How to Use Google Bard to Find Your Stuff in Gmail and Docs | WIRED
Google recently rolled out multiple updates to Bard, its AI chatbot. The new features include extensions that connect Bard to more aspects of Google’s portfolio, like Gmail, Docs, and YouTube. The company is continuing to experiment with artificial intelligence as part of the next wave of information retrieval.
Although my initial impressions of Bard’s extensions are underwhelming, anyone with masses of unread Gmail messages or a collection of ancient Google Docs to sift through may find the update somewhat interesting.
It’s worth mulling over the privacy implications before interacting with any chatbot, though. “If you choose to use the Workspace extensions, your content from Gmail, Docs and Drive is not seen by human reviewers, used by Bard to show you ads, or used to train the Bard model,” reads Google’s announcement. Is that enough assurance for you? Here’s how to enable the updates for Bard and some advice to keep in mind.
How to Use Extensions for Google Bard
You need to create a Google account to interact with Bard, if you don’t already have one. Once you’re logged in, accessing Bard is as simple as visiting the website in your browser.
On the main page for Bard, you can activate connections to Google Flights, Google Hotels, Google Maps, YouTube, and Google Workspace, which includes Gmail, Google Docs, and Google Drive. Each of these extensions can be turned on and off individually.
If you decide to activate the Workspace extension, make sure to tag whatever you’d like the chatbot to focus on, like @docs, @drive, or @gmail. Here’s an example prompt: “Please check my @gmail and summarize the unread emails from today.”
Advice for Finding Gmail Messages and Google Docs
It’s crucial to keep expectations low when interacting with the new Bard extensions. Many AI features released in 2023 have been labeled as experiments, and Bard’s update is no exception. It aims to prioritize the most recent emails in your Gmail. While answering questions for me, Bard often referenced five related messages. But when I asked it to name the oldest message in my inbox from WIRED, the chatbot cited an email from last week. Just a couple of years off!
While you should always double-check information you get from a chatbot, Bard with extensions seemed to hallucinate quite often and misunderstand the context of information it had pulled from my emails and other documents. For instance, when I asked if there were any messages from my dad, Bard pulled a random Father’s Day promotion that had been lingering in my inbox since 2017 and labeled it as the only message from him.
So, how can the Bard extensions be useful in their current, messy state? Do you have an email or document that you’re trying to locate, but you don’t really remember the specifics, other than the topic covered? This seems like the perfect use for the new Bard. From video games to swimming pools, the chatbot was able to find information related to multiple topics I requested.
Another interesting use for the new extension is its ability to provide feedback on your writing. When asked to identify any emails that could have been written better, Bard pulled three messages from my Gmail and provided solid tips for adjusting the tone and making them more concise.
The chatbot isn’t very helpful when it comes to nuance, however. When asked if there were any “microaggressions” in my inbox, Bard’s response was almost comical. It selected a Substack newsletter from Brandon Taylor in which he used the phrase “sentimental period drama” to describe The Gilded Age television series. “This could be seen as a microaggression against people who enjoy period dramas, as it suggests that these shows are not serious or worthwhile.” Sure, Bard. While technically true, this isn’t really what most people would consider to be a microaggression.
Despite Silicon Valley’s positioning of AI assistants as a boost for productivity, the Bard update is a long way from resembling the anthropomorphic AI in Her. Outsized expectations aside, Bard has a lot of ground to cover before it feels like a trustworthy assistant. For now, the classic, rectangular search bar at the top of my inbox remains the easiest way to locate whatever I want to find (and I can know for sure that it’s not fabricated by AI).
Use extensions in Bard - Computer - Bard Help
Use extensions in Bard - Computer
Bard can interact with other Google apps and services through extensions to provide more helpful responses to your prompts. For example, Bard can help you:
- Get real-time flight and hotel booking info for customized travel planning
- Create a template to write a best man speech and find YouTube videos of funny ones for inspiration
- Get location-based information from Google Maps
- Summarize, find info, and get quick answers from your Gmail, Docs, and Drive right in Bard
What you need
To use extensions in Bard:
- Sign in with your personal Google Account that you manage on your own. Extensions, including the Google Workspace extension, are currently not available to Google Workspace accounts for school, business, or other organizations.
- Have Bard Activity on. Extensions are only available when Bard Activity is turned on.
Important: For now, extensions are available in English only.
Use an extension
Important: Most extensions are turned on by default. You can turn off extensions at any time in your Extensions settings.
- On your computer, go to bard.google.com.
- In the text box at the bottom, enter your question or prompt.
- Optionally, to specify a service or app for Bard to use, enter
@and select the extension. If the extension you select is off, it’ll either be turned on or Bard will ask for your permission to turn it on.
- Optionally, to specify a service or app for Bard to use, enter
- Click Submit
. If an extension is available, Bard automatically uses it.
- If needed, to give Bard permission to use the extension:
- Click Continue.
- Follow the on-screen instructions.
Examples
- Find videos of how to quickly get grape juice out of a wool rug.
- How long is the drive from Atlanta to Orlando and give me some ideas for how to keep 3 kids entertained in the car.
- Find flights to Miami for New Years. What's the usual temperature then?
- Find hotels for a 4-day trip to San Francisco for New Years Eve.
Browse available extensions
Important: The available extensions vary by region.
- On your computer, go to bard.google.com.
- At the top right, click Extensions
.
Turn an extension on or off
Important: If you turn off an extension, it doesn't delete your activity related to that extension from your Bard Activity, or any data shared with and stored by other services. Learn more about how your data works with extensions.
Connect Google Workspace apps & services to Bard
Important: Bard is an LLM and can hallucinate its responses or provide outdated information, like from an older email when there’s a more recent one. To check the information, click and review the sources listed after Bard’s response.
When you connect Google Workspace, you can summarize, get quick answers, and find information from apps and services like Gmail, Docs, and Drive directly in Bard.
To connect Google Workspace in a chat:
- Make sure you’re signed in to the same account you use with Google Workspace.
- Ask Bard to get information from Google Workspace.
- If you haven’t connected Google Workspace, you’ll get the option to connect it.
- Follow the on-screen instructions.
Tip: You can also turn Google Workspace on or off in your Extensions settings.
How extensions work in Bard
- Bard only uses extensions that are on in your Extensions settings. This includes extensions you turn on when you specify them in your prompt with an "@" mention.
- Bard checks for extensions that can help it generate a more helpful response. If Bard finds an extension that can help, it automatically sends information from your Bard conversation and other relevant information to that extension. For example, Bard will send your location data to Google Maps if you ask for coffee shops near you and the Google Maps extension is on.
- Bard won’t access your personal content in other services without your permission.
- If you directly interact with another Google service in Bard, your
activity might be saved by that other service. For example, if you
watch a YouTube video in Bard, YouTube may:
- Collect your personal information.
- Store and use that information according to YouTube’s terms of service.
- Store your watch history in your YouTube History. Learn how to manage your YouTube watch history.
Learn more about how extensions work with your personal data.
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