How to Use Gemini in the Google Docs Side Panel to Draft and Edit

Open the built-in Gemini side panel in Google Docs to generate drafts, rewrite paragraphs and refine tone without leaving the document.

6 minBeginner

Visit Gemini

Google Docs ships with a Gemini side panel for accounts that have the feature enabled. It can draft new sections, rewrite what you select, and answer questions about the document. This guide shows how to open it and use it for real editing tasks.

A Google account with Gemini in Workspace enabled
A Google Doc you are editing
A modern browser
About 6 minutes

Step 1: Open the Gemini side panel

Open your document and look at the top right of the toolbar for the Gemini spark icon, sometimes labeled Ask Gemini. Click it and a panel slides in from the right with a prompt box at the bottom.

Google Docs - toolbar

Share | Comments | [ * Gemini ]

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Document body...

+-----------+

| Ask |

| Gemini |

+-----------+

The Gemini spark icon sits at the top right of the document.

Step 2: Generate a first draft

Type what you want into the panel prompt. Be specific about format and length. Gemini drafts into the panel, and an Insert button drops the text at your cursor.

Google Docs - Gemini panel

You

Draft a 3-sentence intro for a blog post about remote onboarding.

Agent

Remote onboarding sets the tone for a new hire's entire tenure. Done well, it turns a stranger into a contributor within days. Here is how to build a process that travels across time zones. [ Insert ]

A prompt produces a draft you can insert with one click.

Step 3: Rewrite a selection

Highlight a paragraph first, then ask the panel to rewrite it. Selecting text gives Gemini the exact context, so requests like make this more concise or change the tone to friendly land on the right words.

prompts to try

Rewrite the selected text in a warmer tone.
Shorten this paragraph to two sentences.
Summarize this document in 5 bullet points.
List any open questions raised in this doc.

Step 4: Ask questions about the document

The panel can read the whole doc. Ask it to summarize, find action items, or check whether a topic is covered. Because it answers from the live document, the response reflects your latest edits.

No Gemini icon?

The side panel only appears on plans where the admin has turned on Gemini for Workspace. On a personal free account you may not see it; use the Apps Script method instead to call the API directly.

Result: you can draft, rewrite, and interrogate a document from one panel. Keep prompts specific and review every insertion before you keep it.