Google has added voice control to Gmail, Docs and Keep. The three features are called Gmail Live, Docs Live and Keep Live, and they let you talk to each app instead of typing. Google announced them on 3 September 2026 in a post on its Workspace blog, written by Yulie Kwon Kim, VP of Product for Google Workspace. They run on what Google calls Gemini Audio models, first previewed at I/O.
The pitch is hands-free work. The catch is that all three sit behind a paid Google AI subscription.
What Gmail Live, Docs Live and Keep Live actually do
Gmail Live is conversational search for your mailbox. You ask a question out loud and it reads your inbox to answer it. Google’s own examples are asking for a flight’s gate number, or what is happening at your child’s school this week. You can ask follow-ups without repeating yourself. According to 9to5Google, the session runs full screen with a transcript and links back to the source emails, and you start it from a new Live icon in the Gmail search bar.
Docs Live is aimed at the blank page. You talk through an idea and it builds a structured draft as you go. Google says it will also pull details from your Gmail, Drive, Chat and the wider web, with your permission. 9to5Google reports it launches from a new Create with voice option on the floating action button in the Docs app.
Keep Live handles brain dumps. You speak a stream of thoughts and it turns them into lists and notes. Google says Keep processes what you say in the background. It can also add to a note you already have, so telling it you need bananas appends to your existing grocery list rather than starting a new one.
Who gets the Gmail, Docs and Keep voice features
Google’s announcement is specific about the tiers, and they are not the same for each app:
- Gmail Live — Google AI Plus, Pro and Ultra subscribers.
- Keep Live — Google AI Plus, Pro and Ultra subscribers.
- Docs Live — Google AI Pro and Ultra only. Plus does not include it.
Google says the features started rolling out this week, and that all three are coming soon for Google Workspace business customers. Google’s post does not list platforms or languages. 9to5Google reports that Gmail Live is on Android and iOS in English worldwide, Docs Live is on Android and iOS, and Keep Live is on Android at launch. Google has not published India-specific pricing or timing for these features in the announcement.
The part worth pausing on
These are subscription features inside apps most people use for free. The tier split is worth noting too. Docs Live, arguably the most useful of the three, is the one Plus subscribers do not get.
The permission scope is the other thing to read carefully. Docs Live draws on your Gmail, Drive, Chat and the open web to write a document, which is a wide grant to hand a voice assistant in one tap. Keep Live processes what you say in the background. Google’s announcement does not say how long these voice recordings are kept, or whether they are used to improve its models. If that matters to you, check the terms attached to your Google AI plan before you turn any of this on. We covered a similar disclosure gap when Google changed how Gemini marks AI-generated content.
Sources: Google Workspace blog, 9to5Google (platform and in-app access details)
