You can now ask Gemini to summarize entire Google Drive folders

Google has been steadily weaving its Gemini assistant into its apps and services, and the updates just keep coming. This time, it’s Google Drive‘s turn to get a boost with a fresh feature that uses Gemini to summarize the contents of entire folders.

Gemini can already help summarize documents, extract quick facts, and even analyze PDFs. Now, it can extend convenience to entire folders, adding another layer of efficiency for users juggling multiple files and projects. The newly announced folder-summarization feature enables users to gain quick insights into a folder’s contents through the Gemini side panel.

For now, it’ll work on non-media file types, like text documents, PDFs, spreadsheets, or presentations. If a folder contains any of these files, you can now get an overview of what’s inside that folder without opening each file individually. Gemini also allows users to ask focused questions about a folder’s contents, such as:

• “Summarize files in @-folder”
• “What is the theme of the content in @-folder”

Here’s how you can access folder summarization tools in Google Drive:

• Open a folder and select the “Summarize this folder” option.
• Right-click a folder and choose “Ask Gemini” to start exploring its contents.
• Move a folder into the Gemini side panel to trigger a summary.
• Use the side panel’s textbox to mention a specific folder using “@” and request a summary.
• While searching, look for the Gemini icon next to a folder in the results dropdown to summarize it instantly.

If you don’t see the feature in your Google Drive, it could be because it is being made available to Google Workspace customers with select add-ons, including Gemini Business, Enterprise, Education, and Education Premium, as well as Google One AI Premium subscribers. The rollout started on December 11, 2024, and will be completed over the next 15 days.

This update comes right after the announcement of Gemini’s latest iteration, Gemini 2.0. As Gemini continues to evolve, it’s clear that Google is intent on turning it into an indispensable companion across its apps.