Welcome to this tutorial on Gemini, an AI assistant developed by Google.

If you're new to AI, this guide will walk you through everything you need to know about using Gemini effectively.

Key Objectives:

• Understand what Gemini is and how it was developed.
• Learn how to get started with Gemini.
• Explore basic usage of Gemini.
• Discover practical applications and best practices for using Gemini.

What’s Gemini?

Google Gemini is the next step up from Google's previous AI chatbot, Bard. It can handle a variety of data types, including text, images, audio, video, and even code.

There are two versions: Gemini Pro, which is free, and Gemini Advanced, which costs $20/month. The free version, Gemini Pro, is pretty handy. It can answer your questions, summarize text, and even generate images. But if you need something more powerful, Gemini Advanced is the way to go. This paid version can tackle complex tasks and cater to your creative needs, making it perfect for more demanding projects.

When it comes to comparing Gemini with GPT-4, Google claims that Gemini comes out on top in several benchmarks, especially when it comes to handling multiple types of data. However, it's worth noting that these comparisons are with the older version of GPT-4, so it's still up in the air how it will stack up against future models. The free version of Gemini Pro might not be as powerful as GPT-4, but the paid Gemini Advanced could very well give it a run for its money.

Finally, Gemini isn't just a standalone tool; it's integrated into a bunch of Google products. You'll find it enhancing Google Search, Gmail, Google Docs, Google Maps, and YouTube with its AI smarts.

Getting Started with Gemini

Setting up Gemini

There are two main ways to get started with Gemini, depending on whether you want to use the free version or the paid tier with more features:

Here's how to do it with the free version:

1. Access through Google App: If you have an Android phone, you can access Gemini through the Google App. Open the app, tap your profile picture or initial, then go to Settings > Google Assistant > Digital assistants from Google and select Gemini. Follow the on-screen instructions to activate it.
2. Web Interface: You can also use Gemini through the web interface at https://deepmind.google/technologies/gemini/. You'll need a Google account to sign in.

Now, if you want to directly start with the paid version, head here, sign in and subscribe to Gemini Advanced.

Once you're signed in, you should arrive on a page like that:

By the way, I really advise you to deactivate the activity tracking and the "human reviewing" of your chat history. Your personal data is precious, and I believe no one should be able to know what you asked.

Click on "Manage Activity" and then deactivate the tracking feature and delete the data that has already been saved if any.

Starting a conversation

Starting a conversation with Gemini is super simple.

1. Type Your Query: In the chat box, type your question or request.

2. Send Your Query: Press enter to send your query to Gemini.

3. Receive a Response: Gemini will generate a response based on your input.

Main features

We will go through some of Gemini's main features.

Drafts: Going back to the last screenshot, you can see that there's a "Show drafts" button below my question.

If you click on it, Gemini will suggest alternative answers. This is the ideal way to optimize the result you want, or to search for alternative answers to a question.

You can see a few buttons under Gemini's reply.

Thumbs: they allow you to rate the relevance and quality of the answer you got. I'm not entirely sure if it's going to influence the model's responses or if it's just some kind of feedback the AI team of Google will use.

Modify response: this feature allows you to modify the tone, length or vocabulary of the response.

It's something you can alternatively ask to the AI directly with for instance this prompt: "Could you use a more conversational tone?"

Share button: if you want to share the conversation with someone

Double check: here's what it does, according to Google:

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Using Gemini for daily tasks

The aim of this section is to give you some general ideas of what you could ask Gemini. For more advanced, more precise and sometimes more relevant use cases, please take a look at our other tutorials on this subject.

One of Gemini's strengths compared to ChatGPT, Claude or Perplexity is its creativity. This makes it ideal for tasks such as ideation or the creation of fictional stories.

Writing and Content Creation

Ask Gemini to draft emails, articles, stories, scripts, or any other type of written content. Provide details on the topic, tone, length, etc.

Prompt:‍

Write a 500 word blog post introducing my new gardening website, using a friendly and informative tone.

Get Gemini to help you brainstorm and outline ideas before writing.

Prompt:‍

Give me an outline for a children's book about a robot puppy that does chores.

Creative Projects

Use Gemini for ideation and creative exercises like writing poems, lyrics, stories or scripts.

Prompt:

Write a modern fable with talking animals that conveys a moral lesson about protecting the environment.

Get Gemini to help you brainstorm creative concepts, marketing campaigns, product designs, etc.

Prompt:

I need ideas for a new brand of eco-friendly cleaning products. Give me some names, slogans and packaging design concepts.