This article is republished with permission from Wonder Tools, a newsletter that helps you discover the most useful sites and apps.
Google’s AI, Gemini, has quickly become one of the AI tools I rely on most. It builds dashboards and creates remarkable infographics. It spins out comprehensive research reports in minutes that would once have taken days to assemble.
It’s improving every month. On March 13, Google announced Ask Maps, so you can query Gemini about things like “Which nearby tennis courts are open with lights so I can play tonight?” On March 10, Gemini added new integrations to build, summarize, and analyze your Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides.
Here are five ways to use Gemini’s best features.
1. Create Images Without Being a Designer
Illustrate a presentation, newsletter post, or handout with a diagram, explanatory image, or an editorial cartoon.
Let’s call it “Vibe Drawing.” Just as vibe coding has enabled people without technical skills to develop useful apps, image generation helps those of us who are artistically challenged to convey ideas visually. I use it to turn raw ideas into graphics, diagrams, illustrations, or cartoons. Here’s a short prompt I used for the image below.
Tip: Upload a screenshot or photograph a paper sketch for Gemini to use as a reference image, or pick a style from the grid of options Gemini shows you (see above) to provide visual context.
