Is AI here to take our jobs or boost productivity to new heights? It’s hard to say, but the picture painted by Google’s AI teammate seems to be somewhere in between. Google presented its vision of an AI teammate during Google I/O 2024, its annual developer conference. It is not a replacement for Gemini. Instead, it is an additional chatbot that monitors projects, analyzes data, and identifies trends throughout the workspace.

AI Teammate is not a finished product. We saw a prototype of AI assistant integration across the team in a Google Workspace atmosphere. Not everything is clear about AI Teammate, but this is what we know and hope for.

How will Google AI Teammate work?

And what’s the point when we have Gemini?

Google AI Teammate was not released in November 2024. Features and UX elements will likely change when Google releases AI Teammate in the future.

Most likely, you have a Google account. That gives you access to Gmail, Google Drive, Google Docs, and Google Photos, among other services. It’s free as long as you agree to 15 GB of cloud storage. Google Workspace It is all that and more in a paid package optimized for companies and businesses. That’s the type of account you’ll need to view the AI ​​Teammate integration.

While powered by GeminiAI Teammate is not a substitute chatbot. The Google I/O demo introduced you as a virtual coworker with your own account and access to company files, projects, and conversations. He also highlighted the customization possibilities, which go beyond giving it a cheesy name. Unlike Gemini, the company could tell AI Teammate what to do within the organization. The example set up in the Google keynote states the following instructions:

• Monitor and track projects

• Organize information and provide context.

• Analyze data and identify trends.

• Facilitate team collaboration

These sound a lot like the duties of a supervisor or manager, and having AI as such can be creepy and controversial. However, the practical applications that Google showed on stage revolved around facilitating the work process, not replacing someone’s boss. Think about summarizing conversations or offloading mundane tasks, which AI can do in minutes but take hours for a human to complete.

Here’s the part of the Google I/O keynote where the details were previewed:

The AI ​​Teammate demo provided updates on project milestones when requested. Created a document of a requested summary and provided the source of the answer to the question. He also came up with suggestions along the way. Since this happened in the same chat room, all team members were on the same page. However, Google’s AI never gave specific instructions or delegated tasks and was never shown intervening. We don’t know if it’s possible to configure it to do this, but it seems that Google wants to let humans handle these tasks.

What exactly are AI agents?

Google described AI Teammate as an “agent experience.” Earlier during the I/O keynote, Google CEO Sundar Pichai described AI agents as “intelligent systems that exhibit reasoning, planning and memory. They are capable of ‘thinking’ in multiple steps forward, working in software and systems, all to do something in the future.” in his name. And most importantly, under your supervision.”

As Pichai said, AI agents are in their infancy, but they can potentially free us from tedious tasks. Google presented two examples at I/O: organizing the return of a product and eliminating the friction of moving to another city. In a virtual workspace, many types of work could need the help of an AI agent, for example, to summarize data and produce reports.

That last part of Google’s definition of AI agents could be critical if a feature like AI Teammate wants to gain traction. Even with cutting-edge AI tools, people would still be in control and have the final say. I doubt many employees will be excited about having AI in charge, making decisions and evaluating performance. Fundamentally, since a human is the one making the calls, they are also responsible for the consequences.

When is Google AI Teammate coming?

No firm release date in sight

There is no official release date for AI Teammate and nothing indicates that it will arrive anytime soon. The closest we have is a hint from Aparna Pappu, vice president and general manager of Google Workspace. Introduced AI Teammate as part of the company’s vision for 2025 and beyond. “We have a lot of work to figure out how to bring these agency experiences, as virtual teammates, into Workspace,” Pappu added.

AI Teammate is nowhere near finished, judging by the brief overview at I/O and how what we saw was called a prototype. The feature may differ in its final form if it is ever released.

Is Google AI Teammate here to take our jobs?

Isn’t that the million dollar question? There is a history of technology replacing human labor. That’s why, before the invention of alarm clocks, people no longer operated elevators or telephone exchanges or knocked on windows to wake up others. In retrospect, the automation of these and other jobs improved our lives, although some people had to seek employment elsewhere.

The integration of AI into digital jobs has begun with powerful tools like ChatGPT and Google Gemini. The development of assistants like AI Teammate was only a matter of time, and it’s understandable how worrying the rapid pace of AI progress can be. AI isn’t perfect, but it doesn’t have to be. If it’s better than a human, it will probably replace it.

AI may be the future, but humans make it work

AI Teammate is emerging as a tool, and tools require people to operate. More importantly, People are needed to make decisions. and be responsible for the results, good or bad. If AI Teammate’s main strength is doing my boring, repetitive tasks while I take care of the fun stuff, he’s welcome in my virtual office. If you end up replacing someone, including me, then maybe your job really was due to automation.