Elevating Google Workspace: New AI Capabilities in Forms and Slides

Google Workspace continues to evolve, bringing powerful artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities directly into the applications administrators and users rely on daily. These advancements are designed to streamline workflows, boost productivity, and offer more intuitive ways to create and collaborate. This update focuses on significant AI enhancements in Google Forms and Google Slides, alongside an important change concerning Google Meet recordings that administrators should be aware of.

Gemini Transforms Form Creation in Google Forms

Google Forms has received a substantial AI upgrade with the expansion of Gemini's "Help me create" feature and enhanced question suggestions. This functionality empowers users to draft forms more efficiently than manual creation, significantly reducing the time spent on initial setup.

Initially launched to support form generation, "Help me create" now extends its reach to 21 additional languages, including Arabic, Catalan, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Malay, Mandarin, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, and Vietnamese. Users can input a prompt describing their desired form, and Gemini will generate a draft, incorporating details from referenced documents such as Docs, Sheets, Slides, or PDFs. This allows for quick deployment or further customisation.

Furthermore, Gemini-powered question suggestions, designed to assist in building comprehensive questionnaires, are now available in 28 more languages, including Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese, Korean, French, Italian, and German.

For Administrators: To ensure users can access Gemini within the Workspace applications' side panel, administrators must verify that "smart features and personalisation" are enabled. This setting can be managed within the Admin Console, allowing for domain, organisational unit, or group-level configuration.

This feature is now available for Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains across various business, enterprise, and education editions, as well as consumer Google AI Pro and Ultra accounts.

Designing Presentations with Gemini in Google Slides

Google Slides is also benefiting from Gemini's intelligent capabilities, offering a major upgrade to slide generation and editing. Users can now create fully editable, brand-matched slides with dynamic layouts tailored to specific content. Gemini securely analyses existing presentations to generate designs that align with established organisational styles, ensuring visual consistency across all materials.

Users have the flexibility to manually reference specific files for content or style guidance, or they can allow Gemini to automatically identify relevant files from Google Drive. Beyond creating new slides, users can also leverage Gemini to edit existing presentations, modifying layouts, design elements, or content with ease. By simply clicking "Create" or "Enhance this slide," users can initiate these AI-powered transformations.

This functionality is supported in English and several additional international languages.

For Administrators: There are no specific administrator controls for this feature, meaning it will be available to eligible users within your organisation once rolled out. It is currently rolling out gradually to Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains, with availability for various Business, Enterprise, and AI Add-on editions, as well as consumer Google AI Pro and Ultra accounts.

Important Update: Google Meet Recording Download Settings

While not a direct AI enhancement, a significant administrative change to Google Meet recording default settings will impact how certain AI functionalities, such as "Ask Gemini," operate.

Currently, Google Meet video recordings prevent viewers from downloading or copying them by default unless explicitly permitted by the recording owner. Consequently, the "Ask Gemini" feature within the Drive viewer is also disabled by default for viewers who are not the file owners.

Starting April 30, 2026, the default behaviour for new recordings will change. From this date, new recordings will allow viewers to download or copy them unless the recording owner manually restricts this setting. It is crucial for administrators to note that if you wish to maintain the current default of disabled downloads, you must uncheck the "Let Users download and copy Meet Recordings" option in the Admin Console before April 30, 2026. This administrative action will ensure that "Ask Gemini" remains restricted for viewers who are not recording owners.

This change applies only to future recordings and will not affect existing files. Administrators can manage this setting via "Meet video settings > Let Users download and copy Meet Recordings" at the domain, organisational unit, or group level.

This gradual rollout begins on April 30, 2026, for Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains, applicable to Business Plus, Business Standard, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Starter, Education Plus, and Teaching and Learning Upgrade editions.

Maintaining Efficiency and Control

These updates underscore Google Workspace's ongoing commitment to integrating AI for enhanced productivity and smarter workflows. While users gain powerful new creative tools with Gemini in Forms and Slides, administrators retain critical control over data access and security, particularly with the upcoming change to Meet recording defaults. Understanding and adjusting these settings appropriately will ensure a seamless and secure experience for your organisation.