Updated: August 24, 2026 | For businesses using Google Chat and admins wanting to know what’s changing with Gemini integration

Summary Google announced on August 19 that starting August 26, Google Chat is getting a new feature called “Ask Gemini” — letting you search Gmail, Drive, and Calendar, generate images, track conversation threads, and manage to-dos, all without switching tabs. This feature directly replaces the existing Gemini side panel, and old side-panel chat history won’t carry over automatically. This article breaks down what the feature can actually do, how it differs from the old side panel, and a few setup details enterprises should know before turning it on.

Table of Contents

  1. What Is Ask Gemini in Chat
  2. How It Differs From the Old Gemini Side Panel
  3. What Can Ask Gemini in Chat Actually Do?
  4. Availability: Which Accounts Qualify First
  5. Will Your Old Chat History Disappear?
  6. How Enterprises Turn It On, and What’s Required
  7. Conclusion
  8. FAQ
  9. References

What Is Ask Gemini in Chat

Google Chat has mostly been a place to talk to colleagues, run Spaces, and follow work threads. Starting August 26, it gets a new Ask Gemini entry point that lets you look things up, generate content, and get work done directly. Google is calling it a “unified command bar,” built on top of the Workspace Intelligence technology released earlier this year.

Users can open a dedicated Ask Gemini session from the left side of Chat, without needing to switch to another Workspace tab.

How It Differs From the Old Gemini Side Panel

One thing worth clarifying up front: Ask Gemini in Chat directly replaces the existing Gemini side panel inside Chat.

Everything the old side panel could do — finding files, extracting to-dos, summarizing conversations — Ask Gemini can also do, but the interface is completely different: instead of a fixed panel pinned to the side, it’s now a command bar you can call up on demand from a quick-access menu. Once this update rolls out, the old side panel disappears from Chat entirely.

If you currently use Gems (custom AI assistants you’ve configured), take note here. Once Ask Gemini is live, Chat no longer provides a Gems entry point — you won’t be able to access them through Ask Gemini. You can still find Gems in the Gemini side panel of other Workspace apps like Docs and Sheets; Chat simply no longer offers that entry point.

What Can Ask Gemini in Chat Actually Do?

There’s quite a bit on offer — here are a few of the more useful ones:

Search across Workspace and the web — Ask Gemini can search Workspace data across Gmail, Google Drive, and Google Calendar, as well as public web information, and cites sources with its answers so you can verify where information came from. Things like “find the deck a colleague shared with me last week” or “summarize the latest status on this project” can now be done directly inside Chat.

Generate content on the spot — Generate images, or draft an important status update or email reply, without leaving the conversation window.

Track discussion progress — Roll up messages scattered across different conversations into a single overview, so you can catch up in one pass instead of opening every thread individually.

Manage schedules and to-dos — Add or adjust Calendar events directly, and manage Tasks, without switching over to Calendar or the Tasks app separately. Some advanced actions are still rolling out gradually, and what’s actually available may vary by account and organization settings.

Keep different topics separate — Ask Gemini supports multiple sessions, so you could have one dedicated to tracking a project’s progress and another for looking up customer information, and pick up where you left off later without everything blending into one long conversation.

And that’s not the full list. Google’s Help Center now also lists the ability to generate Docs, Slides, and Sheets directly, and even run Deep Research — with generated reports automatically saved into Google Docs, citations included. Google itself notes that not every Ask Gemini user will get every capability right away, so if you see someone else has a feature your account doesn’t, that’s not necessarily a misconfiguration — it’s likely just that your account hasn’t received it yet.

For day-to-day use, the biggest difference is probably fewer tab switches — where you used to go to Gmail to find an email, Drive to find a file, and Calendar to check a time, a lot of that can now stay inside Chat.

Availability: Which Accounts Qualify First

Here’s the detail worth knowing up front: this rollout currently applies to Google Accounts with their display language set to English.

If most of your organization already runs Google Workspace in English — which is the case for the majority of businesses in Malaysia — this is good news: you’re already in the group this update applies to. If some of your team’s accounts are set to a different display language, they’ll keep seeing the existing Gemini side panel for now, since the new Ask Gemini interface isn’t available to them yet. Google says broader language support is planned, but hasn’t announced a firm timeline.

Beyond the language requirement, this feature is also still part of Gemini Beta and is rolling out in stages — not every eligible account gets it at the same time. Google’s own Help Center is explicit that even accounts meeting the language and plan requirements may not see the feature immediately; if you can’t find the Ask Gemini entry point, it’s also possible your admin simply hasn’t enabled the Beta feature for your organization yet, not necessarily a setup issue.

