Google launches new voice features with Gmail Live, Docs Live, and Keep Live: Those with a paid Google AI subscription can now dictate emails, documents, and notes using voice commands instead of typing. The rollout has been ongoing since this week, but the voice control is initially only available in English.
Gmail, Docs, and Keep get their own voice features
The three features are based on Google’s voice AI Gemini and function differently, as Google states in a dedicated blog post. Gmail Live answers spoken questions about one’s inbox, such as asking for a delivery address from an old email, and reads the appropriate answer aloud. Docs Live listens to verbal brainstorming and creates a structured document draft from it. With permission, the feature also incorporates information from Gmail, Drive, and the web. Keep Live converts spontaneously spoken thoughts into organized lists and notes, such as a shopping or task list.
This expands what Gemini already does in Meet meetings for minutes to inbox, word processing, and note-taking apps. According to Google, all three services initially launch as beta and are expected to be further developed in the coming months. Reports indicate that the features have been tested since spring before the rollout began in the first week of September. So far, only the mobile apps are affected, and access on computers is not planned.
How work life is changing
An example from the office: A clerk looks for the supplier’s address from an email from last week just before the end of the workday. Instead of searching the inbox, she taps the new live icon in the Gmail search and asks in English for the address from the message. Gemini finds the appropriate email and states the address directly, without needing to open it. Similarly, a meeting minutes report can be dictated in the meeting room, or a shopping list can be spoken while both hands are otherwise occupied. Those following up on a meeting can simply speak the open points into Keep and receive an organized task list immediately.
Here’s how to try out the new voice control:
- Check existing Google AI subscription or at least sign up for the Plus tier.
- Change the account language in Google settings to English, as only this language currently works.
- Tap the new live icon in the Gmail or Keep app.
- Simply speak a question, dictation, or thought and check the response or note from Gemini.
Access costs money, German is still missing
Gmail Live and Keep Live are part of the Google AI Plus subscription. It costs around 4.99 euros per month in Germany since a price reduction in June 2026. Docs Live for dictating entire documents requires the more expensive Google AI Pro for around 20 euros per month. A free Google account is not sufficient for any of the three features. Gmail Live and Docs Live run on Android and iOS, while Keep Live is currently only available on Android; access via web browser is still missing. Business accounts with Google Workspace are expected to receive the features at a later, yet unspecified time, according to Google.
The biggest limitation remains the language: All three features only operate in English. Similarly, Google’s dictation feature for Mac already runs without German language input. Google has not yet announced a date for a German version, as confirmed by heise online. This continues a pattern: Other new Gemini features like the chat command line or Sheets Canvas also started in English before Google added more languages.
It will be crucial whether Google quickly delivers the voice features in German. Without a local language, the usefulness for most German-speaking offices remains limited to colleagues with proficient English. Those using voice commands for business inboxes or documents should clarify beforehand whether their own data protection rules allow for the loud dictation of sensitive company or customer data in the workplace.
