How we use Gemini in Google Workspace for Smarter SMB Project Management
In managing our projects and working with our clients, we rely extensively on Google Workspace. Central to our ability to deliver fast turnarounds and consistently keep on top of complex projects is Gemini, Google’s advanced AI assistant. Whilst there are multiple solutions on the market, for our firm, we have opted for Google Workspace as we found the services included in the package most aligned to our needs at the moment. This article is not sponsored by Google in any way, and it does not mean that one cannot achieve similar effects using other AI-powered suites, such as Microsoft Copilot within the Microsoft 365 ecosystem. It is simply that, for our specific use case and operational style, we found Google Workspace to be a more suitable fit.
Here’s a look at how we leverage Gemini within Google Workspace to enhance our project management and execution.
Laying the Groundwork: Project Planning and Organisation with an AI Assist
Getting a project off to a strong start is paramount. For us, effective planning and organisation are significantly aided by Gemini’s capabilities within the Workspace tools we use daily.
Developing Project Frameworks in Google Docs & Sheets, Informed by Our Knowledge Base
When initiating a new project, particularly for client-facing work, we often turn to Gemini in Google Docs. Crucially, as our own extensive knowledge base of previously delivered projects, templates, and best practice guides resides within Google Drive, we can ask Gemini to draft initial project frameworks, charters, or even sections of contracts by referencing these internal resources. For example, we might prompt, “Draft a project charter for a new client in the financial services sector, drawing on our ‘FS Project Charter Template’ and similar completed ‘FS Implementation Projects’ in Drive, and also incorporate any recent regulatory changes relevant to financial data handling that have emerged in the last six months.” This allows us to build upon our past successes and tailor proposals with current market practices and pertinent developments. This gives us a robust, informed starting point which we then refine. Similarly, in Google Sheets, when breaking down a large project into manageable tasks, we can describe the project’s scope, and Gemini can assist in generating an initial task list, again potentially informed by task structures from similar past projects stored in our Drive. We find this particularly useful for visualising project phases and dependencies with a high degree of relevance from the outset.
In-depth Research and Validation with Gemini
Before committing fully to a project’s direction, or when assessing potential risks and opportunities, we utilise Gemini for deep research. This can involve validating initial project assumptions, exploring historical precedents for similar undertakings, or understanding the potential implications of different strategic choices. Depending on the project’s nature, we might also ask Gemini to research the application of specific laws, new regulations, established frameworks, or relevant methodologies. For this, we can direct Gemini to tap into both our internal knowledge base on Google Drive (e.g., “Analyse our past ‘Data Migration Project Reports’ for common challenges and compare with current industry best practices for cloud data migration, citing any new compliance standards published this year”) and broader information available on the internet. This process usually involves careful prompt engineering on our part to ensure we receive the most useful and nuanced responses. It’s a critical step that is always followed by thorough human validation, as it should be common knowledge by now that AI-generated information, while powerful, requires careful scrutiny for accuracy and completeness.
Organising Information Silos with Google Drive and Gmail Labelling for Enhanced Gemini Retrieval
A well-organised information landscape is crucial. For Google Drive, when a new project begins, we might ask Gemini to suggest a logical folder structure within our Shared Drives – for instance, “Suggest a folder structure for ‘Client X Marketing Campaign’ to include briefs, assets, reports, and client communications.” Beyond document storage, we extend this organisational discipline to Gmail by implementing consistent project-specific labelling for all relevant email communications. This meticulous labelling of both Drive documents and Gmail messages is key because it significantly enhances Gemini’s ability to quickly and accurately locate relevant information sources when we later prompt it for project insights or summaries. The great advantage we’ve found is Gemini’s capacity to seamlessly leverage these multiple information sources – be it meeting minutes and transcripts from Google Meet, specific emails, documents on Google Drive, or even publicly available information from external websites when directed. For example, when asking Gemini to summarise progress on a particular deliverable, it can draw from a status update email, a technical specification in Drive, and the minutes of the last project meeting, providing a comprehensive overview. This ability to synthesise information from disparate sources is a powerful asset, though as always, we ensure human oversight to validate the compiled information.
Keeping Projects on Track: Execution and Monitoring with Gemini
Once a project is in motion, maintaining momentum and ensuring everyone is informed is key. Gemini helps us stay on top of this.
Managing Communications and Tasks with Gmail & Google Chat
Email threads can become unwieldy. We use Gemini in Gmail to summarise lengthy project-related email exchanges (often identified through our labelling system), quickly pulling out key decisions or action items. This is invaluable for ensuring the team is aligned without everyone needing to read every single email in full. When it comes to drafting project updates for stakeholders, we can ask Gemini to compose an initial draft, perhaps referencing a specific progress report in Google Docs and key discussion points from recent, labelled emails. For example, “Draft a weekly project update email for ‘Client Y Website Build,’ highlighting key achievements from the ‘Weekly Progress Doc – Week 4’ and incorporating the client feedback received in emails labelled ‘Project Y Feedback’.” In Google Chat, for our internal project team Spaces, Gemini can summarise recent discussions or help us find specific pieces of information shared earlier, referencing linked project files in Drive where appropriate, ensuring quick clarifications without disrupting workflow.
