What Is Gemini? A Guide to Google’s Newest AI

AI tools are becoming part of everyday business quickly.

You might already be using ChatGPT to help draft an email, come up with content ideas or answer a question but if you use Google, Gmail, Docs or Drive every day, there’s another AI tool you’re probably going to start seeing a lot more.

Google Gemini.

So, what is Gemini? Is it basically just Google’s version of ChatGPT?

Gemini is Google’s AI assistant, but it’s becoming more integrated into the Google products people already use every day. It can answer questions, understand different forms of information and work across connected Google apps to help you get things done.

People are actually using it.

According to Google, more than 900 million people across 230 countries and more than 70 languages now use Gemini every month, compared to 400 million users in the previous Google I/O.

So, if you’ve heard the name Gemini but aren’t totally sure what it actually does, here’s what you need to know.

Source: Gemini users statistic

Google reports that more than 900 million people across 230 countries and 70+ languages now use Gemini each month.

What is Google Gemini?

Gemini is Google’s generative AI system and AI assistant.

Google defines Gemini as a new kind of AI assistant built using its AI models, with advanced language understanding and reasoning.

That means you can ask Gemini questions and give it instructions more naturally than you could with the traditional Google Assistant.

Google Assistant was great if you wanted to say:

"Set an alarm for 7am."

Gemini is designed to understand something more like:

"Help me organise tomorrow. Check my calendar, tell me what I've got on and help me work out what I need to prepare beforehand."

Source: Gemini Sample Prompt

It can also work with more than text depending on the Gemini model and product you're using, it can understand things such as images, video, audio and code. So, calling Gemini a chatbot doesn't really explain the full picture.

Is Gemini replacing Google Assistant?

Google is taking the idea of a digital assistant much further.

Google Assistant has been around since 2016, serving people do things like check the weather, set reminders, make calls and get directions. Gemini is intended to handle more difficult requests and more natural conversations where it starts to get particularly interesting is its connection with the rest of Google's ecosystem.

Gemini can work with services including Gmail, Google Drive, Maps, Calendar, Keep, Tasks and YouTube. For instance, Google gives samples of asking Gemini to find restaurant recommendations someone previously sent you in Gmail or using information from a CV kept in Google Drive to help write a short bio.

For someone running a business through Gmail, Drive and Docs every day, it’s more useful than having another chatbot sitting in a separate browser tab.

What can Gemini actually do?

A lot!

You can use Gemini to explore information, summarise documents, brainstorm ideas, draft emails, analyse information and work with and create images.

You can also use Gemini Live to have more natural, back-and-forth conversations when you're trying to work through an idea rather than typing individual prompts but Google is now pushing Gemini beyond simply answering questions.

At Google I/O 2026, Google announced newer Gemini features including Gemini Omni, which can work with text, images and video to create and edit video content. There's also Daily Brief, designed to gather information from connected apps such as Gmail and Calendar and organise it into a personalised morning briefing. Then there's Gemini Spark, Google's personal AI agent.

Spark is designed to work across tools such as Gmail, Docs and Slides and complete more difficult workflows under your direction.

This is where AI starts moving from:

"Tell me how to do this."

to:

"Help me actually do this."

How could businesses use Gemini?

You don't need an AI agent reorganising your whole business tomorrow morning but there are some useful applications. Let's say you're trying to find something a client emailed you three weeks ago. Instead of searching through Gmail, finding the right attachment, opening Drive and pulling the information together yourself, Gemini can help you find and work with that information across connected Google apps.

A business could use Gemini to help summarise documents, prepare meeting information, research a topic, draft an initial email or brainstorm marketing ideas.

The important word there is help.

Google itself reminds users that Gemini won't always get things right and recommends checking important responses, reviewing sources where available or using Google Search to verify critical information. We'd say the same thing about any AI tool.

Use it to make the work faster. Don't remove the human being who actually understands the business from the process.

Source: Google Gemini 

Google recommends checking Gemini's responses and verifying important information.

What does Gemini have to do with Google Search?

This is where we're particularly interested in Gemini.

Gemini isn't being developed in isolation from Google Search.

Google's AI models are increasingly being used across its search experiences, including things like AI Overviews and AI Mode.

That means the way someone searches for a business, product or answer is changing.

Traditionally, you might search Google, look through the results and click a website.

Now, Google can sometimes use AI to pull information together and answer a more complicated question directly within the search experience.

For businesses, that creates a new question:

Is Google actually understanding your business well enough to include you in those conversations?

This is where AI SEO and generative engine optimisation (GEO) become increasingly relevant.

What does Gemini have to do with Google Search?

This is where we are mostly interested in Gemini.

Gemini isn't being established in isolation from Google Search.

Google's AI models are gradually being used across its search experiences, including things like AI Overviews and AI Mode.

That means the way someone searches for a business, product or answer is changing.

Usually, you might search Google, look through the results and click a website.

Now, Google can sometimes use AI to pull information together and answer a more difficult question directly within the search experience.

For businesses, that produces a new question:

Is Google actually understanding your business well enough to include you in those conversations?

This is where AI SEO and generative engine optimisation (GEO) become more applicable.

Use one of the Google Search/AI Overview examples from the research you collected showing an AI-generated search answer.

What does Gemini mean for SEO?

Every time Google changes something, someone announces that SEO is dead.

It isn't.

But SEO is shifting.

Your website still needs solid technical foundations, Google still needs to understand your pages. Your content wants to answer the questions your customers are searching for,  and your business still needs authority and trust around what you do. What's changing is where those answers can appear.

We're no longer only optimising for a list of traditional Google results. Businesses now need to think about AI Overviews, AI-powered search and other AI platforms where customers are asking much more casual questions.

We've already covered some of this in our guide on how to show up in ChatGPT and other AI search results.

The important thing is not to quickly start creating hundreds of pages written for AI. Create useful information for your customers, make it easy for search engines to understand and build your authority across the web.

Good SEO essentials haven't suddenly disappeared because Gemini exists.

Gemini vs ChatGPT: Which is better?

We're not going to declare a winner.

They don't necessarily need to be an either/or choice.

One of Gemini's advantages is how deeply Google can integrate it into its own ecosystem. If you spend your working day hopping between Gmail, Drive, Docs, Calendar and Google Search, that combination could make Gemini useful.

But whichever AI platform you use, the same rule applies.

Don't copy and paste whatever it gives you.

Use AI to speed up the work, discover ideas and help you understand information then apply your own knowledge, experience and judgement before putting anything in front of a customer.

Should your business care about Gemini?

The answer is yes but that doesn't mean you need to learn the name of every Gemini model Google releases. The bigger story is how fast AI is becoming part of the products people already use to search, work and make decisions.

With Google reporting more than 900 million monthly Gemini users and continuing to integrate AI across its products, this isn't something businesses should completely ignore.

You don't need to become an AI expert.

But you need to understand how your customers are finding information and make sure your business can still be found as those behaviours change.

If you're doubting whether your business is appearing across Google and AI search, take a look at our AI SEO services or get in touch and we'll help you understand where you're showing up and where you could be missing opportunities.