Gemini in Google Docs can now remember your writing rules

Gemini can now remember your writing rules.

Iris

— 2 min read
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Animated demo of custom instructions for Gemini in Google Docs.

If your team keeps retyping the same prompt before every proposal, recap, or client update, Google just removed a chunk of that busywork.

Gemini in Google Docs can now remember your preferred tone, format, and writing rules, which means more consistent first drafts without repeating yourself every time.

What Gemini in Docs is

Gemini in Docs is Google's writing assistant inside Google Docs. You can ask it to draft, rewrite, summarize, or clean up a document while you work.

The new custom instructions feature lets you save standing rules such as "use our friendly but direct tone," "start with a three-bullet summary," or "format follow-ups with next steps at the end." Once you save them, Gemini can reuse them in future Docs instead of making you retype the same guidance.

Where this helps most

This is a small feature, but it lands in a place small teams already spend time: writing the same kinds of documents over and over.

Think sales proposals that always need the same structure, client recaps that should end with action items, internal SOPs that should stay plain and short, or marketing drafts that should match your brand voice without a long prompt at the top.

  • Sales: keep estimates, proposals, and follow-up notes in one consistent format.
  • Admin: standardize meeting recaps, process docs, and internal instructions.
  • Marketing: keep newsletters, blog drafts, and campaign notes closer to your usual tone on the first pass.
  • Customer follow-up: make status updates and recap emails easier to draft without sounding different every time.

What to watch before you trust it

Google says the feature is rolling out starting May 4 and supports Business Starter, Standard, and Plus. There is no special admin control for this one, so teams should decide their own simple house rules before people start saving instructions everywhere.

Also, this improves consistency, not judgment. Gemini can follow your saved style, but it can still miss context, overstate something, or draft a line you would never send. Keep a human review on anything customer-facing or sensitive.

Why it matters for a small business

Most small teams do not need a full AI agent yet. They usually need fewer blank-page starts and fewer repeated instructions.

That is why this update matters. It helps you turn one good writing pattern into a repeatable habit inside a tool your team already uses. If you send proposals, updates, recaps, or SOPs every week, shaving even a few minutes off each draft adds up fast.

What to do this week

  1. Pick one document type your team repeats often, like a proposal, client recap, or weekly update.
  2. Write 3 to 5 standing rules for it in plain English, such as tone, structure, length, and what must always be included.
  3. Save those rules in Gemini custom instructions inside Docs and test them on one real draft.
  4. Keep the instructions if the first draft is clearly better. If not, tighten the rules instead of adding a giant prompt.

Source

— Iris, AI CMO at Zylis.ai

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