Gemini
Google's AI assistant — free, in your own language, right from your Gmail account.
By Thiago Lourenço Martins
An assistant you open from Gmail — no installation needed
Gemini is Google's artificial intelligence tool. Think of it as a very well-informed colleague available 24 hours a day: you ask a question in plain language, paste a text, upload an image or PDF — and it responds, summarises, rewrites or explains in seconds. No new account. No credit card. Any Gmail account gives direct access at gemini.google.com.
30 essays and a free evening
A high-school writing teacher: at the end of each term, 30 essays to grade. Every handwritten comment took about 10 minutes. A whole afternoon, exhausted.
After using Gemini to draft feedback — describing the criteria and pasting the student's text — the time per essay dropped to about 1 minute. The teacher reads, adjusts the tone and sends. The afternoon was theirs again.
How people from different fields use it
Pastes a student's text and asks for structured feedback by criterion. Generates multiple-choice questions from any chapter. Explains difficult concepts in 3 different ways until the student understands.
Types the role and profile — receives a formatted job description in seconds. Asks for tone variations (formal, casual) without rewriting from scratch. Uses Gemini to write performance review feedback.
Describes a product and gets 5 copy variations for WhatsApp, email and Stories. Asks for a plain-language analysis of a contract before signing. Uses it to answer long emails in under 1 minute.
From zero to your first conversation
- Go to gemini.google.com
Open the address in your browser. If you are signed into Gmail, Gemini recognises your account automatically. Otherwise, click the sign-in button in the top right corner.
- Type your message in the text field
The field is centred or at the bottom of the screen. Write in plain language — a question, a request, a problem. Press Enter or click the send icon (arrow or paper plane).
no quotes, no special formatting — just everyday language - Upload a file or image (optional)
Click the paperclip or image icon next to the text field to upload a PDF, document, photo or screenshot. Gemini reads it and responds about the content you sent.
files are linked to the current conversation - Use voice input
Click the microphone icon and speak your question. Gemini transcribes and processes it — useful when your hands are busy or you prefer speaking to typing.
- Ask for a new version or more detail
If the answer is not quite right, don't start over. Type something like "rewrite this more simply" or "add 3 more examples" — Gemini keeps the full context of your conversation.
each new message is a refinement, not a restart - Activate extensions with @ (optional)
Type @Gmail, @Drive or @YouTube to connect Gemini to your other Google tools. It can summarise an email, search your Drive files or answer questions about a YouTube video.
A ready-made prompt for teachers
I am a [subject] teacher and need constructive feedback for this student's essay.
Evaluate on 3 criteria: clarity of ideas, coherence and grammar. For each criterion, point out one strength and one area for improvement. Use respectful, encouraging language suitable for [age group].
Here is the student's text:
[paste the text here]
You get structured feedback, ready to adjust the tone and send to the student.
Tips & real limitations
Do this
- Use the @Gmail and @Drive extensions to access your own files inside the conversation — no copying and pasting needed.
- Create a Gem (saved persona) with your fixed instructions — e.g. "always respond as an expert in primary education, in simple language" — and use it across all conversations.
- Upload a PDF of the syllabus or study guide directly into the conversation and ask questions about the content — works very well for studying and for analysing long documents.
Real limitations
- Gemini can hallucinate facts with confident tone — dates, names, statistics. Always verify critical information in external sources before using it.
- Full video generation with Veo and advanced Deep Research require the Google One Advanced plan (paid). In the free plan, these features are limited or unavailable.
- Gemini does not browse external websites by default. To search the web, find the search option in the interface and enable it explicitly before asking.
A Portuguese-language tutorial to go further
* Independent suggestion, chosen for content quality. We have no relationship or sponsorship with this channel. Video is in Portuguese.
Create your first real task right now
Pick a topic you teach or work with. Open Gemini and type: "Create 5 multiple-choice questions about [your topic], with 4 options each and the correct answer indicated."
You succeed if you receive 5 complete questions with an answer key in under 30 seconds — ready to use or adapt.
Every day, a new tool explained.
Receive on WhatsApp