Office management edition
This week you can start talking to your inbox, an Excel feature disappears, and it turns out an AI agent sometimes just keeps going where it was actually supposed to stop.
Google lets you control Gmail, Docs and Keep with your voice
Dictate, search your inbox and turn loose thoughts into tidy notes, just by talking.
Google is adding three voice features to Workspace. You can dictate a document, search your inbox with a question, and turn loose thoughts into organised notes in Keep. The features launch this week for subscribers of Google AI Plus, Pro and Ultra in Gmail and Keep, and for Pro and Ultra in Docs. Do you use a business Workspace account? Then you'll have to wait a bit longer: that comes later.
Background for subscribersThis week is mainly about saving time on small, recurring tasks. Google lets you search your inbox by voice and automatically organise loose thoughts, so you no longer have to type or structure everything by hand. Microsoft makes it easier to put tasks from a meeting straight onto a list and translate meeting notes with one click, which can be especially handy for you as an assistant if you work with international colleagues. Do note: Copilot is changing shape quite a bit, so features colleagues were used to may disappear or move elsewhere. And Project Online disappears completely next year, so if schedules and reports pass through your desk, it's good to already know where that's moving to.
Copilot creates Planner tasks and translates your meeting notes
Microsoft is expanding Copilot in September. You can create and look up Planner tasks straight from Copilot, without opening Planner. Hyperlinks in documents get inserted and formatted automatically. And after a meeting, you can translate the meeting notes into another language with one click.
Background for subscribersThis is a taster.
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