{"id":13987,"date":"2026-06-01T00:45:41","date_gmt":"2026-05-31T23:45:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/innovatenews.site\/index.php\/2026\/06\/01\/what-are-you-actually-doing-with-gemini\/"},"modified":"2026-06-01T00:45:43","modified_gmt":"2026-05-31T23:45:43","slug":"what-are-you-actually-doing-with-gemini","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/innovatenews.site\/index.php\/2026\/06\/01\/what-are-you-actually-doing-with-gemini\/","title":{"rendered":"What are you actually doing with Gemini?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The topic What are you actually doing with Gemini?<\/strong> is currently the subject of lively discussion \u2014 readers and analysts are keeping a close eye on developments.<\/p>\n

This is taking place in a dynamic environment: companies\u2019 decisions and competitors\u2019 reactions can quickly change the picture.<\/p>\n

Further reflecting on Google\u2019s practical focus for Gemini and AI in general at I\/O 2026 last week, I still find myself struggling to find ways to actually make this technologies useful in ways that actually matter. So, what are you doing with Gemini?<\/p>\n

Over the past couple of years, AI has been a part of daily life. Not necessarily in use, but at least in hearing about all the \u201cprogress\u201d being made with it. I don\u2019t really consider myself a flat-out AI hater, but I\u2019m not exactly the biggest fan of this technologies. AI can do impressive things, but it usually feels like a game of trying to reinvent the wheel. Gemini\u2019s AI Overviews and AI Mode in Search are a pretty flashy new experience, but they ultimately do the same thing, though often while being worse at that thing (all while Google admits the web is \u201cin rapid decline\u201d \u2013 I wonder why). AI tools, Google\u2019s or otherwise, just don\u2019t feel like an objectively better improvement, but usually a lateral evolution that\u2019s also wildly resource-intensive \u2013 I\u2019m totally not bitter about RAM prices or anything.<\/p>\n

But, through it all, I am still trying to find places where Gemini and AI as a whole make actual sense in my life \u2013 it\u2019s just an uphill battle.<\/p>\n

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Perhaps the best real-world use case I\u2019ve seen for AI is in coding. Being large language models, the reasoning of building out code is something these tools can be remarkably good at. I\u2019ve only toyed around with this, building out a quick Chrome extension I needed, but I can immediately see the appeal. I still believe that a good developer needs to be behind anything built by AI \u2013 especially anything sold or widely distributed \u2013 but the utility is obvious.<\/p>\n

As mentioned in last week\u2019s Weekender, I think Google is doing a good job in coming up with ideas for where AI can be useful. One recent \u201ceureka\u201d moment for me in finding use cases for Gemini was in Google Sheets.<\/p>\n

Spreadsheets can be a huge headache, but they\u2019re really good at their job if you know how to use them. Personally, I think I\u2019m at least not inept at using a spreadsheet and creating formulas to get what I need done, but the advanced side of things has never been easy. It usually involves a ton of searching around the web for tips and tricks, and then a ton of trial and error to make those tips work in the specific context of what I\u2019m actually working on. Gemini is really good at this, though. Without getting into the details, I was trying to build out a spreadsheet that could take multiple inputs \u2013 player names, payments, and a payout structure \u2013 and spit out results. I spent an hour trying to do this the \u201cold-fashioned\u201d way, but eventually I tried out Gemini\u2019s integration into Sheets. Using natural language, it was able to spit out formulas that could actually use the context of the rest of the spreadsheet, creating \u201cCOUNTIF\u201d and \u201cXLOOKUP\u201d formulas that were far beyond what I would have been able to figure out on my own, and frankly, didn\u2019t even know to research in the first place. I still had to make plenty of manual tweaks, something I couldn\u2019t do if I hadn\u2019t already learned how to use a spreadsheet and its formulas without AI\u2019s help, but Gemini saved me a ton of time and frustration.<\/p>\n

Workspace as a whole is somewhere Gemini can be handy. I\u2019m still left with an uneasy feeling about the whole \u201cDocs Live\u201d demo from I\/O, but Sheets formula generation and perhaps image generation in a Slides presentation are actually useful ways to put AI to work.<\/p>\n

Search? Productivity? Coding? I\u2019m really quite curious how you find Google\u2019s AI tools useful. Let\u2019s discuss!<\/p>\n

Rolling out widely, Google\u2019s new Workspace icons are a big change for the second time in recent memory. Why the change? In short, Google is using these new designs to reflect the \u201cGemini era\u201d while also giving every app its own identity \u2013 the latter being everyone\u2019s problem with the last big redesign.<\/p>\n

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Motorola was hijacking the Amazon app, and we still don\u2019t know why<\/p>\n

We reported earlier this week on some bizarre behavior on Motorola smartphones which left the Amazon app redirecting through your browser with just enough time to inject an affiliate code, monetizing your traffic. The behavior has since stopped, but Motorola declined to explain what happened, and why this was routed through a random fashion influencer.<\/p>\n

Gemini is an ace at planning cookouts. I put the recipes in, specify when I want to serve the food, and Gemini spits out a perfect combined schedule of when to steps and timing. Then I save that as doc I can follow on the day of the cook. It can make adjustments for all recipes at once, synchronize finish times, substitutions, shopping lists, you get the picture.<\/p>\n

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