Gemini Jump Start: Gmail, Sheets, Slides, Deep Research and NotebookLM
What you’ll be able to do: After this jump start you can use Google Gemini for everyday office work: test it against ChatGPT, Claude and Copilot on the same task, sum up a six-message Gmail thread and have Help me write draft the reply, run a Deep Research brief and check where its numbers came from, make a one-page PDF in the Gemini app and fix it in the chat, fill a research column in Google Sheets and open the source behind each cell, fix a late change across a whole Google Slides deck, and build a NotebookLM notebook that answers from your own documents, writes a briefing and turns a handbook into a podcast.
- Who it’s for
- Office staff, owners and team leads whose company runs on Gmail and Google Workspace, or who are deciding between Gemini and ChatGPT. No coding, and no Google account needed to practice.
- Time needed
- About 57 minutes of hands-on practice: 10 modules of 2 to 9 minutes each.
- Cost
- Free. No credit card, no trial, and no sign-up needed to start.
- Level
- Beginner
- Prerequisites
- None for the practice: a web browser on a desktop or laptop. To repeat the modules in your own tools: a ChatGPT account and a Google account.
- Format
- Self-paced and online. Each module runs in a practice copy of the real tool that checks every step, then a checklist walks you through doing it for real.
- Tools you practice in
- ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Copilot, Gmail, Google Sheets, Google Slides and Gemini Notebook.
Why this course
Most small offices already pay for Google Workspace, so Gemini is the AI that is already in the inbox, the spreadsheet and the deck. The question is not whether to try it but which jobs it does well. This jump start answers that with real tasks: a cleaning company's client thread in Gmail, an agency's cited research brief before a pitch, an office park's tenant notice as a PDF, a recruiter's list of target employers in Sheets, a benefits firm's client deck in Slides, and a contract plus a crew handbook in NotebookLM.
Every module is a practice copy of the real Gemini screens that checks each step, so you can start now without a Google account. Each module ends with a checklist for doing the same job in your own Gmail, Sheets, Slides or Gemini app. The last module puts ChatGPT Projects, Gemini Gems and Gemini Notebook side by side on the same files, so you finish knowing which one to open for which job.
What you’ll build
- Module 2: You are Carla, the office manager at Ridgeline Insurance Agency. You paste the same task into ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Microsoft Copilot: a client reminder email plus a table of this week’s tasks.
- Module 10: For Birch Street Auto Repair, a made-up business, you load three files (Price list 2026.pdf, Warranty and policies.pdf and Customer FAQ.docx) into a ChatGPT Project, a Gemini Gem and a Gemini Notebook, and ask each one the same customer question about a warranty claim.
- Module 1 · Stepthrough · Beginner · ~2 min
Start Here: How Stepthrough Works
You’ll be able to: Know how every module works: watch a step, do it yourself in the practice copy, and press Do it for me if you get stuck.
- Module 2 · ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Copilot · Beginner · ~8 min
Choose the AI Assistant Your Team Should Use, Tested on ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Copilot
You’ll be able to: Run one real task through ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Copilot, score the four answers and pick the assistant your team should use.
- Module 3 · Gmail + Gemini · Beginner · ~7 min
Gemini in Gmail: Summarize a Thread and Draft the Reply
You’ll be able to: Sum up a six-message Gmail thread with one click, ask the Gemini side panel what the client is waiting on, and have Help me write draft, polish and send the reply.
- Module 4 · Gemini · Beginner · ~6 min
Gemini Deep Research: a cited brief before a client meeting
You’ll be able to: Turn on Deep Research, ask one clear question, read Gemini's plan before it runs, open the cited report and check where the biggest numbers came from.
- Module 5 · Gemini · Beginner · ~4 min
Gemini: Make a Tenant Notice as a PDF and Fix It Right in the Chat
You’ll be able to: Ask the Gemini app for a one-page tenant notice as a PDF, open it full screen in the chat, fix the lines Gemini invented and export it.
- Module 6 · Google Sheets · Beginner · ~4 min
Google Sheets: Fill a Research Column with Gemini and Check Its Sources
You’ll be able to: Select empty cells in Google Sheets, click Fill, tell Gemini what goes in them, then open one cell's web sources and mark the row checked.
