By Shuaib S. Agaka

At a time when artificial intelligence has become the centrepiece of Big Tech’s rivalry, access to the most powerful tools often comes at a steep price. OpenAI, Microsoft, Google and Anthropic are locked in an aggressive race to dominate the generative AI ecosystem, but for everyday users, creators and small businesses, the competition has largely translated into monthly subscriptions, premium tiers and feature lock-ins.

Google, however, appears to be playing a slightly different game.

While rivals push users towards paid plans costing thousands of naira each month, Google has quietly rolled out a growing suite of professional-grade AI tools that are free to use. These tools cover everything from turning dense documents into explainer videos, to building internal automation tools, generating presentations, creating branded marketing content, and producing high-quality images.

For creators, journalists, educators, startups and developers—especially in markets where affordability matters—these tools offer a rare opportunity to work at a professional level without the financial burden.

Here are five free Google AI tools that stand out, what they do, and how to use them.

1. NotebookLM Video Overviews: Turning Documents into Explainer Videos

Originally launched in 2023 as a research assistant, NotebookLM has evolved into one of Google’s most practical AI tools. Its Video Overview feature allows users to convert complex documents into clear, visual explainer videos.

The tool is accessible via notebooklm.google.com. To get started, users create a new notebook and upload source materials such as PDFs, articles, reports or research papers. Once the documents are uploaded, navigating to the Studio tab on the right-hand side reveals the Video Overview option.

Before generating the video, users can customise the output by specifying the tone, focus areas or key topics through the settings menu. Once generated, NotebookLM produces a structured video presentation complete with visuals, diagrams and direct quotes pulled from the original sources.

Although the generation process takes a few minutes—largely because the AI reads, analyses, and scripts the content—the result is often worth the wait. The feature is particularly useful for simplifying technical documentation, academic papers, policy reports or training manuals. It supports over 80 languages and allows multiple video outputs per notebook, making it a powerful tool for educators, analysts, and content creators.

2. Google Workspace Studio: Building Automation Tools Without Coding

Google Workspace Studio, available at studio.workspace.google.com, is designed for users who want to automate workflows without writing a single line of code. Instead of traditional automation platforms that require technical expertise, this tool relies on plain English prompts powered by Gemini AI.

After clicking Create New, users are taken to an interface where they can describe what they want to build. For example, a prompt such as “Create a tool that generates 10 viral headlines for any topic entered” is enough for the system to construct a functional workflow.

Behind the scenes, Workspace Studio automatically creates node-based systems that include inputs, AI processing blocks and output displays. Users can either allow the AI to handle everything or manually tweak the workflow by adding or editing nodes from the menu.

Once completed, the workflow can be tested instantly by clicking Start. Unlike Google AI Studio, which focuses on public-facing applications, Workspace Studio is built for internal operational tools, making it ideal for businesses, media organisations and teams looking to streamline repetitive tasks.

3. Gemini Canvas: Instantly Turning Documents into Presentations

Creating presentations is often time-consuming, especially when starting from long documents. Gemini Canvas, built directly into Google’s Gemini interface, automates this process.

To use it, users visit gemini.google.com, hover over the Agents tab beneath the text box and select Canvas. From there, they can upload a document or paste text directly into the interface. A simple prompt such as “Create a presentation from this document and include visuals for each section” triggers the AI to generate a complete slide deck.

Gemini Canvas organises content logically, adds relevant visuals, charts and formatting, and presents everything in real time. Users can refine slides using conversational prompts like “Make slide three more visual” or “Add a comparison chart here.”

Once satisfied, the presentation can be exported directly to Google Slides for final edits. The feature is available to both free and Pro Gemini users, making it a valuable tool for students, professionals and presenters working under tight deadlines.

4. Pomelli: AI-Powered Brand Marketing (Limited Availability)

Pomelli, an experimental tool available through Google Labs, focuses on brand-aligned marketing content. Unlike generic social media generators, Pomelli analyses a company’s website to understand its visual identity and messaging.

