The Meeting Rescue Squad: Google Meet's Ask Gemini Tackles Workplace Attention Fatigue

Image: Gemini's new meeting assistant interface in Google Meet (Credit: Elyse Betters Picaro / ZDNET)

We've all been there: drifting during a marathon video call while critical decisions unfold, or joining a meeting late to whispered apologies and confusion. Google aims to eliminate these workplace frustrations with Ask Gemini—a new AI-powered feature for Google Meet that generates real-time summaries, identifies action items, and catches up distracted or tardy participants while meetings are still in progress.

Unlike existing meeting note-takers that operate with minutes-long delays, Ask Gemini processes discussion content instantly using meeting captions and contextual data. "It acts as a personal AI-powered assistant within Google Meet," explains Google's announcement, allowing users to privately query: What did I miss since joining? or What were the main takeaways from the last 10 minutes? The system even cross-references Google Workspace documents (Docs, Sheets, Slides) that participants have permission to access, though it deliberately doesn't store meeting data post-call—a privacy safeguard for sensitive corporate discussions.

How the Real-Time Meeting Lifeline Works

• Live Summaries: Continuously processes dialogue to highlight key points
• Late-Join Assistance: Instantly recaps discussion for tardy attendees
• Action Item Detection: Identifies decisions and next steps dynamically
• Private Queries: User interactions remain confidential to their view
• Workspace Integration: Pulls context from Docs/Sheets with proper permissions

Currently limited to English on desktop (with multilingual support promised), the feature requires hosts to enable Gemini's "Take Notes for Me" function for full historical context. Administrators retain control—Workspace admins can disable Ask Gemini organization-wide, while meeting hosts can toggle it off for participants. Dial-in attendees receive audio notifications when the AI assistant is active.

The Enterprise Rollout Strategy

Available immediately for Google Workspace Business Plus subscribers, Ask Gemini will expand to:

• Enterprise Plus
• Enterprise Standard
• Business Standard

through late 2025 and early 2026. The phased deployment follows Google's pattern of testing AI features with business users before potential consumer release. At $7+/user/month for Workspace, this positions Ask Gemini as a premium productivity enhancer—particularly valuable for organizations drowning in meeting overload. A recent Atlassian study found knowledge workers waste 15% of their time in unproductive meetings, suggesting significant ROI potential.

Beyond Note-Taking: The AI Collaboration Shift

This isn't merely about replacing human notetakers. Ask Gemini represents a fundamental shift toward ambient meeting intelligence—where AI becomes an active participant that synthesizes discussions, reduces cognitive load, and creates institutional memory. The implications extend beyond efficiency: real-time clarification could mitigate misunderstandings in global teams, while automatic action item tracking might finally solve the "who promised to do what" dilemma haunting project managers.

Yet limitations remain. The desktop/English restrictions exclude mobile users and international teams, and breakout room support hasn't arrived. As AI becomes embedded in workplace communication, ethical questions about algorithmic interpretation of human dialogue will intensify—particularly around nuanced discussions or creative brainstorming.

For now, Google's play is clear: transform meetings from productivity sinks into actionable sessions. As distributed work becomes permanent, tools that combat attention fatigue while extracting tangible value from conversations may prove indispensable. The era of zoning out might soon be replaced by the era of catching up—instantly.

Source: Jada Jones, ZDNET (Sept 18, 2025)