- Module 7 · Google Slides · Beginner · ~4 min
Gemini in Google Slides: Fix a Late Change Across a Whole Client Deck
You’ll be able to: Make a date and number change across a whole client deck from one Gemini prompt in Google Slides, check every slide and fix what it leaves behind.
- Module 8 · Gemini Notebook · Beginner · ~7 min
NotebookLM (Now Gemini Notebook): Cited Answers and a Briefing from Your Docs
You’ll be able to: Build a NotebookLM notebook from a PDF, a Google Doc and a website, ask a question, check the cited answer against the contract, save it as a note and create a Briefing Doc.
- Module 9 · Gemini Notebook · Beginner · ~6 min
NotebookLM Audio Overview: Turn Your Documents into a Podcast
You’ll be able to: Add a handbook and meeting notes to a notebook, customize the Audio Overview for new hires, generate the podcast and use Interactive mode to ask the hosts a question.
- Module 10 · ChatGPT + Gemini · Beginner · ~9 min
Projects vs Gems vs Gemini Notebook: Which to Use
You’ll be able to: Load the same three files into a ChatGPT Project, a Gemini Gem and a Gemini Notebook, ask the same warranty question, compare the answers and keep a one-screen cheat sheet for choosing.
Prerequisites
- For the practice: a web browser. Each module runs in a copy of the real tool’s screens, so you need no account and no sign-up to start module 1.
- To do it for real: a ChatGPT account and a Google account. Each module says which one it uses.
Time to complete
About 57 minutes of hands-on practice across 10 modules (148 steps in all). Modules take 2 to 9 minutes each, so you can do one in a sitting and come back for the next.
Take it with you
- Google Workspace for Work: Sheets, Gmail and Gemini · The longer course: a job tracker in Sheets, Gmail filters and AI drafts, and more Gemini in Workspace.
- NotebookLM Jump Start · Just the three NotebookLM modules, if your documents are the job.
- Intro to AI Automation · The course most people start with: ChatGPT, then a Custom GPT, an n8n workflow and an AI agent.
Questions about this course
Is there a free Google Gemini course for beginners?
Yes. Gemini Jump Start on Stepthrough is free: 10 short hands-on modules, about 57 minutes in all, on practice copies of the real Gemini, Gmail, Sheets, Slides and NotebookLM screens. You click through each step in your browser with no coding, no credit card and no sign-up needed to start.
Is Gemini free to use?
The Gemini app and NotebookLM are free with a personal Google account, and that covers Deep Research, making files in the chat, notebooks and Audio Overviews, with higher limits on paid plans. Gemini inside Gmail, Sheets and Slides at work needs an eligible Google Workspace plan or a Google AI Pro or Ultra subscription; Fill with Gemini in Sheets and whole-deck edits in Slides are on Business and Enterprise Standard and Plus and AI Pro and Ultra. Each module says which plan it needs before the do-it-for-real checklist.
Should my team use Gemini or ChatGPT?
Module 2 answers that with a test, not an opinion: you run the same work task through ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Copilot, score the answers and pick. Gemini wins when the work already lives in Gmail, Docs, Sheets and Slides, because it reads and writes inside them. The last module compares ChatGPT Projects, Gemini Gems and Gemini Notebook on the same files so you know which one to open for which job.
What is NotebookLM and what is it good for?
NotebookLM, now called Gemini Notebook, answers questions only from the documents you give it and cites the exact passage. Module 8 builds one from a client contract, a crew handbook and a website and turns it into a Briefing Doc; module 9 turns a staff handbook into a two-host podcast with Audio Overview. It is free with a Google account.
Do I need a Google account to take the course?
No. Every module is a practice copy of the real screens that checks your work, so nothing touches your Google account and you need no sign-up to start. To repeat a module for real you need a Google account, and some Workspace features need the plans listed in that module.
How long does the Gemini course take?
about 57 minutes of hands-on practice: 10 modules of 2 to 9 minutes each, so you can do one between meetings. It is self-paced, and a free certificate of completion is available for each module you finish.
Want help doing this for real? Book a 1:1 session with Robert ($85/hour) →