Google announced today that it is making "prep work" for collaboration and creation easier through deeper integration of Gemini AI across Docs, Sheets, Slides and Drive, while Zoom revealed new AI-first productivity canvases that mark its boldest challenge yet to traditional office software.
The announcements represent a fundamental shift in how the two companies approach work. Rather than asking users to build documents from scratch or switch between applications, both are embedding AI directly into workflows so employees can generate polished drafts, spreadsheets and presentations without leaving the familiar interface.
Google's Gemini expansion
Google's new "Help me create" tool in Docs lets users describe what they want to create, and Gemini will gather information from Drive, Gmail, and Chat to generate a first draft. For example, you can ask Gemini to "draft a newsletter for our neighborhood association using the meeting minutes from my January HOA meeting and the list of upcoming events".
In Sheets, Gemini evolves from a tool you work in to a collaborative partner, with a "Fill with Gemini" tool that can populate tables faster by instantly generating custom text, categorising and summarising data, or pulling in real-time information from Google Search. In Slides, you can now have Gemini generate a fully editable slide in your deck that matches your overall theme, and if you don't like a slide, you can ask Gemini to adjust it.
These features are starting to roll out today in beta and will be first available to Google AI Ultra and Pro subscribers, available in English globally for Docs, Sheets and Slides.
Zoom's productivity play
Zoom's approach takes a different angle. Teams will be able to convert meeting conversations and insights into structured documents, data analysis and presentation content with new AI canvases: Zoom AI Docs, AI Sheets and AI Slides, which will work seamlessly within Zoom Meetings for real-time co-creation without switching tools. Based on meeting transcripts and data from other services, users can create document drafts, spreadsheets with data, or presentations.
Zoom said its AI-powered productivity apps will be available as a preview in the spring, positioning them as purpose-built tools for turning meetings into outcomes rather than standalone document editors.
Broader implications for workers
Early adoption data from Google's beta group suggests that teams using Gemini within Workspace are completing documentation tasks 35 per cent faster. Both companies are betting that integrating AI into the creation moment saves time and improves quality by eliminating context switching.
However, the approaches reveal different philosophies. Google deepens Gemini's role within established productivity tools that already dominate enterprise workflows. Zoom is introducing custom AI agents that can act on behalf of organisations, streamlining activities including retrieving insights, automating tasks and orchestrating workflows across third-party systems such as Salesforce, Slack and ServiceNow.
For Australian businesses already invested in Google Workspace, the Gemini updates offer immediate productivity gains. For Zoom users, the new canvases represent a more ambitious bet: that meeting-centric work deserves its own purpose-built productivity layer rather than relying on adapted versions of traditional office tools.