5 ways to use Google Docs’ new AI

This article is republished with permission from Wonder Tools, a newsletter that helps you discover the most useful sites and apps. Subscribe here.

AI is coming to Google Docs. I’m testing an early beta version that generates & edits text in response to user prompts. You activate the AI by clicking a magic wand icon in the margin of a doc. Google announced broader access coming soon.

My summary: It’s handy to have AI text generation and editing inside Docs, but it’s not yet nearly as powerful or useful as alternatives like ChatGPT or Lex.

5 ways to use Google Docs’ new AI

• Generate an email draft. Drafting dozens of routine emails can eat up hours of your workweek. Ask Google Docs AI to draft a letter with a specific message and tone and it does a good job of prepping a first draft you can polish & send.
• Compose a marketing message. If you’re tasked with spreading the word about an event, Google Docs AI can reply to a prompt with a useful paragraph or a solid list of bullet points.
• Sharpen sentences. I asked the AI to shorten longwinded sentences and it suggested helpful edits. If English isn’t your first language or you’re wordy, having an AI editor built into Google Docs is great.
• Make pros and cons lists. The AI excels at this task, though the lists it renders aren’t as inventive or detailed as those created by ChatGPT. I tried simple topics (working from home) and more complex topics (running a solo journalism venture part-time).
• Draft quick posts. You can use Google Docs AI to generate a rough draft for routine content you can then improve upon. For anyone who freezes up at a blank page, this capability in Google Docs may provide relief.

Limitations

• Google Docs AI doesn’t promise accuracy. A warning says “This is a creative writing aid, and is not intended to be factual.” Here’s context from Google.
• Limited follow-up. AI services like ChatGPT and Bing AI enable iterative dialogues. You can repeatedly refine your prompt—those AI services will retain the thread. With Google Docs AI, each query starts over.
• Few editing options. Four default options when prompting for edits are “formalize,” “shorten,” “elaborate,” or “rephrase.”
  • “Shorten” proved most useful because “rephrase” didn’t do much; formalize felt unnecessary; and elaborate often introduced factual errors. There is also a helpful “custom” option when editing, e.g. “Sound more confident.” But the AI sometimes ignored my custom guidance.
• Lousy fiction. Google Docs will write fiction or give you a personalized bedtime story, but ChatGPT’s fiction is much better. Think high-school fiction vs. a first-grade story. (Compare them in my Google Docs AI demo doc.)
• Dubious elaboration. When I tasked Google Docs with elaborating on something I was writing, it was overly creative. Rather than sticking to facts, it tended to inject opinions.
• Boilerplate writing. The ease with which you can wave a finger and conjure up text on any topic within Google Docs may accelerate the rate at which boring AI-generated, copy-pasted boilerplate fills up the Web.

Alternatives

Lex. This Web-based word processing tool is like Google Docs with enhanced AI features. It’s powered by the same engine as ChatGPT, but has useful bells and whistles for writers. Free for now with a waitlist. Here are Lex’s best features:

• Lex’s answer bot provides helpful answers to research questions.
• A title-suggester proposes good headline or subject lines.
• You can adjust the AI’s creativity level and choose GPT-3, ChatGPT or GPT-4.
• Lex’s AI can recommend fixes for clunky sentences.

Canva’s Magic Write. Canva’s visual toolbox now includes a document creator that generates text like any other AI service. Magic Write works within graphics you’re creating if they include text. Or create standalone Canva Docs that function like Google Docs and can include graphics or slides. Here are Lex’s best features:

• Use AI to revise text in graphics, slides or posts you’re creating on Canva.
• You can ask it to translate any text in your graphics into dozens of languages.

ChatGPT and Bing’s AI are both excellent alternatives, too.

This article is republished with permission from Wonder Tools, a newsletter that helps you discover the most useful sites and apps. Subscribe here.