Google adds file types supported by Gemini chatbot, but you need to pay for it

Google has just announced new file types supported by Gemini, adding 13 more file types plus Google Sheets and Docs.

The Mountain View tech giant speaks in a recent Google Workspace update that you can now upload various types of documents and data files from Google Drive or your local devices to Gemini‘s site at gemini.google.com.

These new documents are TXT, DOC, DOCX, PDF, RTF, DOT, DOTX, HWP, HWPX, and Google Docs, with new data files including XLS, XLSX, CSV, TSV, and Google Sheets. And, you can also upload up to 10 files simultaneously, each up to 100 MB.

But still, you need to pay for this support. Google says that you need to be a Google Workspace user with a Gemini Business, Enterprise, Education, or Education Premium license holder. So, it’s not for free users, unfortunately.

Copilot, Microsoft’s AI offering, also supports these file types, but it does not extend beyond Copilot inside Microsoft 365 productivity apps like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and others—or at least, that’s what it appears for free users.

Google also mentions that Context-Aware Access (CAA) isn’t supported for files uploaded from Google Drive to Gemini, so users can only upload files they own or that have been shared with them. File uploads aren’t available to Google Workspace users who use Gemini as an additional service.

But, if you have a Gemini for Workspace license and use it as a core service, whatever you upload is protected so they won’t be reviewed or used to improve the AI models.

It’s no secret that Google does take its time when it comes to its AI, so it’s a bit of a surprise that Google added this support for the AI chatbot before Copilot. Gemini, its AI offering, came months after Microsoft took the spotlight with Bing Chat (now known as Copilot in a very Microsoft-like confusing branding strategy).