New previews include automated email, AI modeling and developer tools. Credit: Magdalena Petrova Computing giant Google announced today that it will release previews of three new AI features, including AI composition for Google Workspace, developer prototyping and coding via PaLM and MakerSuite, and validated models for its Vertex AI service. The Workspace features, currently, are focused on Docs and Gmail. Users can use Google’s AI to rewrite emails in a particular style or tone, or even generate documents out of whole cloth. Simply asking the system to “generate a sales pitch” or similar will create a simple document that users can then edit to meet their needs. The AI can also help redraft documents to fit a more formal tone, or shorten them for brevity. According to Gartner vice president Sid Nag, this functionality builds on features that Google has had for some time. “They’ve had smart compose forever — that’s all part of the language model capability,” he said. “Now they’re taking it to the next level where they’re applying the generative AI functionality on top of it.” PaLM API allows connection to large language models The other two major announcements focus more on developers and enterprise users — the first is a PaLM API that, according to the company’s official blog, is designed as an easy point of entry to use Google’s large language models for anything from content generation and chat to more general purpose analysis. That API works alongside a tool called MakerSuite, which can be used to create sample code for developers. “It essentially allows you to quickly prototype ideas for prompt engineering and custom model tuning,” Nag said. The final major piece announced today by Google is the new functionality for Vertex AI, which is aimed at letting companies use Google’s own technology to create and customize their own AI applications. The Generative AI App Builder lets users use preset templates to automatically generate bots, custom search engines and even digital assistants very quickly, while the generative AI support coming to Vertex lets them build and customize in a more granular way. “Google’s launch of the preview of its generative AI offerings is a significant step in advancing the Vertex platform,” said Rowan Curran, a Forrester analyst. “The AI/ML platform market is moving quickly to adopt generative AI capabilities and Google’s announced functionality is similar to what we have seen from of the other major players in the space.” Google said that it will make the new capabilities available to “trusted testers” throughout the year before rolling them out publicly. Related content news Dropbox adds end-to-end encryption for team folders Dropbox this week unveiled a range of features, including security updates and key management, and the ability to co-edit Microsoft 365 documents from within the file-sharing app. By Matthew Finnegan Apr 26, 2024 3 mins Cloud Storage Collaboration Software Productivity Software feature Android versions: A living history from 1.0 to 15 Explore Android's ongoing evolution with this visual timeline of versions, starting B.C. (Before Cupcake) and going all the way to 2024's Android 15 (beta) release. By JR Raphael Apr 26, 2024 23 mins Small and Medium Business Smartphones Android news analysis The unspoken obnoxiousness of Google's Gemini improvements Google's Gemini chatbot is seeing all sorts of upgrades on Android this week, but those advancements reveal a darker underlying reality. By JR Raphael Apr 26, 2024 12 mins Google Assistant Google Android news analysis Google can’t seem to quit cookies, delays killing them again Google cited regulatory challenges in its oft-delayed plans to phase out third-party cookies from its Chromium products. It now plans to eliminate cookies in 2025 By Lucas Mearian Apr 25, 2024 5 mins Chrome Browser Security Chrome OS Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe