Google will comb through your Gmail inbox if you ask it while working in Drive

Google is expanding the reach of Gemini inside Workspace by allowing users to pull Gmail conversations directly into Ask Gemini in Drive, giving its AI assistant deeper access to emails, documents, and folders in a single workspace experience.

The feature, which is now generally available for eligible Google Workspace and Google AI subscribers, is designed to help users ask more complex questions while working inside Google Drive. Instead of manually switching between Gmail and Drive to gather information, users can now feed entire Gmail threads into Gemini alongside files and folders to generate context-aware answers.

Gemini is turning Drive into a smarter workplace assistant

Until now, Ask Gemini in Drive has mainly relied on files and folders as reference material. With the new update, Gmail threads can also act as sources, allowing Gemini to analyse conversations, attached documents, and related Drive files together. Google says the goal is to provide “a complete view of business context” so users can get more accurate and useful AI-generated responses.

The company describes Ask Gemini in Drive as an “immersive workspace” built for deep focus and multi-turn conversations. In practice, this means users could ask Gemini to summarise lengthy email discussions, cross-reference information between documents and inbox threads, or quickly surface decisions buried across multiple conversations.

The rollout comes at a time when tech companies are aggressively integrating AI assistants into workplace software to reduce time spent searching for information. Microsoft has been pushing similar capabilities through Copilot across Outlook and Office, while Google is steadily embedding Gemini into every corner of Workspace.

Convenience and privacy concerns arrive together

For users, the update could make Drive significantly more useful as a productivity hub. Instead of treating Gmail and Drive as separate services, Gemini effectively turns them into one searchable knowledge base. That could help professionals manage projects faster, especially in workplaces where critical details are often scattered across documents and long email chains.

At the same time, the feature may raise fresh concerns about how much access AI systems should have to personal or sensitive workplace communication. While Google says the functionality only works when users intentionally add Gmail threads as sources, the idea of an AI assistant “combing through” inbox conversations is likely to make some users uneasy.

Google says the feature is enabled by default if Gemini for Workspace in Drive is already turned on by administrators. End users must also have Workspace smart features enabled to use Ask Gemini in Drive.

The rollout began on June 3, 2026, and is gradually expanding over a period of up to 15 days. The feature is available for Business Standard and Plus, Enterprise Standard and Plus, Google AI Pro and Ultra, AI Expanded Access, and select Education plans.