Google’s Gemini is one of the more finely-tuned AI tools, with constant updates and new features being introduced. There are many reasons for this, including its significant integration with Google Workspace and superior search capabilities, which have always been a unique selling point for Google.
This also makes it the best choice for content creation, from blogs to press releases to board books. Why purchase separate AI tools for content creation when Gemini lets you do all of this, and all in the apps you use every day? It doesn’t just help you create great work, it helps you automate repeatable tasks with Gems.
Writing With Gemini: How to Create Written Content
Gemini helps you solve the “blank page problem” - that feeling of dread when you start what seems to be an overwhelming project. More importantly, it also solves the volume problem, giving you the ability to create a large number of deliverables in a short period of time.
Creating Written Content in Docs and Slides: Prompt Design
To create your written content, all you have to do is enter a prompt in Docs or Slides for what you want to create in the right-hand Gemini sidebar. The secret sauce is in your prompt design. Google suggests in its prompt help guide that you should:
- Use natural language
- Be Clear and Concise
- Provide Context
- Use specific, relevant, keywords
- Use different prompts for complex tasks
The more detailed your prompt, the more refined and relevant your content will be.
Small Deliverables: Social Media Posts, Bios, etc.
If the task is small, such as crafting a social media post, you can dump the raw data you want to base your content on into the document, highlight it with the cursor, and prompt Gemini to create content based on that highlighted information.
You would start by prompting “Create a social media post based on the highlighted information”, then refine it with things like “Refine this post for Facebook by making it more casual” or “Refine this post for LinkedIn by making it more formal.”
Larger Deliverables: Blogs, Press Releases, etc.
You should never push anything to publish that you’ve created with AI until you’ve fact-checked and edited it. While Gemini is very accurate, it does draw some of its conclusions from search results, which can contain significant errors.
Google has partially solved this problem by introducing source-grounded writing. With this method, you can select the sources that you trust and have fact-checked, and prompt Gemini to only use those sources for content creation. You will still have to edit and fact check, but you will spend less time doing that.
To create something like a blog post, choose your sources in advance. These can include articles from trusted sources, company documents on your Google Drive, or anything else you want to use. Write a brief outline using your chosen sources, and follow these steps to ground your piece on those sources.
Then, follow the usual steps you would to further fill out the piece. For writers, this may mean writing your first draft based on the outline without any assistance from Gemini, then going back and using Gemini to refine.
For non-writers, you would generate prompts to fill in the outline. For both processes, you should make sure that content from your trusted sources has actually been included, since many journalism and academic sources block AI tools.
If you are using a significant number of sources to create a larger document, you can use NotebookLM to generate many different deliverables. NotebookLM allows for up to 50 sources, while an upgrade to NotebookLM Plus allows for up to 300 sources.
If you’re choosing to use no sources at all to ground your writing, you’ll want to add extra time into your workflow to fact-check what Gemini generates. It is easier - and faster - to start with sources than without and it will give you a more cohesive, authoritative final piece.
More Than Templating Your Work: Automating Repeatable Tasks With Gems
If you have specific tasks that have to be repeated on a regular basis, such as writing press releases, you can create a Gem which you can easily call on any time you need a specific item. A gem is a tiny AI agent that you feed your prompts into so you don’t have to repeat them every time you do a task.
To start, go to gemini.google.com/gems. You’ll be presented with a list of pre-made gems and be prompted to build your own if those gems don’t work for you. In our example of a press release, we’ll ask our Gem to create a template based on our company’s highest-performing press releases. Then, we’ll ask it to use the same tone and voice as those press releases, and maybe feed in the company brand guide as a resource if that’s available.
The fantastic thing about this is that your newly created gem will be accessible across all Google Workspace apps - including Docs. So if you want to write a press release, load up Docs, click “More Options” in the Gemini sidebar, and load up your Press Release gem. It won’t just help you write your press release, it will check that it has the same tone and style as those highest-performing press releases, and make sure your brand is properly represented if you gave it a brand guide to work from.
You can repeat Gem creation for all of your deliverables, including blog posts, social media posts, and anything else you create on a regular basis.
Is it Better to Use AI or Write From Scratch?
There is quite a bit of debate about using AI for writing which centres around the question of quality. Gemini is excellent at creating basic content, and even advanced content if it is drawing from the creator’s trusted sources. However, any AI-generated content should always be edited for accuracy and to make sure that generated materials adhere to brand voice and are enjoyable to read. AI-generated content can read as stilted and flat, so it’s worth editing for that alone even if the facts are accurate.
If someone is a professional writer, they may prefer to write their first draft without any assistance and then use AI to edit, as well as creating Gems for repeatable tasks. That will generally produce the best quality of work.
If someone isn’t a professional writer, they can use the steps in this guide to solve the blank page problem and turn out deliverables that are certainly better than what they would create on their own without an assist from Gemini. At the very least, Gemini can be used to write better emails in Gmail or create basic social media posts, both of which can increase individual productivity and make the people who are doing it look more professional. Using Gems as supercharged templates for common tasks is the one thing anyone should take away from this guide, no matter what they think about AI-generated content.
In the end, AI is here and those who use it judiciously will do better in the working world than those who don’t. Gemini is an easy place to start and Google keeps adding more features that will make it even more useful.
Do you want to get started with Google Workspace and unlock the power of Google’s AI features? Get in touch with us! We’ve managed countless migrations to Google Workspace and can show you exactly how Gemini can help your business.
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