Gemini
Gemini's main advantage is its connection to Google's ecosystem. Search, Gmail, Docs, Drive, and Android are already familiar places to use it. The focus here is the basic workflow, the features worth knowing, and the current plan choices.
What is Gemini?
Gemini is Google's chat assistant, available on its own at gemini.google.com and folded into apps you likely already use. Sign in with a Google account and it works the same way as any other chat assistant: type a question, get a reply, keep the conversation going.
One thing worth knowing early: Gemini reads images, audio, and video natively, not as an add-on. Upload a short video and ask what happened in it, and it can usually tell you.
Getting started
- Go to gemini.google.com.
- Sign in with your Google account (the same one you use for Gmail).
- Type a message in the box at the bottom and press Enter.
- Keep replying in the same chat for follow-up questions.
What Gemini can do
Gemini is most interesting when a task involves Google apps or more than one kind of file. These examples give you a quick sense of where it fits.
Writing & editing
Drafts, summaries, and rewrites for messages, notes, and other everyday writing.
Coding help
Explaining errors, writing functions, and working through code you paste in.
JOIN is matching more than one row on the other side. Try adding DISTINCT or tightening the join condition.File, image & video analysis
Upload a document, photo, or even a short video and ask questions about it directly.
Google Workspace integration
Draft, summarize, and search inside Gmail, Docs, Sheets, and Drive without leaving the app.
A "Help me write" button sits right inside Gmail and Docs, so drafting a reply or a report doesn't mean switching to another tab.
Gems
Custom versions of Gemini set up for one recurring job, similar to a saved assistant preset.
Deep Research
Give it a broad question and it browses dozens of pages on its own, then comes back with a written report.
A few minutes later: a full report with citations, ready to skim or export.
Gemini Live
A voice mode that can also see through your camera, useful for hands-busy situations.
"Point your camera at this recipe and walk me through it." Live mode can see and hear in real time.
Image generation
Describe an image and get one back, built on Google's own image model. There's a dedicated chapter on this later in the course.
Covered in more depth once we get to the image and design tools section.
Pricing tiers
Google changes these plans occasionally, so check the official pricing page before subscribing. The plans currently fall into three practical groups:
- · Everyday chat and questions
- · Basic file and image uploads
- · Gemini inside free Google apps
- · Higher usage limits
- · Deep Research and Gemini Live
- · Extra storage across Google apps
- · Highest usage limits
- · Early access to new features
- · Best fit for heavy daily use
Gemini vs. ChatGPT and Claude
All three can hold a conversation, write, and help with code. Gemini's edge is distribution: if you already live in Gmail, Docs, or Android, it's a tap away rather than a separate app. It also tends to handle long documents and video better out of the box, since that's built into how it processes information.
ChatGPT and Claude are still worth having open too. A lot of people end up picking whichever one is already open in a tab for quick questions, and reaching for a specific one when a task plays to its strengths.
The Google-first option
Gemini is the third stop in this AI Tools Course, after ChatGPT and Claude. Up next is Perplexity, then DeepSeek, Copilot, Grok, and Meta AI, followed by app builders, image tools, and video/audio tools.
What's Next
Next up: Perplexity, the search-first assistant that cites a source for every answer.