of Google Drive to summarize one or multiple documents, interact with PDFs, have focused conversations about a specific Drive folder, create files and folders, and more. However, until now, this functionality was text-based only and did not account for images saved in your Drive.
Similar to the recent video announcement, we’re happy to announce that Gemini can now answer questions or give you summaries about images in Drive. Here are some examples of what you can ask Gemini to:
- Summarize this image
- Extract text from this image
- Extract information from this receipt/invoice into a table
- Generate alternate text for this image
- Write a story about this image
Gemini is extracting information from this receipt into a table
Additional details
This feature is currently available in English only and works best for:
- Scanned documents like contracts, receipts, invoices, etc.
- Text-heavy images
Getting started
- Admins: To access Gemini in the side panel of Workspace apps, users need to have smart features and personalization turned on. Admins can turn on default personalization settings for their users in the Admin console.
- End Users: To access this feature, double-click on an image from the Google Drive file list and click on "Ask Gemini" (star button) in the top right corner. Visit the Help Center to learn more about collaborating with Gemini in Google Drive.
Rollout pace
- Rapid Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on August 25, 2025
- Scheduled Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on September 9, 2025
Availability
Available for Google Workspace:
- Business Standard and Plus
- Enterprise Standard and Plus
- Customers with the Gemini Education or Gemini Education Premium add-on
- Google One AI Premium
Anyone who previously purchased these add-ons will also receive this feature:
- Gemini Business*
- Gemini Enterprise*
*As of January 15, 2025, we’re no longer offering the Gemini Business and Gemini Enterprise add-ons for sale. Please refer to this announcement for more details.