Gemini Introduces Two New Features to Try: Canvas and Audio Overviews

The list of Gemini features expanded this week with the introduction of Canvas, a collaborative effort from Gemini to help you with documents in real-time, as well as Audio Overviews that can turn documents or research into podcast-style conversations to listen to.

For Canvas, Google has added this tool to Gemini as a collaborative feature, where you and Gemini work together to create something, edit something, etc. You could take notes during a class, for example, and then upload that document to Gemini while asking it to write a draft of a speech based off those notes. Once that speech is ready for you to view, you’ll then be able to highlight sections to adjust length, change tone, or have Gemini suggest further edits.

Google also offered an example of someone learning to code and having Canvas create a simple tic-tac-toe game that you could build from or learn off of. In this Canvas project, you could not only view the code, but also preview the game that Gemini made, with explanations along the way to help you continue learning.

To get started, you’ll open Gemini on the web and look for the “Canvas” button within the “Ask Gemini” box. Click on that to activate Canvas before you make your query.

For the new Audio Overviews, Google is giving you the power to upload documents, slides, or Deep Research reports and have them turned into podcast-like audio clips. This idea was introduced through NotebookLM almost a year ago, with Google showcasing the true magic of AI in some instances, where they could take massive PDF files and almost instantly turn them into podcasts with two hosts discussing the subject.

Now, this appears to be built into Gemini both on the web and mobile. You could upload those same school notes we talked about above and have them turned into an audio overview for later listening. You could also just ask Gemini to create an audio overview of a deep research subject you may be working on to get insights from Gemini in audio format.

Canvas and Audio Overviews are rolling out globally today for Gemini and Gemini Advanced subscribers.

// Google