Google revealed Ask Gemini for Google Chat on August 19, a feature that lets you call Gemini directly from a chat window. The rollout begins in stages on August 26. Built on Workspace Intelligence, it lets you search Gmail, Drive and Calendar without leaving the conversation, and handle things like generating an image or scheduling an event in the same place. In exchange, the Gemini side panel that used to sit inside Chat will disappear.

A command line for work, opened with Ctrl + g

Google describes Ask Gemini as a unified command line for your work. The idea is a single entry point where you type what you need without stepping away from the conversation.

Five uses are outlined. Searching across Workspace data such as Gmail, Drive and Calendar to gather information. Generating images or drafting important updates without leaving the thread. Catching up on scattered conversations in one place. Scheduling meetings and managing tasks without breaking your flow. And organizing work into individual sessions so you can revisit a topic and pick it up later.

Ask Gemini appears under Shortcuts on the left side of Chat. It also has a keyboard shortcut: Ctrl + g on ChromeOS and Windows, Command + g on macOS. Google frames the goal as cutting the time spent hunting for information and toggling between tabs.

Three things change when the side panel goes away

The part worth noting is that the Gemini side panel inside Chat is being removed. That has three consequences.

First, the handover of features. Much of what the side panel handled, including finding files, capturing action items and summarizing conversations, moves to Ask Gemini. The panel itself then disappears from Chat.

Second, Gems. You will no longer be able to open Gems through the Gemini side panel in Chat. Gems are not going away entirely, though: they remain available in the Gemini side panel of other Workspace apps.

Third, conversation history. History from the Chat side panel will not migrate to the new Ask Gemini surface. Admins can export Gemini conversation history, and end users can download their own if their organization permits it. One detail is easy to miss: in the Data Export tool and Google Takeout, this data sits under Gemini in Workspace, not under Google Chat. If you want to keep that history, it is worth checking before the switch.

English accounts only for now, with looser limits until October 1

The change applies only to users whose Google account language is set to English. Anyone using another language keeps the side panel for the time being, and support for more languages is planned. For people working in Japanese, this is still some way off.

On the admin side, the requirement is that both Gemini in Workspace in Chat and Workspace Intelligence for all apps are enabled. When they are, the feature is available by default. End users need to be enrolled in Workspace Smart Features.

Eligible plans are Business Standard and Plus, Enterprise Standard and Plus, and the education add-on Google AI Pro for Education. The rollout starts on August 26 for both Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains, and it can take up to 15 days for the feature to become visible.

There is also a time-limited allowance on usage. Through October 1, higher promotional limits apply, so there is room to experiment without watching the meter. After that, standard usage limits take effect, with details to be posted in the Help Center beforehand.

Putting AI where the conversation happens

A side panel is a way of parking AI next to the main screen. Google is dropping that arrangement in Chat and building a command-line style entry point inside the conversation instead. In a place where several people are talking rather than one person writing, mixing AI into the same surface reads as the more natural fit.

The session concept follows from that. Chat is a place where topics scroll past, so without a way to bookmark a piece of work, exchanges with AI would wash away just as quickly.

The friction is real, though. History does not carry over, and the feature is limited to English accounts for now. In workplaces where English and other language settings coexist, different people will be looking at different screens for a while.

Summary

Google announced on August 19 that Ask Gemini is coming to Google Chat. Rolling out in stages from August 26, it brings cross-Workspace search, image generation and drafting, conversation catch-up, task and event management, and session-based organization into the chat window. It opens from the Shortcuts menu or with Ctrl + g. In return, the Gemini side panel in Chat is retired, Gems move to other apps' side panels, and conversation history does not transfer but can be exported. For now, the change applies only to accounts set to English.