General AI assistants
Google Gemini
A general AI assistant that also sits inside Gmail and Google Docs. Personal and Workspace accounts are governed completely differently.
Good for
- First drafts of letters, adverts and updates
- Working inside Gmail and Google Docs if your organisation already uses Workspace
- Summarising a document you already hold
Watch out for
- On a personal account, Google says a subset of chats is read by human reviewers, and those are kept for up to three years. Deleting the chat does not remove them. Never type anything about a person you support into a personal account.
- Staff often have both a personal Google account and a work one, and the two look almost identical on screen. Check which one is signed in before trusting any of the Workspace protections.
- Workspace processing can be pinned to the US or the EU, but there is no UK-only option. Expect commissioners and your DSPT return to ask.
- Gemini Notebook is a specific exception: Google states that your organisation's file sharing and data region settings do not apply to data inside it.
- Workspace retention is whatever your admin set, and the default range runs to indefinite. Check it rather than assuming a short window.
- It states wrong facts confidently, including about regulation.
Before you choose it
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