How to use Gemini: a beginner's guide

Gemini is Google's AI assistant, once called Bard. You sign in with a Google Account, type a request or add a file, and it answers with text, code, images or video. It works in a browser, on phones and inside Gmail and Google Docs. Use it for research, drafting and Google work, and check what it says against the source.

What Gemini is

Gemini is Google's chatbot and assistant, built on the Gemini family of models from Google DeepMind. Google launched it as Bard in March 2023, announced the Gemini models on 6 December 2023 and renamed the chatbot Gemini in February 2024. It takes text, code, images, audio and video. It can answer in several of them too.

You use it at gemini.google.com in a browser, in the Gemini app on a phone, or in a desktop app. You need a Google Account. The Ask Gemini button inside Gmail and Google Docs needs a Google Workspace or Google AI plan that includes it.

What Gemini is good for

Chat and research: ask questions, or request a long, linked report built from Google Search.
Help inside Gmail: summarize a long thread, draft a reply or find a detail such as a flight time.
Polish in Google Docs: make a paragraph shorter, more formal or more casual from the Refine bar.
Files and spreadsheets: upload documents and spreadsheets and ask questions about what is in them.
Images, video and music: generate them from a prompt in the same app.
Long drafts in Canvas: create and refine a longer piece of writing in a side panel.
Saved routines: a Gem, or a skill, holds the instructions you would otherwise paste into every chat.

When to use Gemini, and when to pick another tool

Your job	Use Gemini?	Or try
Help inside Gmail or Google Docs	Yes, Ask Gemini sits inside both	Claude or ChatGPT, which reach Gmail through connectors
A free research report from the web	Yes, Deep Research is free for signed-in adults, with daily limits	Perplexity, which says most reports finish in under 3 minutes
Answers that must come only from your own documents	Partly, since it also answers from its own training	NotebookLM, which answers from the sources you add
Everyday writing and summaries	Yes, a good first stop	ChatGPT or Claude
Writing code in a project folder	For snippets, yes	Cursor, GitHub Copilot or Claude Code
Private files that must stay on your computer	No, uploads go to Google	Ollama or LM Studio, which run on your own machine

How to use Gemini, step by step

Menu names follow Google's help pages as read on 5 November 2026, and Google changes Gemini often, so yours may sit elsewhere.

Go to gemini.google.com and sign in. Use a personal Google Account, or a school or work account on a qualifying Workspace plan. On a phone, open the Gemini app instead.
Type or paste your prompt in the box at the bottom. If you want Gemini to work from a file or an image, click Add files first and choose it.
Click Submit. Gemini picks a model for the prompt by itself. Once you are signed in, you can choose one from the menu instead.
Reply in the same chat to change the answer. Ask for a shorter version, or for the same information as a table.
Use Deep Research for a long report. Click Add Files in the text box, choose Deep Research, read the research plan Gemini shows, then click Start research.
Save a prompt you repeat. On a computer, open the sidebar, click Gems, then New Gem, and enter a name and instructions. Google is replacing Gems with skills on personal accounts, so there open Customize, then Skills, and click Create.
Use Ask Gemini in Gmail and Docs. Click Ask Gemini at the top right of either one, write your request in the panel that opens and click Submit.

Type or paste your prompt in the Ask Gemini box, then click Submit, the arrow at the right end of the box.
Click Add files, the + at the bottom left of the box, when you want Gemini to work from a file or an image.
For a long report, open the same menu and choose Deep Research.
Read the research plan Gemini shows, then click Start research.

AI-made illustrations of Gemini's screens, drawn on 6 November 2026 to match these steps. They are not screenshots, so the real app may look different: follow what you see.

The Gemini lesson covers Gems, skills, Gmail and Docs in full. The video tutorials at the top of this page show all of these steps on screen.

An example to try

After a client call, paste your notes where the bracketed line is, then send this prompt. The last rule keeps gaps visible instead of filled in.

Below are my notes from a first call with a new client.
Turn them into a one-page project brief with four headings: goal, deliverables, deadline and open questions.
Put anything the notes do not say under open questions instead of guessing.

