Tool · Verified May 2026. Current models: Gemini 3.1 Pro (released February 2026), Gemini 3.5 Flash (announced at I/O May 2026), Gemini Omni Flash, Veo 3.1 and Veo 3.1 Lite, Imagen 4. Daily Brief agent rolled out at I/O 2026; Spark agent in early release on Ultra US only. Workspace add-on SKU discontinued; Gemini now included in all paid Workspace plans. Re-research when Gemini 3.5 Pro launches (expected June 2026) or when Spark reaches the UK.

Gemini (Google)

The default AI if your business already lives in Gmail, Docs and Drive; the obvious pick for multimodal and video.

Overall 9/10researchdeep_researchimage_genvideo_gengoogle_integrationdraftingmeeting_summarydocument_review
Consilix take

Gemini is finally a credible daily driver in 2026, not just a Google-flavoured ChatGPT clone. If your team is on Workspace, the per-seat Gemini that now ships inside Business Standard is the highest-leverage AI spend you can make this quarter. For pure text reasoning or coding it is still behind Claude and GPT-5.1; for research, video and anything that touches Gmail or Drive, it is the strongest tool in the kit.

Reach for it when

Pick Gemini when your team is on Google Workspace, when the task is multimodal (video, YouTube, screen share, audio), when you need Deep Research with citations, or when you want to generate short-form video and brand-safe imagery. Also the right call when the workflow needs to read across Gmail, Drive and Calendar without bolting on a separate integration. For UK SMEs already paying for Workspace Business Standard, Gemini is essentially free upside and should be the first AI rolled out to staff.

Do not reach for it when

Do not lead with Gemini for serious code generation (Claude wins), for writing that has to sound human and not generically polite (Claude wins), or for the broadest plugin ecosystem (ChatGPT wins). If your business runs on Microsoft 365, paying for Gemini on top of Copilot is duplication; pick one ecosystem. Skip Gemini Spark for now unless you are on Ultra in the US.

Core strength

Native integration with Google Workspace and YouTube, plus the strongest multimodal stack (Veo 3.1 video, Imagen 4 images, native audio and video understanding) of any frontier vendor.

Sub-products (5)

Gemini app (Gemini 3.1 Pro and 3.5 Flash)

8/10

The consumer-facing Gemini chat app on web, iOS and Android, now running Gemini 3.1 Pro for reasoning and Gemini 3.5 Flash for fast everyday tasks. Following I/O 2026 it has a new Neural Expressive interface, a unified Tools menu and a Daily Brief agent that prepares a prioritised digest of your day. Sits behind Google AI Plus, Pro and Ultra subscriptions, with a capped free tier.

Key features
Gemini 3.1 Pro for hard reasoning (91.9% GPQA Diamond, 77.1% ARC-AGI-2, 1M token context)Deep Research with collaborative planning, MCP server integration and File SearchDaily Brief agent that prioritises and suggests next steps each morning (Plus, Pro, Ultra)Native multimodal input: image, audio, video, YouTube links, screen shareGemini Spark personal agent on Ultra, running 24/7 on Google Cloud VMs (US only at launch)
Best use cases
  • Summarise a 90-minute YouTube video into action points before a supplier meeting
  • Run a Deep Research brief on a target acquisition with traceable citations
  • Convert a PDF contractor quote and a site photo into a structured comparison table
  • Use Daily Brief to prep morning standups from calendar plus inbox
  • Translate and analyse a recorded customer call in any major European language
Weaknesses

Still produces more generic, lightly hedged prose than Claude. Spark agent is US-only for now. Long-context performance is strong on retrieval but weaker on multi-step writing instructions than GPT-5.1.

Pricing

Free tier (capped). Google AI Plus £6.99/month. Google AI Pro £18.99/month. Google AI Ultra £79.99/month (cut from £189.99 in May 2026 for the standard tier; higher allotment tier still available).

Reach for this when the task involves video, YouTube, deep research with citations, or anything sitting inside your Google account.

Gemini in Google Workspace

9/10

Gemini built directly into Gmail, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Meet and Drive. The old add-on SKU is gone: as of 2026 every paid Workspace plan includes Gemini, with the deeper Docs and Sheets features starting at Business Standard. This is the version most UK SMEs will actually use day to day.

Key features
Help me write in Gmail and Docs, with the company's own Drive content as groundingSheets formula generation, data cleaning and chart suggestions from natural languageMeet note-taking, transcription and action item extraction in real timeSide panel chat in every app that can reference the document, thread or sheet open in front of youEnterprise data residency and admin controls; content not used to train models
Best use cases
  • Draft a reply to a long supplier email chain with the right tone and history
  • Generate first-draft minutes plus owners and dates from a Meet recording
  • Build a Sheets margin model from a verbal brief instead of fiddling with INDEX MATCH
  • Turn a Drive folder of policy PDFs into a Q&A side panel for the operations team
  • Produce a Slides client update deck from a Doc in one prompt
Weaknesses

Quality is uneven across surfaces; Meet notes and Gmail are strong, Slides generation is still rough. Business Starter only gets Gmail and the Gemini app, not the full suite. If your team is half on Microsoft 365, you are paying for both Copilot and Gemini.

Pricing

Included in Workspace plans: Business Starter from £6.65/user/month (limited Gemini); Business Standard £13.20/user/month (full Gemini in Docs, Sheets, Meet); Business Plus £21.10/user/month. Pricing rises modestly from 14 September 2026.

Reach for this if your business runs on Workspace; it is the highest ROI AI per pound for a small ops team.

Gemini Code Assist

7/10

Google's coding assistant for VS Code, JetBrains, Android Studio and Cloud Workstations. Runs on Gemini 2.5 by default with Gemini 3 Pro available in Enterprise preview. Free for individual developers since March 2026, with paid tiers for teams and tight Google Cloud and BigQuery integration.

