How to Use Gemini: A First-Week Guide for Business Owners

If your business already runs on Google, Gemini is the AI assistant that sits closest to your work. It lives on the web, in an app on your phone, and increasingly inside the tools you use every day. The good news is that you can be useful with it in ten minutes. The less obvious news is that a handful of settings decide how private, how organised and how repeatable your use of it will be.

I've written this from Google's own Gemini Apps Help page, so the steps match what the product tells you rather than what a forum guessed at some point. I've added a first-week routine and six prompts you can paste straight in.

What is Gemini and who can use it?

Gemini Apps is Google's AI assistant. Google describes what it's for in plain terms: brainstorming ideas and developing a plan, giving you a quick summary of a complicated topic, and producing first drafts of outlines, emails and blog posts.

You can use some features without signing in. To use more of them or to save your activity, you need a Google Account. That can be a personal account, a work account on a qualifying Workspace edition (you must be an adult), or a school account that the school's administrator has switched on. The Gemini mobile app on Android needs you to sign in.

How do I start using Gemini?

On a computer, it takes four steps:

1. Go to gemini.google.com.
2. Type your question or request into the text box at the bottom.
3. If you want it to look at something, choose Add files and follow the prompts to add a file or an image.
4. Choose Submit.

To start fresh later, choose New chat at the top left. If you can't see it, open the Menu first. Signing in also lets you find and manage your recent chats.

How do I write a first prompt that works?

Give it a job, the material and the shape of the answer. The most common mistake is asking a huge question with no context. Here's a prompt I'd start with on day one.

Copy this prompt

I run [type of business] for [who you serve].
Here is something I wrote: [paste your text].
Rewrite it so it's clearer and warmer, keep my meaning, and keep it under [length].
Then list the three changes you made and why.

Which Gemini model should I pick?

You don't have to. Google says Gemini Apps use auto model selection to choose the most appropriate available model for each prompt. If you're signed in and want more control, you can choose a different model yourself from the menu. For most small business tasks, I'd leave it on automatic until a result disappoints you, and only then try another option.

Can Gemini make me a Doc, a Sheet or a PDF?

Yes, and this is one of the most practical features for a busy owner. Ask for a response as a specific file, and Gemini can create it directly from the conversation. Google lists supported formats including Docs and Sheets, PDF, Word, Excel, CSV, plain text, rich text, Markdown and LaTeX. For most formats you can download the file or export it to Google Drive.

Google's own example prompts show the idea: asking for research on a topic to be put in a doc, or for a spreadsheet of weekly scores. Here's the kind of request that saves me time.

Copy and paste this prompt

Create a spreadsheet for tracking [leads / jobs / orders] for my [type of business].
Columns: [list them]. Add [number] example rows so I can see the layout.
Make it ready to export to Google Sheets.

How do I keep a chat out of my history?

Use a temporary chat. Google says a temporary chat won't appear in your Gemini Apps Activity or your recent chats. It's the right choice for a one-off question you don't want kept around. There are some things you can't do in a temporary chat, so check what's missing before you rely on it for a long job.

As with every assistant, Gemini can make mistakes. Google's advice is to double-check responses and not to rely on them as professional advice, which is worth remembering for anything legal, financial or medical.

What does Gemini know about my location?

Gemini may use your general location, or your device's precise location if you allow it, to give more relevant answers. On the web you can check this at the bottom of the Menu under Settings and help: a blue dot means gemini.google.com is using your precise location and a grey dot means it isn't. You can choose Update location to change it.

A simple first-week routine

• Day one: sign in and rewrite one email you already sent.
• Day two: upload a document and ask for a summary with three questions you should ask next.
• Day three: ask for a spreadsheet you'd normally build by hand.
• Day four: try a temporary chat for something you'd rather not keep.
• Day five: compare an answer against one other source and note what you had to fix.

Copy this prompt

Summarise the document I've attached in five bullet points for a busy [role].
Then give me three questions I should ask the author or my team before I act on it.

What do I do when the first answer is weak?

Don't start again. Tell Gemini what's wrong and ask it to try once more, because a specific correction beats a fresh vague request every time. You can also edit your original prompt and send it again, and Google's help page notes that you can check other responses to the same prompt. Here's a follow-up I use constantly.

Copy and paste this prompt

That wasn't quite right. It's too [long / formal / generic / salesy].
Keep [the part that worked], change [the part that didn't], and give me two different versions so I can pick.

Over a few weeks you'll notice the same corrections coming up. Turn those into a standing line at the top of your prompts, such as your tone, your reader and the words you never use.

Gemini or ChatGPT: which should I use?

There isn't one answer, and it often comes down to where your work lives. If your day is Gmail, Docs and Sheets, Gemini is a natural fit. If you rely on other tools, test both on the same real task. I've set out how to decide in my side-by-side of Claude and ChatGPT, and the same method works for Gemini.

Tools that work with Gemini

Gemini's help pages cover connected apps, uploading and analysing files, organising projects in notebooks, schedules and a deeper thinking mode, so it's worth browsing them once you're comfortable. Outside Google, the usual suspects still help: a password manager for sign-ins, Canva for visuals, and Zapier or Make for passing results to other apps. For ideas on where to start in your marketing, see how to use AI in marketing.

If you'd like a hand choosing the right assistant and setting it up for your team, this is how I work with business owners.

Frequently asked questions

Is Gemini free to use?

Google says you can use some Gemini Apps features without signing in, and more when you sign in with a Google Account. Which features you get depends on your account and location, so check the Gemini Apps Help page.

Do I need a Google account for Gemini?

For some features, no. To use more of them or to save your activity you'll need to sign in, and the Gemini mobile app on Android requires it.

How do I start a new chat in Gemini?

On a computer, choose New chat at the top left. If it isn't visible, open the Menu first.

Can Gemini create documents and spreadsheets?

Yes. Ask for the response as a file and Gemini can produce Docs, Sheets, PDF, Word, Excel, CSV and other formats, which you can download or export to Google Drive.

How do I stop Gemini saving a conversation?

Start a temporary chat. Google says it won't appear in your Gemini Apps Activity or recent chats.