I'm officially a 'thought leader' on paper, thanks to a Gemini rewrite

Writing for different audiences can be challenging. Some people want the fat trimmed entirely for a lean, efficient read, while others want it written as a neatly put-together story.

That's where seeing your work at another angle can be eye-opening — or, at the very least, use the same message to reach someone else.

I recently tried the Gemini rewrite feature, which came with my free Google One subscription. My subscription includes the Google AI Pro plan.

You can technically access Gemini rewrite with a Google Workspace plan as well.

If you lack a premium plan, another option is to use the Google Gemini app on your computer or a trusty Android tablet or phone. You can ask Gemini to rewrite your text in a specific style or tone.

Gemini rewrite is a desktop-only feature. It is also only available in English.

What Gemini rewrite allows you to do

There are some limitations to using these rewrite tools

Gemini rewrite is an integrated feature available in Google Docs, Gmail, and the Gemini web app.

Since I do a lot of my typing in Google Docs, it was only natural that I tested the Gemini rewrite there.

Clicking the Gemini button opens a custom prompt box. From there, you can instruct Gemini to help you create new content or rephrase selected text.

Beside the Rephrase button, there's also a More button.

Clicking the More button adds a few more options to choose from that change the style:

• Shorten
• Elaborate
• More Formal
• Bulletize
• Summarize

My personal favorites were the Shorten, Elaborate, and Bulletize styles.

Though I used Bulletize more than Shorten, since both aim to present key information more quickly for audiences who might not have time to read the entire context.

The next useful option (for me) was changing the tone.

Right now, there are only two standard options: the formal tone, if your text is already detected to use casual, or the casual tone, if the text adopts something formal.

Then, if I liked the new tone, I'd apply it and select the Match writing style option to refine it further.

Though I am a big believer in changing small parts of the text at a time, you don't want a heterogeneous document where you accidentally shift tone but forget to change the rest.

That's where the Match writing style feature comes in handy even more. You can continue highlighting the rest of the document, then select it again, and it should detect the tone you applied earlier and match it.

The only downside to using this tool is that it doesn't let you change the entire document on the fly unless you use a custom prompt to specify doing so.

Instead, selecting more text will cause the AI to default to shortening the text or using the generic style options outside Match writing style.

Rephrase your Google Docs copy with Gemini rewrite

Changing my document's tone was eye-opening

As someone who took technical writing courses and holds a science degree, I sometimes struggle to find the right tone, voice, or approach to writing.

I've always found the "matter-of-fact" way of writing more comfortable because of my background.

What I liked about the rewrite and refinement feature was that I could land a different, custom tone and voice if I wanted.

For example, I could ask the AI to write the text in a more neutral tone that would appeal to someone skeptical of the feature I am highlighting.

To do that, click the pencil with a star icon when hovering over it.

A prompt box appears below the page; from there, you can enter the specific instructions on how you want Gemini to apply the changes to your text.

For this example, I used the "skeptical audience" in my prompt.

Gemini will then change the text to suit it. You can then choose to accept or deny the change.

The nice part is that it treats this like an edit that doesn't automatically overwrite your work. So you can compare the rewrite/rephrased option to your original work, unless you accept it.

I liked that part because I am a big believer in comparing drafts, and I keep backups of my old drafts so that I can compare and contrast my changes.

When I didn't like the rephrase/rewrite edit from Gemini, I would deny the change and then redo the prompt.

It takes me a few tries to get the exact copy I want, but I haven't run into any prompt limits using it, so I just kept repeating different prompts until I was happy with it.

You can technically right-click and choose Refine the selected text > Rephrase, which will change the text without instructing it. The rewrite won't fix the tone or change the style unless you use options other than rephrase.

I didn't love this option because it repeated the same information in a different order or flow.

However, I didn't learn that much from it. So I generally stuck to using the prompt box to instruct on how to change parts of my text, mainly the lede, since I often find that the toughest part to write.

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It was neat to see how the text is altered based on the prompts.

For example, I used a prompt that asked me to write for a 7th-grade-level audience and break down technical terms into easy-to-understand language.

I sometimes used this tool when I was trying to understand new concepts from a wordy Wikipedia page or a published scientific journal.

I'd paste parts of the text (if allowed) into Google Docs, then use Gemini to rephrase it.

Seeing the same text being rephrased really helped me learn a lot of new things without needing to look up every key term.

When you should and shouldn't use Gemini rewrite

Considering that writing is my chosen profession, I do feel a bit conflicted with the Gemini rewrite tool.

While it provided me with a good learning experience without meeting with an editor for feedback, it still wasn't quite the replacement I wanted.

It's also a massive no-no to use the actual copy, since the AI can override your own signature voice. But it's at least helped me see my work from a different perspective.

One benefit of using Gemini rewrite is that it can help non-native English speakers present their work more clearly (or at least make subtle improvements to portions of their text).

As someone who knows what it's like to learn a foreign language and see the perks of using AI for learning another language, I've honestly found it to be an invaluable tool for learning proper structure.