Google moves Gemini into Chat and retires the side panel
Reviewed by Helen Jones
Google is putting Ask Gemini directly inside Google Chat, with a gradual rollout starting 26 August 2026 for Rapid and Scheduled Release domains. The feature is meant as a single place to search Workspace content such as Gmail, Drive, and Calendar, draft material, catch up on threads, schedule meetings, manage tasks, and keep work in sessions. For users who get the change, the older Gemini side panel in Chat goes away. Conversation history from that side panel does not move over, and Gems are no longer opened from the Chat side panel even though they still exist in other Workspace apps. Access is limited at first to English account language on Business Standard and Plus, Enterprise Standard and Plus, and Google AI Pro for Education, and it needs Workspace Smart Features turned on. Admins control it through Gemini in Workspace Chat and Workspace Intelligence settings. Higher promotional usage limits run through 1 October 2026.
Until now, many teams treated Gemini as a side panel or a separate chat window. Helpful answers still depended on someone restating business context, then copying results back into the real conversation. That pattern kept AI wins personal and fragile. After this shift, assistance sits inside the daily collaboration hub. That can cut context switching, but it also raises the cost of weak operating rules. If people start asking Gemini ad hoc in busy rooms without shared inputs, review steps, or data boundaries, the team inherits faster drafts and the same hidden checking work, only more publicly.
Analysis
Treat this as a change to act on lightly before habits form, not a reason to rebuild your whole stack. Pick one recurring Chat task your team already does weekly, write a short workflow blueprint with required context, what must never be pasted, and a human review check, and trial it during the promotional limit window so the process is clear before the side panel disappears.
Source note
Pulse published by Collab365 Spaces, reviewed by Helen Jones on . Cite as "Google moves Gemini into Chat and retires the side panel", Collab365 Spaces. 1 source referenced.