Key features
1 million token context window for whole-repo reasoningAgent mode with MCP support and custom commandsFinish Changes feature that completes a multi-file edit task end to endDeep BigQuery, Apigee and Application Integration toolingFree tier: 180,000 completions and 240 chats per day per developer
Best use cases
  • Generate a BigQuery SQL pipeline from a plain English brief
  • Refactor a multi-file Python service while preserving tests
  • Stand up an internal Android app inside Android Studio with agent mode
  • Write Terraform for a Google Cloud deployment without leaving the IDE
  • Ask whole-codebase questions before onboarding a new contractor
Weaknesses

Tighter GitHub integration sits with Copilot; if your team lives on GitHub you will miss PR summaries and review hooks. Agent mode is improving but still trails Claude Code and Cursor on long-running autonomous tasks. Real ceiling on free tier completions if you code daily.

Pricing

Free for individuals (180k completions/month, 240 chats/day). Standard $19/user/month. Enterprise $45/user/month (Gemini 3 Pro preview, audit logs, private code customisation).

Reach for this if you build on Google Cloud or BigQuery; otherwise Claude Code or Copilot will serve you better.

Imagen 4 (image generation)

7/10

Google's flagship text-to-image model, accessible inside the Gemini app, Google AI Studio, Vertex AI and Flow. Strong on photorealistic compositions, accurate text rendering inside images and brand-safe content controls. Sits behind a SynthID watermark by default.

Key features
Accurate in-image text (logos, signage, product labels)Multiple aspect ratios and resolutions up to 2KStyle consistency across a batch via reference imagesSynthID watermarking on every outputAvailable in the Gemini app, AI Studio and Vertex AI for batch and API use
Best use cases
  • Mock up a product packaging concept with legible copy on the label
  • Generate consistent thumbnails across a 12-video YouTube series
  • Produce hero images for a landing page using a brand colour palette
  • Visualise a refurb concept from a site photo plus a brief
  • Build a library of stock-style team and office images that do not exist on Google Images
Weaknesses

Still trails Midjourney v7 and Higgsfield on cinematic flair and texture. Less expressive on human anatomy and hands than Flux 1.1. Heavier safety filter than other vendors, which trips frequently on legitimate retail and property briefs.

Pricing

Included in Google AI Plus (£6.99/mo), Pro (£18.99/mo) and Ultra (£79.99/mo) with rising quotas. API on Vertex AI: roughly $0.04 per 1024x1024 image.

Reach for this when you need legible text in the image, brand-safe outputs, or batch generation tied to a Google Cloud workflow.

Veo 3.1 and Gemini Omni (video)

9/10

Google's flagship text-to-video and image-to-video model, plus the new Gemini Omni series that takes image, audio, video and text in and produces edited video out conversationally. Veo 3.1 generates 8-second clips at up to 4K with synchronised native audio (dialogue, sound effects, ambient). Accessible through the Gemini app, Flow, AI Studio and Vertex AI.

Key features
Native synchronised audio: dialogue, sound effects, ambient, all in one passUp to 4K resolution; upscale to 1080p and 4K available in Flow and APIIngredients to Video: combine reference images of a character, prop and settingVeo 3.1 Lite for cheaper batch generationFlow editor with shot extension, scene chaining and camera direction
Best use cases
  • Produce a 30-second product reveal video with synchronised voiceover for social
  • Generate consistent character footage across a multi-shot training video
  • Mock up a TV-style customer testimonial concept before commissioning a real shoot
  • Create animated explainers from a written script with native sound
  • B-roll generation for an internal town hall video
Weaknesses

Eight-second hard cap per clip means longer content needs stitching. Still produces uncanny faces in close-ups; not yet usable for any output that needs the same human across many shots without obvious drift. Cost adds up fast on 4K. Heavily safety-filtered.

Pricing

Included in Google AI Pro (£18.99/mo) with a monthly clip allowance and in Ultra (£79.99/mo) with significantly higher limits. API on Vertex AI: Veo 3.1 around $0.40 per second of audio-on output; Veo 3.1 Lite materially cheaper.

Reach for this when you need short-form video with sound built in; the closest thing to a usable AI video model for UK SME marketing in 2026.

MCPs and connectors worth knowing (6)

Deep Research MCP integration

Gemini's Deep Research agent now accepts MCP servers as sources, so you can point it at your own internal data alongside the open web.

8/10
Gemini in Google Drive File Search

Lets the model search and ground responses in a specified Drive folder. The closest thing to a native RAG setup without writing code.

8/10
Google AI Studio

Free developer playground for trying Gemini 3.1 Pro, Veo 3.1 and Imagen 4 before committing to a paid plan or building on Vertex AI.

8/10
Vertex AI Agent Builder

For teams who want to build production Gemini agents with their own data, on Google Cloud, with proper IAM and logging.

7/10
Flow

Google's video production app on top of Veo 3.1 and Imagen 4 for shot chaining, camera direction and scene editing.

7/10
NotebookLM

Adjacent Google product that uses Gemini to turn a set of source documents into a grounded notebook, mind map or audio overview. Underrated as an SME knowledge tool.

9/10

Last verified: Verified May 2026. Current models: Gemini 3.1 Pro (released February 2026), Gemini 3.5 Flash (announced at I/O May 2026), Gemini Omni Flash, Veo 3.1 and Veo 3.1 Lite, Imagen 4. Daily Brief agent rolled out at I/O 2026; Spark agent in early release on Ultra US only. Workspace add-on SKU discontinued; Gemini now included in all paid Workspace plans. Re-research when Gemini 3.5 Pro launches (expected June 2026) or when Spark reaches the UK.