According to ExtremeTech, Google has begun automatically activating its Workspace smart features by default across Gmail, Drive, Calendar, Chat, and Meet services. These changes mean Gemini AI now processes users’ personal content unless they manually disable these settings. The automatic activation applies to most regions worldwide except the EU, Switzerland, the UK, and Japan, where privacy laws require explicit user consent. Many users discovered these AI features had been turned on without their knowledge or explicit approval. Google claims it doesn’t use Workspace data to train external AI models like Bard without permission, but the company has enabled features like inbox categorization, smart replies, and grammar checking by default.
The privacy implications
Here’s the thing that bothers me about this rollout. Google is basically saying “trust us, we’re not using your data to train our external AI models.” But they’re still processing your emails, documents, and calendar entries across their entire ecosystem. And they’re doing it unless you specifically opt out. That’s a significant shift in the consent model. Most people won’t even know this is happening until they start seeing those AI-powered features popping up everywhere. When you consider that Malwarebytes has a handy guide explaining how to turn these features off, it tells you something about how buried these settings are.
Why businesses should pay attention
For enterprise users, this is particularly concerning. Companies handling sensitive information might not want AI scanning their internal communications and documents, even if Google promises the data stays within Workspace. And let’s be honest – how many IT departments are proactively checking these settings? Probably not enough. The fact that Google excluded the EU, UK, and other regions with stronger privacy laws speaks volumes. They know they can’t get away with this where regulators take data protection seriously. So they’re rolling it out everywhere else and hoping most users won’t notice.
Taking control of your settings
Look, the reality is that AI features can be genuinely useful. Smart replies save time, grammar checking improves communication, and inbox organization helps productivity. But the decision about whether to use them should be yours. The problem isn’t the features themselves – it’s the lack of clear, upfront choice. If you’re concerned about this, you need to manually check your Workspace settings and decide what you’re comfortable with. Don’t assume your preferences are being respected by default. Because as we’ve seen, they’re probably not.
