How to Search and Summarize Using Gemini in Google Drive
Google is busy adding Gemini AI to almost every app it develops , and Google Drive is no exception. If you have a Google One AI Premium subscription or the organization you belong to pays Gemini AI fees for Google Workspace, you get Gemini integration for your Google Drive account and Docs, Sheets, and Slides.
There are a number of AI tricks you can do inside documents, spreadsheets and presentations, but here I’m going to focus on what’s possible with your Google Drive files and folders more broadly, including search and summaries. Currently, the best way to access these features is through Google Drive on the web , although there is also a Google Drive mobile plugin for Gemini.
This all depends on you giving Gemini access to your Google Drive data, but Google has all your data anyway, so it’s a matter of expanding your trust in Google even further. As with other Google apps, you can control the data Gemini stores and delete existing entries through your Google Account .
Gemini Basics on Google Drive
Load up Google Drive online and you’ll see the Gemini star symbol in the top right corner – click on it to open the Gemini sidebar. At the top, you have arrows to expand or shrink the panel, as well as a three-dot button that you can click to clear Gemini’s conversation history on Google Drive.
Depending on how long you’ve been using Gemini, you may see some suggestions for tips that you can run. You can also see a tooltip with a few examples of what Gemini can do in Google Drive. You can also get some hints by clicking the three dots at the top of the sidebar and selecting More Suggestions .
At the most basic level, you can use Gemini to create files and folders in Google Drive. Try something like “create a new folder called “Travel”” or “create a new document called “Travel Plans” as a hint. This won’t actually save you any time compared to the traditional way of doing these tasks, but it’s handy if you’re already chatting with a Gemini bot.
Based on the time I spent playing with Gemini on Google Drive, most of these suggestions work as advertised, although the AI can sometimes lack precision when tweaking your files. Note that you can’t move or copy files at the moment, although it seems like it would make sense for Google to implement this feature eventually.
Search by files and folders
Google Drive already has a robust search tool located right at the top of the web interface, but Gemini gives you more flexibility in terms of the language of your queries and the types of information you can retrieve. If you want to view specific files or folders, use the @ symbol and then enter the name of the file or folder.
For example, you can ask “Who scored the most on @staffreview” (if you have a table with that name) and Gemini will answer you. Or you can search for “which state is most mentioned in @travelplans” and get an answer. All similar queries I’ve tried have been answered accurately, but double check the answers if your company’s annual budget or family vacation is based on the information Gemini gives you.
You can also have Gemini search files and folders so you can query all the information it can find on a specific topic you’ve covered in multiple essays. There’s a little more room for error here because Gemini is looking at more data and making more decisions about what’s relevant and what’s not.
At least for now, you can’t get Gemini to, for example, show you all your spreadsheets from yesterday, find the most recent apples-or-oranges file, have the AI count files, or query file edit history—those operations are still best done using Google Drive’s standard search box and its filters.
Summarizing files and folders
Summaries should be one of the best uses of modern generative AI, whether it’s summarizing long PDFs, multiple web pages, or giant spreadsheets, even if hallucinations continue to pop up here and there from time to time. Based on my testing, Gemini does this well on Google Drive.
You don’t need to open the Gemini sidebar to do this—just right-click on any file or folder in your Google Drive and select Share this file or Share this folder . If you’re viewing a folder, you can also click on the folder’s name at the top and then select Generalize about this folder .
Gemini springs into action and gives you a quick rundown of what’s in the file or folder you select. For folders with a lot of files or large files, you get a broader overview – the AI can tailor its response depending on the amount of information it needs to analyze. You can then ask additional questions if you need more detailed information (suggestions for additional questions may appear on the screen).
Keep in mind that once you close the Gemini sidebar, the information Gemini provided to you will disappear: if you want to save it, use the Copy buttons below the answers, and then move it to another location (such as a Google Docs file). Your chats in Google Drive are not synced with the main Gemini app.