Automate your work and integrate with Google Workspace

Google Workspace Automation and Integration: New Ways to Automate Your Work

Key Concepts:

• Workspace platform ecosystem
• Generative AI in Workspace
• Marketplace integrations
• No-code/Low-code/Pro-code development
• Human-in-the-loop: Smart Chips, Add-ons, Chat Apps, Unified Chat Apps
• Google Workspace Flows (Agentic Automation)
• Workspace Connectors Platform
• Gemini Extensions
• Marketplace

1. Introduction and Workspace Overview

• Fraser Mali, Product Director for the Workspace platform ecosystem team, introduces new ways to automate work and integrate with Google Workspace.
• Workspace's mission is to meaningfully connect people for creation, building, and growth.
• Workspace is the world's most popular productivity tool with over 11 million paying customers, ranging from small businesses to large enterprises.
• Google Workspace has over two billion AI assists per month, including features like "help me write" and "help me summarize."
• The platform has powered over 6 billion marketplace installs.
• Workspace is born in the cloud, eliminating the need for client-side updates or patches.
• Leverages 20 years of Gmail security experience for built-in security and threat detection.

2. The Workspace Platform Stack

• The Workspace platform is structured as a layered stack:
  • Bottom Layer: Zero trust and secure foundation.
  • Build Layer: Options ranging from no-code (AppSheet) to pro-code (APIs).
  • Services Layer: Integratable services.
  • Human-in-the-Loop Layer: Capabilities like Smart Chips, Add-ons, and Chat Apps.
  • Solution Layer: Packaged solutions published on the marketplace, accessible within applications or governed by admins.

3. Ways to Build Integrations

• No-Code:
  • AppSheet: A tool for building apps with drag-and-drop functionality or AI prompts (Gemini integration).
• Low-Code:
  • App Script: A tool built into Workspace that allows users to write JavaScript to automate tasks without needing a runtime environment.
• Pro-Code:
  • APIs: APIs are available for all Workspace applications, allowing developers to integrate their own line-of-business applications.

4. Human-in-the-Loop Capabilities

• Smart Chips:
  • Bring information by reference directly into Workspace applications.
  • Example: Asana is building Smart Chips to display task status updates within Google Docs.
• Add-ons:
  • Augment Workspace applications with additional functionality.
  • Example: The Miro add-on allows users to add a whiteboard to a Google Meet session for collaborative brainstorming.
• Chat Apps:
  • Enable asynchronous task completion within Google Chat.
  • Example: Lucid is building chat apps to facilitate task completion.
• Unified Chat Apps:
  • A unified approach where building a chat app once provides distribution and scale across Workspace.
  • Partners like Figma, Lucid, Miro, and Polly are using unified chat apps.
  • New capabilities include subscribing to all messages in a conversation, creating new spaces, and managing memberships.

5. APIs

• Numerous APIs are available for Workspace applications.
• Developers can explore and request access to APIs through the Workspace API explorer or the Cloud Console.

6. Introducing Google Workspace Flows

• Addresses the need for more complex automation involving context, reasoning, analysis, and creation.
• Google Workspace Flows: Automates work with agents in the loop.
• Demo Scenario: Customer Service Representative at Simple Jewelry
  • Uses Google Forms for customer feedback.
  • Uses Google Workspace Flows to manage customer feedback.
  • Templates provide one-click solutions for common tasks (e.g., manager email notifications).
  • Integration with Gemini allows for analyzing feedback based on internal documents and prioritizing issues.
  • Integration with Gems (AI experts) to diagnose issues and generate customer support emails.
    • Example: A product quality expert gem analyzes feedback, and a customer service assistant gem drafts a response email.
  • Gemini can refine the output of Gems (e.g., removing phrases like "I hope this finds you well").
  • The entire process can be automated, from feedback submission to email drafting.
• Contextual Flows:
  • Can be triggered from within Workspace applications using natural language.
  • Example: Labeling emails from a specific customer as high priority and pinging a summary in chat.
• Extending Flows:
  • Can be extended with App Script.
  • New way to integrate third-party tools.
  • Custom actions and triggers can be defined in the add-on manifest.
  • Integration with Vertex AI allows for using custom models (including models from Llama and Gemini).

7. Workspace Connectors Platform

• New platform for natively integrating connectors into Google Workspace applications.
• Connectors will be available in all AI-assisted journeys with enterprise-grade security.
• Enables two key scenarios:
  • Google Workspace Flows
  • Gemini Extensions
• Gemini Extensions Demo:
  • Mentioning Asana in an email to retrieve project information.
  • Asking Gemini to list tasks in a specific project.
  • Asking Gemini to answer a question based on Mailchimp data.
  • Asking Gemini to show the top five performing campaigns from Mailchimp and format them in a table.
• Integrations with Asana, Confluence, HubSpot, Jira, Mailchimp, Monday.com, Salesforce, and QuickBooks are coming.

8. Ecosystem Integrations

• Four new integrations are launching:
  • HubSpot: New chat app.
  • Jira: Gmail add-on for creating tasks.
  • Lucid: New unified chat app.
  • ServiceNow: Bringing agents to chat for support issues.
• Over 6,000 applications are available in the marketplace.

9. Summary of New Capabilities

• Google Workspace Connector Platform: Out-of-the-box integrations.
• Extensibility Surface: Flow actions and triggers for customization.
• Google Workspace Flows: Automate work with agents in the loop.
• Marketplace: Publish and access integrations.

10. Call to Action

• Scan the barcode to join the alpha list for Google Workspace Flows.

11. Conclusion

• The presentation provides an overview of new capabilities for automating and integrating with Google Workspace.
• Google Workspace Flows and the Workspace Connectors Platform are key components of this strategy.
• The focus is on enabling users to automate complex tasks with AI assistance and integrate their favorite third-party tools.