Enhanced AI: Nano Banana 2 & Gemini History Arrive in Workspace

Google Workspace continues to integrate powerful artificial intelligence capabilities, providing administrators with new tools and users with more intelligent features. Recent updates introduce an advanced image generation model within the Gemini app and a much-anticipated conversation history feature directly within the Workspace side panel. These enhancements aim to streamline workflows, boost creativity, and offer greater control over data management.

Nano Banana 2 in the Gemini App: Next-Generation Image Generation

A significant upgrade has arrived for visual content creation within Google Workspace with the introduction of Nano Banana 2, a sophisticated image generation model. This latest iteration, known internally as Gemini 3.1 Flash Image, replaces the previous Nano Banana model and is engineered to bring high-speed, intelligent visual generation to a broader audience.

Nano Banana 2 leverages the extensive knowledge base of the Gemini model, incorporating real-time information and images from web searches to produce more accurate and relevant visuals. This deep understanding enables users to effortlessly generate complex content, such as infographics, convert notes into diagrams, or create insightful data visualisations.

For administrators, it is important to note that this feature has no specific administrative controls. However, its capabilities are robust and cater to various professional needs:

• Production-Ready Specifications: Users gain full control over aspect ratios and resolutions, supporting outputs up to 1K for standard use and 2K for paid subscriptions. This ensures visuals maintain sharpness and are perfectly sized for diverse applications, from social media stories to large-scale presentation backdrops.
• Precision Text Rendering and Translation: The model excels at generating accurate and legible text within images, ideal for marketing mock-ups or detailed infographics. Furthermore, it supports the translation and localisation of text within images, facilitating global communication.
• Enhanced Subject Consistency: Nano Banana 2 can maintain the resemblance of up to five characters and the fidelity of up to ten objects within a single workflow. This feature is particularly beneficial for creating storyboards or sequential narratives without compromising the appearance of initial inputs.
• Precise Instruction Following: The model demonstrates improved adherence to complex requests, capturing specific nuances and delivering images that closely match user intentions.
• Visual Fidelity Upgrade: Expect vibrant lighting, richer textures, and sharper details in generated imagery, all while maintaining the speed characteristic of Flash models.

Nano Banana 2 is now available across Fast, Thinking, and Pro models for Google Workspace customers, Workspace Individual subscribers, and personal Google account users aged 18 or older when signed into the Gemini app.

Gemini Conversation History: Persistent Chats in Workspace Side Panels

A highly anticipated feature, Gemini conversation history, is rolling out to the side panel within Google Workspace applications. This enhancement allows users to resume their interactions with Gemini across different sessions, significantly improving workflow continuity.

A crucial aspect of this update is user privacy. Conversation history remains isolated within the specific application where it occurred. For instance, a discussion initiated in the side panel of Google Docs will not appear in Google Sheets, and conversations within shared files are not visible to other collaborators. This ensures that user interactions with Gemini remain personal and contained.

For administrators, this launch introduces important controls for managing conversation data:

• Manual Deletion Control: By default, users are able to manually delete individual conversations from their history. Administrators have the option to modify this setting at the domain, organisational unit, or group level.
• Automated Retention Policies: Conversations are stored indefinitely by default. However, administrators can enable auto-deletion, setting conversations to be removed after a period of three months, 18 months, or three years of inactivity. This provides flexibility in managing data lifecycles according to organisational policies.

It is important to note that this initial release does not include Vault support or the ability for end users to auto-delete conversations. These capabilities are planned for future updates.

Rollout Timeline and Availability

Admin controls for managing Gemini in Workspace conversation history are already available for both Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains.

End-user visibility will commence with users participating in the Gemini Alpha and Workspace Labs programmes starting March 3, 2026. A broader rollout to all other Workspace users in Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains is scheduled to begin no sooner than March 17, 2026.

This feature is available across a wide range of Google Workspace editions, including Business Starter, Standard, and Plus; Enterprise Starter, Standard, and Plus; Frontline Plus; Education Plus; and those with Teaching & Learning or Google AI Pro for Education add-ons, as well as Google AI Pro and Ultra consumer plans. Users must be over 18 years of age and have eligible Google Workspace plans, with smart features and personalisation enabled, to access Gemini in Workspace services.

These advancements underscore the continuous development of AI within the Google Workspace ecosystem, offering administrators more robust tools for managing and optimising their environments.