I Used Google’s New Gemini-Powered ‘Help Me Create’ Tool in Docs. It’s Great at Corporate-Speak

Google deployed several new AI features today for its core Workspace products: Google Docs, Sheets, Slides and Drive. These apps now include additional tools powered by Gemini, Google’s AI assistant. Features range from generating entire drafts of your documents to finding information hidden in the corners of your Drive.

This Google launch is part of a larger trend in 2026 in which major software developers continue to integrate generative AI-based features into core user experiences, despite many Americans’ continued distaste for tools like these. The features will be accessible in priority to English-speaking subscribers of Google’s AI Pro and Ultra plans.

For Docs, Google added “Help me create,” which attempts to generate complete first drafts of your document, from a prompt, by looking at your emails and files, and searching the Internet for context. This feature takes the existing “Help Me Write” feature in the Chrome browser a step further and hints at a future where humans rely on AI to craft their thoughts and share ideas with others.

Sheets and Slides can now create similar full first drafts by leveraging information available on the web and your past data. Another notable new feature in Docs allows users to mimic the structure of previous files when starting a new project. Plus, Drive now includes AI previews of your files and more natural language search capabilities.

My testing mainly focused on the new Google Docs tools, which I am most familiar with. To start, I asked Gemini to draw up an itinerary for some St. Patrick’s Day shenanigans. In just a few seconds, Gemini scoured my Gmail and the web to come up with a little plan. I was a little scared when the bot correctly searched my flight reservations to see which city I would be in on March 17th. He also targeted a few well-known Irish pubs where I could have a pint of Guinness. Overall, the results of this test were quick and strong.

Now let’s raise the stakes. How convincing a first draft could be generated by Gemini for my work as a software journalist? WIRED’s editorial standards block the use of generative AI, rightly so, except in situations where it is disclosed and used as an example. Rest assured, everything you read here was scribbled in my notebook before being typed.

Other digital media outlets may not have rigorous standards for using AI, and tools like “Help Me Create” could be imposed on early-career journalists expected to publish many stories each day. I’ve attached the press materials Google provided about today’s launch and asked Gemini for a 600-word how-to story, with first-person information that might help readers better understand the launch.