Hey there,

Over the last few months, we’ve explored some incredible AI tools together, from the new AI Mode in Search to generating and editing videos with Flow. But despite how significant and polished these tools seem, many of these powerful Gemini products are actually live experiments, constantly changing and evolving. And they all live in the same place. Today, I want to shift focus away from any single tool and instead explore the exciting experimental ecosystem they all belong to: Google Labs.

What Exactly is Google Labs? 

Google Labs is the public testing platform for Google’s newest Gemini-powered tools. By allowing users access to these still evolving tools, development teams can better gauge what works and what can be improved. The point of Google Labs is to showcase the latest AI products and allow users to provide feedback directly to the developer teams. Currently Google Labs offers 42 unique experiments ranging from research assistants to image generators and music creation tools. It’s important to remember that each experiment is in a different stage of development so they may still be buggy and are subject to changes or even complete overhauls. 

How to Access Google Labs 

The best part about this platform is that it is free for everyone! All you need to do is head to Google Labs and sign in to your Google account. All that's left is to start exploring! 

It’s worth noting that while you can try these experiments for free, there can and often are paid tiers that include additional features and benefits. For example, Flow allows users to pay for better models and higher quota limits. 

Google Labs Experiments

After browsing through Google Labs, I’m sure you’ve noticed that there is a wide variety of experiments. Some are incredibly ground-breaking (like Flow) while others seem more like fun projects meant to push the Gemini models (like GenChess). To give you a taste of that range, here are a few experiments that caught my eye.

NotebookLM: Your AI Research Assistant

What is it: NotebookLM is a research tool that helps you work with and understand your documents and sources. 

Why it’s Impactful: NotebookLM uses Search Grounding to analyze and understand the sources you upload. It can then answer questions, create reports, and even generate videos based on what you’ve shared. 

Use Case: In this example, I’m using NotebookLM to answer questions about a large PDF that explains the entirety of Roman history. 

If you decide to check out NotebookLM (which I highly recommend), the Studio tab on the right has a ton of great tools for making large, complex sources more digestible. 

GenType: Creating Custom Alphabet Sets

What is it: GenType creates custom alphabet sets based on your description. 

Why it's Impactful: To be honest, I don’t think that this experiment is very impactful. While definitely cool, its practical applications are very limited. I wanted to highlight it here to show an experiment that seems more about pushing the model than creating a groundbreaking tool (like NotebookLM or Flow). 

Use Case: In this example, GenType created an alphabet that looks like futuristic space stations. Groundbreaking? Not really. Cool? Definitely. 

Whisk: Creating Images and Animations

What is it: Whisk allows users to easily combine styles, scenes, and subjects to create unique images and animations. 

Why it's Impactful: Image generators can be tricky tools to use effectively. Often users struggle to create their desired images, but Whisk tackles this problem by breaking the process down into more manageable parts. 

Use Case: In this example, I combined three images (a subject, scene, and style) to create a unique image.

Is Google Labs Worth Your Time?

Now that we’ve looked at a few Google Labs experiments, the main question remains, is it worth checking out? My answer is a resounding yes! Google Labs is an incredibly valuable platform for finding cutting-edge tools that can be applied to countless use cases whether you're a student, a professional, or working on a personal project. But more than that, Google Labs lets you see the future of Google’s AI ecosystem. You can get a better understanding of what's important to Google and how they plan on optimizing their Gemini models going forward. 

So to summarize, whether you’re looking for free cutting-edge AI tools or just want to test and give feedback on future Google products, Google Labs is the place to be. Chances are that you’ve already interacted with products that are a part of this platform, specifically AI Mode and AI Overviews in Search.