Tracking Progress in Google Sheets
We use Google Sheets for various project tracking purposes – from budget monitoring to task completion rates. Gemini allows us to query this data using natural language. For instance, a project lead might ask, “What percentage of tasks in the ‘Q2 Product Launch’ sheet are marked as ‘complete’?” or “Visualise the budget spend versus allocation for the ‘Office Refurbishment’ project, and compare this to the forecast in the ‘Q1 Financial Summary’ Doc.” This makes progress monitoring more intuitive and allows for quick cross-referencing with other project data, all facilitated by Gemini’s ability to understand context across our organised information.
Enhancing Teamwork: Collaboration and Communication, AI-Assisted
For any project, but especially in a dynamic SMB environment, seamless teamwork is vital. Gemini contributes to this by making our collaborative tools even more effective, particularly by leveraging our structured information.
More Productive Project Meetings with Google Meet
We’ve found the “take notes for me” feature in Google Meet, powered by Gemini, to be incredibly useful. The captured notes and action items become another valuable, searchable data point within our project ecosystem. These can then be easily cross-referenced by Gemini with other project documents in Drive or prior email discussions (thanks to our labelling) to provide comprehensive answers to follow-up queries. If someone joins a meeting late, Gemini can provide a summary of what’s been covered, and if needed, can even be prompted to relate the current discussion to specific points in the project plan stored in Drive. For projects involving international partners, the real-time translated captions also help bridge communication gaps.
Shared Understanding with Google Drive & Docs
When onboarding a new team member to an ongoing project, or when a stakeholder needs a quick update, Gemini’s ability to summarise documents or even entire folders in Google Drive is a real time-saver. Its summaries are more powerful because it can, if prompted, draw context from related, well-labelled emails or Chat discussions, providing a richer, more holistic overview than just the document content alone. During the collaborative creation of project deliverables in Google Docs or Slides, team members can use Gemini to suggest improvements to clarity and tone. We also prompt it to ensure consistency with our internal style guides or to emulate the structure of past successful project deliverables, both of which are stored within our Google Drive knowledge base. Gemini can also assist in generating relevant imagery for presentations, sometimes even taking inspiration from themes found in related project documents.
The Overall Impact on Our Projects
By integrating Gemini into our existing Google Workspace project management practices, and by maintaining a disciplined approach to information organisation, we’ve experienced several tangible benefits:
Reduced Administrative Load
Less time is spent on tasks like summarising long email chains, manually searching for documents across different platforms, or drafting routine project updates from scratch, as Gemini can synthesise information more effectively.
Quicker and More Informed Project Initiation
Leveraging our internal knowledge base and market research through Gemini allows us to develop robust project plans and proposals more rapidly.
Vastly Improved Information Accessibility and Context
Key project information, whether in emails, documents, meeting notes, or spreadsheets, is not just easier to find but can be presented by Gemini with relevant context from other sources, leading to deeper understanding.
More Focused and Efficient Collaboration
Meetings are more productive with AI-assisted note-taking and summaries. Team communication is clearer as Gemini helps to distil complex information and can retrieve supporting data from across our Workspace.
Greater Agility and Proactive Decision-Making
With faster access to comprehensive, cross-referenced information and AI-assisted research, our team can respond more quickly to project changes and make more proactive, data-informed decisions.
In Conclusion: Unlocking Project Potential for SMBs
For small and medium-sized businesses like ours, the ability to manage projects efficiently directly impacts our competitiveness and capacity for growth. Integrating an AI assistant like Gemini within Google Workspace has proven to be a significant lever in achieving this. It’s not merely about individual feature enhancements; it’s about creating a more intelligent, responsive, and less burdensome project environment. This allows our team to dedicate more of their expertise to strategic tasks, client engagement, and innovation, rather than getting bogged down in administrative overhead or information retrieval.
The key to truly unlocking this potential, however, lies beyond just subscribing to the tools. It’s about the foundational setup and ongoing optimisation of the digital workspace – be it Google Workspace or an alternative like Microsoft 365 Business. Ensuring that information is structured logically, that communication channels are streamlined, and that the AI tools are configured to understand and leverage your specific business context is paramount. This is precisely where specialist expertise can make a substantial difference. At attaché x® Digital, we focus on helping businesses establish and refine these digital foundations, enabling them to harness the full power of tools like Google Gemini or Microsoft Copilot for tangible improvements in project delivery and overall operational efficiency. Ultimately, a well-configured and intelligently utilised digital workspace is a critical enabler for SMBs looking to thrive in today’s demanding landscape.
