Google and Microsoft are duking it out to become the provider of AI tools for your office.
What happened: Google unveiled a torrent of AI tools directly aimed at large businesses… including a suped-up version of its Duet AI assistant which is now widely available.
- Duet AI will soon be able to join meetings to take notes, provide recaps if you’re late, and even let you skip them entirely. Let a bot face those scary performance reviews!
- Google also unveiled new tools to manage documents and made a suite of tools for Gmail (like one that helps draft long replies) available to corporate account holders.
The moves come after Microsoft made headlines earlier this year with its Copilot AI assistant, which boasts similar features for 365, Outlook and Teams. However, despite striking first, Copilot is still in its trial phase.
Why it matters: Google and Microsoft’s race to win enterprise dollars could change the face of your workday, as their AI battle is a natural extension of the “Are you a Gmail/Google Meet office or an Outlook/Teams office?” debate that rages on at workplaces everywhere.
Bottom line: Per The WSJ, “Google’s launch on Tuesday puts it ahead of Microsoft in making AI-powered office software easily available for all customers.” That is if employers are willing to shell out the extra US$30 a month per person to access them.—QH