Business Tech Roundup: Google’s Gemini Is Coming For Your Business

(This column originally appeared in Forbes)

Here are five things in tech that happened this week and how they affect your business. Did you miss them?

1 – Google plans “Gemini Business” AI for workspace users.

It appears Google is working toward an AI chatbot specifically for Google Workspace members. A productivity and collaboration tool that includes a suite of apps (Calendar, Google Drive, Google Meet, Docs and Sheets) – Google Workspace is now featuring “Gemini for Workspace” where users will have access to the AI for work-related projects. Gemini for business will be separate from the Workspace basic plan which is $12/month. Users will have the option of upgrading to “Gemini Business or Gemini Enterprise" – priced at $20/month or $30/month. Source: Ars Technica)

Why this is important for your business:

Whatever Microsoft does, Google does and the same way around. For Google Workspace users you can get ready for both Gemini and Duet to help you write documents, create emails, spruce up presentations and increase your overall productivity.

2 – AWS launches program to boost AI and tech competency for small and medium businesses.

Amazon Web Services has begun their competency program to help small and medium-sized business owners refine their skill set with technological capabilities. Working with 30 “Competency Partners” the program offers training for business owners based on their area of industry (e.g., automotive, government, manufacturing, and others). (Source: Fox Business)

Why this is important for your business:

Artificial intelligence, machine learning, and security solutions are a few examples of the kinds of specialties that SMBs can receive training for. "It really comes down to the [AWS] customer saying, ‘this is what I’m trying to do’ and then our teams matching that up with these competency partners and making sure we have a good fit," Ben Schreiner, U.S. Head of Business Innovation for SMB, said. (Ben and I did a few really fun podcasts together recently on cloud and other small business technologies).

3 – ChatGPT used by North Korean hackers to scam LinkedIn users.

Hacking groups out of North Korea are swindling sensitive information from LinkedIn members and other social platforms, Microsoft confirms. One of the tools that’s been used is ChatGPT reportedly aimed at white collar professionals – “employees from global cyber security, global defense, and crypto companies.” Posing as recruiters, the hackers are able to “create polished and credible-looking recruiter profiles,” Erin Plante, Vice-President of cyber security company Chainalysis, said. The United Nations’ Office of Counter-Terrorism has found these types of malicious campaigns are supported monetarily in North Korea which in turn finances their nuclear weapons program. Plante warned, “These attacks are getting very sophisticated – we’re not talking about a badly worded email.” (Source: Tech.co)

Why this is important for your business:

It’s not just bad attachments to an email. Security issues can now come from LinkedIn and it’s important that you and your employees are getting the training to identify these potential bad actors.

4 – Salesforce rolls out native generative AI within Slack.

CRM company Salesforce is launching “native generative AI” in Slack so “customers can easily tap into the collective knowledge shared” in the communications platform. Key updates include channel summaries, thread recaps and AI search. (Source: VentureBeat)

Why this is important for your business:

This is a big step forward for Slack users. With the click of a button users can find a summary of specific threads without having to spend time searching through multiple conversations. Channels are summarized with items presented in list form. One of the major improvements with this AI tool is the ease of extracting important information from numerous, dated conversations. Slack has said this update alone can “save up to 30 minutes scrolling through messages and another hour of writing the summary.” Additionally, if the summary isn’t accurate, it can be rated as “bad.” The AI will also offer Q&A feature for team members who are seeking more information about items within a summary.

5 – Here’s some tips on avoiding those annoying “reply-all” people.

To curtail the amount of email in your inbox, Outlook and Gmail have some helpful options. Outlook’s “Ignore Conversation” feature allows users to move selected threads to their Deleted folder. Right-clicking on an email will bring up a menu where “Ignore Conversation” appears. Once chosen, notifications will be disabled for any subsequent messages in the thread. To undo this feature, users can click on “Stop Ignoring” and the thread is automatically moved back to the Inbox. Gmail also has a mute option by selecting the thread then choosing “Mute” on the desktop which is found under the three dots labeled “More”. Once selected, the thread no longer appears in the Inbox and notifications are disabled. To locate muted threads, type “is:muted” in the search bar then select “Unmute” under the three dots. (Source: CNET)

Why this is important for your business:

You’re welcome.