[paste your notes here]

A brief with exactly the four headings you asked for.
Open questions that list what the notes leave out, such as who approves the work.
Only dates and names that appear in your notes. If one shows up that you never wrote, delete it.

Tips for better results

In Gmail, put "Use Google Search" in the prompt when you want web information, because web answers need that phrase.
Narrow a Gmail request by sender or date, since a request that matches more than 10,000 threads is not processed.
Google says suggestions may be inaccurate, so open the email a summarized number came from before you repeat it.
Copy Gemini's draft into your Doc before you close the tab, because refreshing, closing the document or going offline wipes the side panel's history.

Plans, limits and mistakes

Google publishes no counts for the free daily limits on Deep Research. Its newest models go to paying subscribers first, and Wikipedia says Gemini 4 Argon reached Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers in October 2026.

Google's own help page says Gemini can make mistakes. It adds that you should not rely on it for professional advice. Bard's first public demo, in February 2023, gave inaccurate information about the James Webb Space Telescope.

Learn more about Gemini

Frequently asked questions

Is Google Gemini free?

Yes. Chatting costs nothing, and the paid Google AI Plus, AI Pro and Ultra plans raise the limits.

What happens to my Gems?

They turn read-only on personal accounts on 17 November 2026. Google recreates each one as a skill and removes the Gems on 17 December, so download any knowledge files you need first. Work accounts follow in March 2027 and school accounts in June 2027.

Can Gemini read my Gmail and Drive?

Yes, where your plan allows it. Nothing in your inbox changes until you confirm, and then you have 60 seconds to undo. Drive files reach Deep Research once Google Workspace is connected.

Is Gemini the same as NotebookLM?

No, they are separate products. Google's post of 16 July 2026 says NotebookLM is now called Gemini Notebook, still a standalone product under a new name, and a Gem can take a whole notebook as its knowledge.

Is Gemini the same as Bard?

Yes. Google renamed the Bard chatbot Gemini in February 2024, and retired the Duet AI name in Workspace at the same time.

What is Gemini Live?

Gemini Live is the version that replaced Google Assistant on Pixel 9 phones in August 2024. It reached Samsung Galaxy phones from July 2025.

Sources

Wikipedia: Google Gemini (read November 6, 2026)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Gemini
Google: Use Gemini Apps (read November 5, 2026)https://support.google.com/gemini/answer/13275745?hl=en
Google: Use Gems in Gemini Apps (read November 5, 2026)https://support.google.com/gemini/answer/15146780?hl=en
Google: About the transition from Gems to skills (read November 5, 2026)https://support.google.com/gemini/answer/18560919?hl=en
Google: Collaborate with Gemini in Gmail (read November 5, 2026)https://support.google.com/mail/answer/14199860?hl=en
Google: Collaborate with Gemini in Google Docs (read November 5, 2026)https://support.google.com/docs/answer/14206696?hl=en
Google: Use Deep Research in Gemini Apps (read November 6, 2026)https://support.google.com/gemini/answer/15719111?hl=en
Google: Google AI plans (read November 6, 2026)https://gemini.google/us/subscriptions/?hl=en
Google (@Google) on X: NotebookLM is now Gemini Notebook (read November 5, 2026)https://x.com/Google/status/2077812135556497471
Kevin Stratvert on YouTube: How to Use Google Gemini AI (Full Tutorial) (read November 6, 2026)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDMcpthR88U
Paul J Lipsky on YouTube: Gemini Has A New AI Super App (read November 6, 2026)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJ_e-dsMruc
Wikipedia: ChatGPT (read November 6, 2026)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ChatGPT
Anthropic: Claude (read November 6, 2026)https://www.anthropic.com/claude
Perplexity: What is Research mode? (read November 6, 2026)https://www.perplexity.ai/help-center/en/articles/10738684-what-is-research-mode
Google: Add sources in Gemini Notebook (read November 6, 2026)https://support.google.com/gemininotebook/answer/16215270?hl=en
Ollama: Quickstart (read November 5, 2026)https://docs.ollama.com/quickstart

How to use Google Gemini: what it does and how to get started

At a glance