Web servicesGoogle DeepMind (Demis Hassabis, CEO; Sergey Brin, core contributor)
Gemini
Decision matrix
Gemini app decision matrix
Overview
Verdict: the right pick if your organisation runs Google Workspace; use the work account, where chats aren't used for training. On a personal Google account the free plan is generous, but chats are saved and may be reviewed and used for training until you switch off "Keep Activity". Paid plans start at €4.99 a month.
Other good fits
Asking questions about long PDFs, recordings or videos: free users can upload up to 10 files per prompt, up to 100 MB each (video 2 GB).
Starting out for free in the browser with a Google account, in Germany and most other countries.
+ Pros
Read pros
Gemini is Google's AI assistant at gemini.google.com (opens in a new tab), with apps for Android, iOS, macOS and Windows. It's made by Google DeepMind. The free plan runs on Gemini 3.6 Flash with limited use of the stronger Gemini 3.1 Pro. It reads files, images, audio and video, searches the web, and has a voice mode (Gemini Live) on the phone.
Its real advantage is Google itself. On a Workspace account, or on the Google AI Pro plan, Gemini also works inside Gmail, Docs, Sheets and Drive, so you can ask about your own mail and files without copying them anywhere.
Pick it when:
Your organisation runs Google Workspace. Use your work account: Gemini is included in the Business plans, and Google contractually commits not to use that content for training without permission.
You work with long material: a 60-page report, a recorded meeting, a lab video. Upload it and ask questions; check every answer against the page or timestamp.
You want to start free today in the browser with the Google account you already have.
Before you paste anything on a personal account: chats are saved by default, a sample is read by human reviewers, and they're used to improve Google's services. Go to Gemini Apps Activity (opens in a new tab) and switch Keep Activity off. After that, new chats are kept for 72 hours and aren't used for training (unless you send feedback). For anything confidential, don't paste it at all; see T12-L01.
− Cons
Read cons
Personal accounts keep and review chats by default. It's one switch, but most people never find it.
Features roll out unevenly. Availability differs by country, language, age and account type, so a colleague may see options you don't.
Gemini in Gmail and Docs needs a paid plan (AI Pro or a Workspace plan). The free app can't read your mailbox.
Answers about long documents can sound certain and still miss things. Ask for quotes and page numbers every time.
Pick something else when:
Your organisation runs Microsoft 365: Copilot works inside Outlook, Word and Teams under the contract you already have.
You want the assistant most colleagues already know, with the most tutorials: ChatGPT.
You mostly write and edit long texts and want careful, well-structured drafts: try Claude on one of your own documents and compare.
Avoid if
You want a personal account where chats aren't kept or reviewed and can't find time to change the setting. Switch off Keep Activity first, or use Claude with training switched off.
Workflow
Confirm account eligibility and region -> define a limited task with permitted material -> ask for alternatives or a draft -> inspect claims and omissions -> revise with independent sources before using the result.
Cost
Read cost
Prices checked 23 September 2026 (Germany, per month, from Google's subscriptions page):
About 4x the free limits, full 3.1 Pro, Gemini in Gmail and Docs, 5 TB storage
Google AI Ultra
€99.99 or €219.99
Much higher limits, Deep Think, 20 TB+ storage
For work, the cheaper route is often the company's Google Workspace subscription: the Gemini app and Gemini in Gmail are included from Business Starter, and Gemini in Docs and Meet from Business Standard. Ask IT what your plan includes before anyone buys a personal subscription.
Running effort is low: nothing to install or maintain. The work is organisational. Decide which account people use for work, check the activity setting on personal accounts, and agree what material may go in.
Restrictions
Google's help material separates web-app availability, account eligibility and activity/privacy controls. The exact retention, training and workspace-administration behavior for a given account remains a source-specific confirmation step.
First project
Documentation-based suggestion — not run here.
Read first project
Turn a long document into a one-page brief you can check. Allow 30 minutes.
Pick a public document from your field: a 30–80 page report, guideline or annual review. Not an internal one.
Upload the PDF and ask: "List the five findings a lab manager should act on. For each, give the page number and quote the sentence it comes from."
Open the PDF and check every quote and page number. Mark each one right, wrong or missing.
Ask a follow-up about one finding that looked wrong: "Show me where the document says this."
Success check: you have five findings, each with a quote you found on the stated page, and you know how many of the first answers needed correcting. That number tells you how much checking Gemini needs for your kind of document. T02-L01 and T01-L02 cover the prompting and checking habits.
Links & evidence
Documentation-based · not hands-on · Sep 23, 2026
Checked against Google's Gemini subscriptions page (German prices), Gemini Apps help pages on availability, uploads and activity, the Gemini release notes and the Workspace privacy hub on 23 September 2026. We did not use a Gemini account for this review.
Gemini subscriptions (Germany) · Sep 23, 2026 — Free: Gemini 3.6 Flash and limited 3.1 Pro; AI Plus €4.99, AI Pro €21.99, AI Ultra €99.99 or €219.99 per month; AI Pro adds Gemini in Gmail and Docs.
Gemini Apps Privacy Hub · Sep 23, 2026 — Keep Activity is on by default; a subset of chats is reviewed by humans and used to improve Google services; with it off, chats are kept 72 hours.
Generative AI in Google Workspace Privacy Hub · Sep 23, 2026 — Workspace chats and files in the Gemini app are not reviewed by humans or used to train models without permission.
Where Gemini Apps are available · Sep 23, 2026 — Available in over 230 countries and territories, including Germany.
Upload files to Gemini Apps · Sep 23, 2026 — 10 files per prompt, 100 MB per file (video 2 GB) for free users.
Gemini Apps release notes · Sep 23, 2026 — Gemini 3.6 Flash released in the app on 21 July 2026; Windows app on 10 September 2026.
Further review notes & alternatives
Alternatives and trade-offs
ChatGPT wins when you want the widest choice of features and help material. Its personal plans also train on chats by default; the switch is under Data controls.
Claude wins for long writing and careful document work. Pro costs $20 a month (or $17 billed annually).
Copilot wins in Microsoft 365 organisations, for the same reason Gemini wins in Google ones: it sits inside the tools and the contract you already have.
For developers who want Gemini models inside their own app, the Gemini API is a separate product with separate prices; see Gemini 3.1 Pro and Gemini Flash-Lite.
Analyze text, images, audio, and video in one multimodal prompt.
Draft and summarize work across Google Docs, Sheets, Gmail, and Meet.
Choose it when Google Workspace integration is central to your workflow.
View sourced imagePublic Google Gemini interface, captured without a signed-in account.
Gemini official product documentation
Owner-requested editorial use of public official interface screenshots, 15 September 2026. Copyright retained by the original publisher; attribution preserved. No open licence or hands-on course execution is asserted. Source asset: https://gemini.google.com/app. PNG conversion preserves the complete frame. Converted on 15 October 2026 to a WebP (quality 80) for faster page loads; the original image remains in the media library.