Will Your Old Chat History Disappear?

If you’ve previously chatted with Gemini through the side panel, that history won’t automatically migrate to the new Ask Gemini interface — the two are kept separate.

That said, the data itself isn’t deleted. Admins can export Gemini conversation history, including side-panel chats in Chat, through the data export tool; regular users can also download their own conversation history if their organization’s policy allows it. One thing to watch for: whether you use the data export tool or Google Takeout, this data is filed under “Gemini in Workspace,” not “Google Chat” — look in the right place, or you might mistakenly think the data is gone.

How Enterprises Turn It On, and What’s Required

For admins: as long as both “Gemini in Workspace (for Chat)” and “Workspace Intelligence for all apps” are already enabled, Ask Gemini activates by default automatically — no extra configuration needed.

For users: to use Ask Gemini, your account needs to be enrolled in Workspace Smart Features. Once enabled, you can find the Ask Gemini entry point in the “Shortcuts” menu on the left side of Chat, or call it up directly with a keyboard shortcut — Ctrl + G on ChromeOS or Windows, Command + G on macOS.

Eligible plans: Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, and the education tier Google AI Pro for Education. Entry-level plans (such as Business Starter) aren’t currently supported.

Rollout timeline: staged rollout starting August 26 — whether your domain is on Rapid Release or Scheduled Release, it can take up to 15 days for the feature to fully appear, rather than showing up for everyone on day one.

Google also notes that until October 1, Workspace customers get a promotional higher usage allowance to try the feature out; after that date, standard usage limits apply, and Google says it will publish the new limits in its Help Center ahead of time.

Conclusion

If you’ve been following Workspace updates over the past few months, this one isn’t hard to place: Google is steadily folding Gemini into the tools you already use, rather than keeping it as a separate tab you have to go open.

For businesses running Google Workspace in English, this rollout applies to you starting August 26 — so it’s worth getting familiar with what’s changing and briefing your team ahead of time rather than after the fact. If your organization is still on a different display language, you likely won’t see any change yet — that’s expected, not a setup problem, and it’s worth checking back once broader language support is confirmed. If you’re planning to roll this out, it’s also worth confirming whether Workspace Smart Features should be enabled for your organization.

✏️ Editorial note

If there’s one thing worth flagging for enterprise IT teams here, it’s this: because Ask Gemini fully replaces the old side panel, this isn’t an “opt-in extra feature” — once it rolls out to your domain, the old interface is simply gone. It’s worth briefing anyone on your team who relies on the Gemini side panel for daily work before the rollout reaches your organization, rather than after.

FAQ

Q: When is Ask Gemini in Chat launching?

Google announced it on August 19, 2026, with a staged rollout starting August 26 that can take up to 15 days to fully appear across all accounts.

Q: How is Ask Gemini in Chat different from the old Gemini side panel?

Ask Gemini in Chat directly replaces the old side panel, moving from a fixed panel to an on-demand command bar that supports separate sessions. Beyond finding files, summarizing conversations, and extracting to-dos, it adds web search with cited sources, generating Docs/Slides/Sheets, and running Deep Research — but custom Gems assistants are no longer accessible through Chat and must be used from the side panel in other Workspace apps.

Q: Do businesses using English-language Google accounts already qualify for Ask Gemini in Chat?

Yes — this rollout applies to Google Accounts with their display language set to English, which covers most business accounts in Malaysia. Accounts on other display languages will continue using the existing side panel for now, and Google says broader language support is planned but hasn’t announced a timeline. This feature is also part of Gemini Beta and rolls out in stages, so even eligible accounts may not see it immediately.

Q: Will my old Gemini chat history disappear?

It won’t be deleted, but it won’t automatically move to the new Ask Gemini interface either. Admins can export it via the data export tool, and regular users can download their own history if company policy allows — this data is filed under “Gemini in Workspace” in the export tool, not “Google Chat.”

Q: What does an enterprise need to turn on Ask Gemini in Chat?

Admins need to enable “Gemini in Workspace (for Chat)” and “Workspace Intelligence”; users need to be enrolled in Workspace Smart Features. Supported plans are Business Standard/Plus, Enterprise Standard/Plus, and Google AI Pro for Education — entry-level plans aren’t supported.

References

  1. Google Workspace Updates — Introducing Ask Gemini in Chat: your new partner in productivity https://workspaceupdates.googleblog.com/2026/08/ask-gemini-in-chat.html

  2. Google Chat Help — Get started with Ask Gemini in Google Chat https://support.google.com/chat/answer/17036303