The AI is already built into the apps you open every day. Most people just never turn it on. Here’s what each one does and exactly how to set it up.
Zoom, Slack, Notion, Google Docs and Google Sheets all have AI built in now. Some of it comes free with a plan you already pay for, and some needs an upgrade. I’ll tell you which is which so you don’t go hunting for a button you don’t have.
01
Zoom meeting summaries
Zoom writes up the call for you, including what was decided and who does what next. You stop taking notes and actually listen.
The host or a co-host starts it from the meeting toolbar (look for the summary button, which may still say AI Companion). To have it start on its own every time, open your Zoom web settings, find the AI section and turn on automatic meeting summaries. Everyone in the call sees a notice that it’s on.
What you need: A paid Zoom Workplace plan. Zoom says eligible paid plans include its core AI features at no extra cost. In June 2026 Zoom dropped the "AI Companion" name and now just calls these features what they do. (Zoom’s announcement)
02
Slack summaries and recaps
Slack condenses a 60-message thread into the key points, and recaps can summarize your noisiest channels every day so you don’t have to scroll.
Open any thread and click Summarize at the top. In a channel, click the three dots at the top and choose Summarize channel. To get daily recaps, click Recap in the sidebar and pick your channels. Huddle notes capture what was said and decided in a huddle.
What you need: Any paid plan for summaries and huddle notes. Recaps need Business+ or Enterprise+. (Slack’s AI guide)
03
Notion AI that searches your workspace
Ask "what did we decide about the launch date?" and Notion AI finds the answer in your pages, notes and databases. It only uses pages you have access to.
Press space on an empty line in any page, or press Shift + Cmd + J (Shift + Ctrl + J on Windows) to open it. In a database, click a property name and choose AI Autofill to have it tag, categorize or summarize every row.
What you need: The Business plan ($20 per member a month) for full Notion AI. Free and Plus only get a limited trial. The old $10 AI add-on is no longer on the pricing page. (Notion pricing)
04
Gemini in Google Docs
Gemini drafts, rewrites and edits right inside your doc. The part most people miss: it can pull in context from your Drive files and Gmail, so a draft starts from your real project details.
Open a doc and click the Gemini icon, then type what you want in the bar at the bottom. To give it sources, click Sources or type @ and pick a file. Select any text and click Refine to shorten or rephrase it.
What you need: An eligible Google Workspace or Google AI plan, like Google AI Pro. It isn’t on a plain free Google account. (Google’s Docs guide)
05
Gemini in Google Sheets
Describe the formula in plain English and Gemini writes it. "Average column B only for rows where column A says Q1." No more searching VLOOKUP syntax.
Click Ask Gemini at the top right to open the side panel. Ask for a formula, a chart ("make a line chart of sales by month") or analysis ("identify trends in this table"), then click Insert. Charts land on a new tab and don’t update when your data changes, so regenerate them after edits.
What you need: Same as Docs: an eligible Google Workspace or Google AI plan. (Google’s Sheets guide)
Do This Right Now
Pick the app you use most, turn on its AI feature and use it once today. Then come back and turn on the rest.