Gemini AI course for Google Workspace users
If your working day happens in Gmail, Google Docs, Sheets, Drive and Meet, the most useful Gemini AI course is one that starts from that setup: which account you are signed in to, what your administrator allows, and which of your everyday Google tasks to hand Gemini first. The writing habits are simple; knowing the boundaries of a work account is what most people miss.
This guide is for people in companies that run on Google Workspace. It covers where to begin, work and personal accounts, checking Gemini's answers and the information that never goes in.
Key facts about our free AI workshop
- Free, live on Zoom, on set weekends
- 3 hours, 10:00-13:00 UK, 11:00-14:00 CET, 12:00-15:00 SAST, on Saturday or Sunday (you pick one)
- ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini on your own work
- No coding needed
Why does the Google Workspace setup matter?
Gemini is Google's AI assistant, and Google keeps bringing it closer to the apps your team already lives in. That means the question "is it safe to use?" has a different answer for every organisation, since each one controls its own settings.
So before learning prompts, learn your environment. Ten minutes with your IT team saves you from building habits your company then has to ask you to drop.
Work account or personal account: what is the difference?
Many people have two Google accounts open in the same browser: the one their employer gives them, and a personal Gmail. They are not interchangeable.
- A work account belongs to your organisation. An administrator decides whether Gemini is available to you, which features are on, and what the agreement with Google says about how company data is handled.
- A personal account runs under Google's consumer terms, which can treat what you type differently. Company documents do not belong there.
- Check the corner of the screen. The profile picture shows which account is active. Switching tabs can quietly switch accounts.
What does the free Gemini plan include?
More than most people expect. Google's Gemini plans page (read 9 November 2026) lists Deep Research, Canvas, Gemini Live, Gemini Notebook and Gems on the free plan. The paid Google AI Plus and Google AI Pro plans add higher usage limits, newer models and Gemini inside Gmail, Docs and other apps. On a work account, your administrator decides what you get.
| Feature | On the free plan? | A first work task to try |
|---|---|---|
| Deep Research | Yes | A briefing on a new regulation or a competitor, which you then check against the original pages |
| Canvas | Yes | Drafting and editing a longer document, such as a proposal, beside the chat |
| Gemini Live | Yes | Talking through a presentation out loud before you give it |
| Gemini Notebook | Yes | Research and writing for one project, such as a market report |
| Gems | Listed, but changing on personal accounts (below) | Saved instructions for a task you repeat, such as a weekly update |
| Gemini in Gmail and Docs | No: on Google AI Plus and Pro, or set by your admin at work | Replying to a long thread from inside Gmail |
What happens to Gems in November 2026?
If you saved Gems on a personal Google account, plan for a change. Google's help page About the transition from Gems to skills says that on personal accounts (18 and over) Gems become read only on 17 November 2026, so you can no longer use, edit or create them, and they are removed on 17 December 2026.
- Before 17 December, download any files you added to a Gem.
- To keep a Gem working, copy its name, description and instructions into a new skill.
- Work accounts follow later: the same page gives March 2027 for Workspace business, enterprise and non-profit accounts, and June 2027 for education accounts.
Copy your instructions into a document this week, so the wording you refined is not lost.
What does my IT admin control?
In most Workspace companies the administrator can turn Gemini on or off for groups of people (Google's admin guide, Turn the Gemini app on or off, covers the whole organisation, an organisational unit or a group), choose which apps it appears in, and set data and retention rules. Useful questions to ask:
- Is Gemini approved for my account, and in which apps?
- May I use it with client or employee information, or only with internal material?
- Are my prompts and its replies kept, and for how long?
- Is there a written AI policy I should read first?
If the answer to the last question is no, our guide to writing an AI policy for a small business is a practical starting point for whoever owns it.
The quickest way to get good at this is to do it live, with someone answering your questions. Our free workshop runs on Zoom on set weekends, 10:00-13:00 UK, 11:00-14:00 CET, 12:00-15:00 SAST. Save my free seat.
Which everyday Google tasks should I try first?
Start with jobs you already do each week, where you can judge the result quickly:
- Gmail. Ask for a reply to a long thread in your own tone, or a summary of what was agreed and who owes what.
- Docs. Turn bullet notes into a first draft, shorten a report for a busy reader, or rewrite a section in plainer language.
- Sheets. Ask how to build a formula you need, or what a column of numbers suggests, then test the formula on a copy. Our guide to AI in Excel covers the same spreadsheet habits.
- Drive. Ask questions about a policy or a proposal stored there, instead of reading the whole document to find one answer.
- Meet. Turn meeting notes into actions with owners and dates. See our guide to summarising meetings with AI.
Whether Gemini works inside each app or in a separate window depends on your account, so use whichever your admin has approved.
How do I write requests that get useful results?
Three things lift almost every answer: tell Gemini who the reader is, name the length and layout you want, and point it at the exact document or thread rather than the topic in general. "Summarise this proposal in six bullets for our finance head, flag any dates" beats "summarise this". When a draft misses, say what was wrong and ask again; a second, sharper request is normal, not a failure.
How do I check Gemini's answers?
- Go back to the source. When it summarises an email or a file, open the original and confirm names, numbers and dates.
- Test formulas on a copy of the sheet before you trust them with real figures.
- Watch for confident gaps. If the answer needed a file Gemini could not see, it may fill in something plausible. Ask what it based the answer on.
- Read before you send. A drafted email goes out under your name, so you own every line.
What information should I keep out?
Even in an approved work account, follow your company's rules, and in a personal account keep all of this out:
- ID numbers, bank details, salaries and health information.
- Client and customer personal details, and anything a client shared in confidence.
- HR matters about named employees.
- Passwords, access codes and system credentials.
Data-protection law, such as the GDPR in the UK and EU or POPIA in South Africa, governs personal information wherever the tool runs. If you work in South Africa, our guide to POPIA and AI at work explains more. This is general information, not legal advice; confirm your obligations with a lawyer.
How is the free workshop different from a video course?
It is live. Over three hours on Zoom you set up Gemini, ChatGPT and Claude to know you and your job, learn prompting techniques that work and get answers from your own documents, with hosts answering questions as you go. You finish with a 30-day plan. It runs on Saturday and again on Sunday on set weekends, and you pick one.
The quickest way to get good at this is to do it live, with someone answering your questions. Our free workshop runs on Zoom on set weekends, 10:00-13:00 UK, 11:00-14:00 CET, 12:00-15:00 SAST. Save my free seat.
Frequently asked questions
Is Gemini the same in a work account and a personal account?
Not always. Your organisation's administrator decides whether Gemini is switched on for work accounts and how company data is handled, so a work account can behave differently from your personal one. Ask your IT admin what applies to you.
What happens to my Gemini Gems on 17 November 2026?
On personal Google accounts, Google says Gems become read only on 17 November 2026 and are removed on 17 December 2026. Copy each Gem's instructions into a new skill and download its files before then. Workspace business accounts follow in March 2027.
Is there a free course where I can practise Gemini?
Yes. Upskill in AI runs a free live workshop on Zoom on set weekends where you practise with Gemini, ChatGPT and Claude on your own work tasks.