After searching for Pomelli Google Labs, users are prompted to enter their website URL. The tool scans the site to extract brand colours (including hex codes), fonts, tone of voice and visual style. Users can review and adjust the brand profile before confirming it.

Once approved, Pomelli automatically generates campaign ideas and social media content. Users can also enter custom prompts, such as creating a flash sale campaign or promoting a new product. While the design outputs may not always be cutting-edge, they generally meet professional standards suitable for most business needs.

At the moment, Pomelli is still in beta and limited to users in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, which makes it inaccessible to many global users for now.

5. Imagen 4: Professional Image Generation Inside Gemini

For image generation, Google’s Imagen 4 model is integrated directly into Gemini under the Create Images option. Users can access it by opening a new Gemini chat, selecting Agents, and choosing Create Images.

The tool responds to detailed prompts and generates images in under 30 seconds. It supports multiple artistic styles, realistic lighting, accurate textures and resolutions of up to 2K. This makes it suitable for product mockups, marketing visuals and creative design work.

In testing, the tool occasionally struggles with precise product details—for instance, generating a phone case that matches an older model instead of the latest version—but overall image quality is comparable to many paid platforms.

All images generated using Imagen 4 include invisible SynthID watermarks for transparency. While the standard version is free within Gemini, developers can access faster generation options through Google AI Studio.

As AI continues to reshape how people work and create, tools like these give users room to experiment, learn and build skills without financial pressure. In a space where access often defines who gets to innovate, Google’s free AI offerings give more users a meaningful starting point—one that prioritises usefulness, flexibility and real-world application.

Shuaib S. Agaka is tech journalist and digital policy analyst based in Kano. Can be reached via sshuaib328@gmail.com

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TECHDIGEST – Tech giant, Google, said it has deployed a new AI technology, Open Buildings, to map buildings across Africa.

Google’s Open Buildings is different from Google Street View and uses AI to provide a digital footprint of buildings. It also provides the exact location and polygon outline of each building, its size, a confidence score for it being detected as a valid building, and a Plus Code.

Google set the full dataset of the AI encompasses 50 African countries and includes the outlines of at least 500 million buildings across the continent, the majority of which are less than 20 square meters.

There is, however, no information about the type of building, its street address, or any identifying data. Google said it has also excluded sensitive areas such as conflict zones to protect vulnerable populations.

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Benefits of the tool

Highlighting the benefits of the AI tool for state and non-state actors, Google said: “From Lagos’ Makoko settlement to Dadaab’s refugee camps, millions of previously invisible buildings have popped up in our dataset.

“This improved building data helps refine the understanding of where people and communities live, providing actionable information for state and non-state actors looking to provide services from sanitation to education and vaccination.”

In addition, Google said the Open Buildings AI will help African countries in the following areas:

Population mapping

Building footprints are a key ingredient for estimating population density. This information is vital to planning services for communities.

Humanitarian response

To plan the response to a flood, drought, or other natural disasters.

Environmental science

Knowledge of settlement density is useful for understanding the human impact on the natural environment.

Addressing systems

In many areas, buildings do not have formal addresses. This can make it difficult for people to access social benefits and economic opportunities. Building footprint data can help with the rollout of digital addressing systems such as Plus Codes.

Vaccination planning

Knowing the density of the population and settlements helps to anticipate demand for vaccines and the best locations for facilities. This data is also useful for precision epidemiology, as well as prevention efforts such as mosquito net distribution.

Statistical indicators

Buildings data can be used to help calculate statistical indicators for national planning, such as the number of houses in the catchment areas of schools and health centres, mean travel distances to the nearest hospital, or demand forecast for transportation systems.

Google said the Open Buildings project was led by its team at the AI Research Center in Accra, Ghana. According to the company, the centre was launched in 2019 to bring together top machine learning researchers and engineers dedicated to AI research and its applications.

Source: Nairametric

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