Build Intelligent Google Workspace Tools with Gemini and Google Apps Script - No Prior AI Experience Required
Artificial intelligence is rapidly becoming part of everyday work-but most explanations stop at theory, hype, or disconnected examples. Gemini with Google Apps Script is different. This book shows you, step by step, how to actually build AI-powered tools inside Google Workspace using Gemini and Apps Script-clearly, responsibly, and from the ground up.
Whether you are an educator, administrator, analyst, or developer, this book teaches you how to integrate Gemini directly into Google Docs, Sheets, Gmail, and custom Apps Script projects-without servers, without complex infrastructure, and without guessing.
This is a complete beginner's guide, but it does not talk down to the reader. You do not need prior experience with AI, machine learning, or large language models. Everything is explained from first principles, with working examples you can run immediately.
You will begin by understanding how Google Apps Script works, how fetch requests communicate with external services, and how authentication behaves in real Google Workspace environments. From there, you will learn how Gemini fits into that pipeline, how requests are structured, how responses are returned, and how to safely manage AI-generated content.
The book covers both API key-based Gemini usage and Vertex AI (OAuth-based) Gemini integration, reflecting real-world constraints in personal, educational, and enterprise environments. Instead of assuming one setup, the book explains why different environments behave differently-and how to design code that works reliably.
You will learn how to:
- Connect Apps Script to Gemini step by step
- Build and run repeatable smoke tests
- Structure Gemini requests and prompts
- Parse, validate, and format Gemini responses
- Handle errors and edge cases safely
- Insert AI output into Docs and Sheets
- Build reusable Gemini helper utilities
- Create context-aware and user-safe tools
- Automate AI workflows responsibly
Each chapter includes fully explained source code, practical examples, exercises, and prompts that help you deepen your understanding rather than blindly copy code.
This book does not treat AI as a shortcut or replacement for thinking. Instead, it teaches you how to design systems around AI-systems that are transparent, maintainable, testable, and safe to use in real environments.
You will learn why AI output must be reviewed, why formatting and validation matter, and why responsible automation is more valuable than uncontrolled generation. The goal is not to produce impressive demos, but to build tools people can trust.
This book is supported by GitHub repositories that include:
- A working Gemini 2.5 smoke test
- Chapter-by-chapter example code
- Reusable Gemini helper functions
- Clean project structure for Apps Script
- Ready-to-run examples you can adapt
You are encouraged to run, modify, and extend the code as you learn.
This book is ideal for:
- Educators integrating AI into learning workflows
- Google Workspace power users
- Apps Script beginners and intermediates
- Administrators automating documents and data
- Developers who want serverless AI solutions
- Anyone curious about practical AI in everyday tools
No AI background is required-only curiosity and a willingness to learn.
Laurence Svekis is a Google Developer Expert, best-selling author, and educator with over two decades of experience teaching web development, automation, and modern programming.
If you want to move beyond AI hype and learn how to build real, intelligent tools inside Google Workspace, this book is your complete guide.
