Using Google AI Tools Can Give Your Advisory Firm the Edge — If You Do These 5 Things First
If your advisory firm uses Google Workspace, you're in a good position to adopt its suite of AI tools to boost productivity and reduce costs. But there are some vital prerequisites.
The gap between firms that have built AI workflows and those still running on legacy tools is widening.
Firms with integrated AI are doing more client work with the same staff. If you are still evaluating, you are not holding your position. You are losing ground.
Google's AI ecosystem is worth a close look because it runs on infrastructure your firm most likely already has. If you use Workspace, you already have the foundation.
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The suite adds Gemini, NotebookLM, Nano Banana Pro, Veo 3, Flow, Google Vids and Whisk on top of what you already pay for. Apply any of them with structure and the returns are immediate.
Each section below covers what the tool does and where it fits in a real advisory workflow.
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1. Gemini: The core engine behind Google's ecosystem
Gemini is the model powering most of Google's AI strategy. It handles text, images, voice and code, and it reasons across all of them. Google embedded it directly in Workspace, so your team can access it without leaving Gmail, Docs, Sheets, Slides or Meet.
Where it fits: Gemini handles drafting work your team already does manually: Market commentary, client letters, meeting summaries and internal memos. It also summarizes long email threads and cuts the time your team spends on administrative preparation.
The bottom line: Gemini is not a standalone product. It is an engine that strengthens the workflows your team already runs in Workspace. If you run on Google, you have it today.
2. NotebookLM: A research assistant for content-heavy firms
NotebookLM lets you upload source documents and query them conversationally. Load it with regulatory updates, investment research, compliance memos or training materials and it processes everything, so your team can ask questions and get structured answers without reading through every page.
Where it fits: Your analysts can get a summary of a 40-page regulatory update without reading it in full. Your advisors can pull client-ready talking points from research reports they do not have time to process. Your compliance team can cross-reference documents without handling each one individually.
The bottom line: NotebookLM removes the single most consistent drag on advisory productivity: The time it takes to read and synthesize large amounts of written material. If your team is buried in documents, start here.
3. Nano Banana Pro: Google's image generation and editing system
Nano Banana Pro is Google's image generation and editing model, built on Gemini 3 Pro and released in November 2025. It creates branded visuals and infographics at up to 4K resolution, with precise control over lighting, color and layout. It also renders accurate text in multiple languages directly in the image.
Where it fits: Your marketing team can produce graphics for newsletters, webinars and adviser presentations without waiting on a designer. Your advisers can build visual aids that help explain financial concepts to clients without needing a creative team behind them. If you serve international clients, the multilingual text rendering adds practical range.
The bottom line: Nano Banana Pro cuts your design cycle and your cost per piece. You spend less time waiting on outside creative resources.
4. Veo 3: Cinematic video generation for professional storytelling
Veo 3 is Google's video generation model. Feed it a script, a prompt or reference images and it produces cinematic-quality video with realistic camera motion, lighting and scene composition. The output quality is approaching commercial production standards.
Where it fits: You can use Veo 3 for quarterly market updates, conference openers and adviser-produced client communications. Your investment team can convert a complex research thesis into a two-minute video a client will actually watch, without a production crew. Your advisers can record personalized welcome videos on their own.
The bottom line: Veo 3 is for firms that want to compete on content quality without the cost of an in-house studio. The production barrier drops. The brand quality does not have to.
5. Flow: The editing and production system built for scale
Flow is Google's video editing and production platform. It does not generate video. It takes what you already have, assembles it into branded scenes, and outputs a finished cut ready for distribution.
Where it fits: Your marketing team can cut a long webinar into usable short clips in an afternoon. Your branch offices can produce adviser content to a consistent standard without rebuilding the process each time. Your operations team can turn a new policy into a training video the same day it is written.
The bottom line: Flow enforces consistency at scale. The quality of the output does not depend on who built it.
6. Google Vids: Fast script-to-video creation
Google Vids converts a script into a short video using stock footage and basic narration. It is the lightest tool in the suite and the one with the lowest barrier to entry.
Where it fits: Use it to build onboarding content and adviser training modules. It is also the right tool for policy updates and social posts where the message needs to be short and the production needs to be fast.
The bottom line: Google Vids is where to start if your team has never produced video. The learning curve is flat.
7. Whisk: A creative ideation tool for campaigns and branding
Whisk helps your team explore visual directions and campaign concepts before committing to production. It generates mood boards, color palettes and layout concepts so your team can align on creative direction before anyone spends real budget.
Where it fits: Your marketing team can use it to pressure-test visual concepts for a campaign or rebrand before spending anything on execution. It is cheap to explore and expensive to redo.
The bottom line: Whisk is a planning tool. Settle your creative direction here before you commit production budget to Veo 3 or Flow.
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8. Workspace AI: The quiet productivity driver
The AI features built directly into Workspace often deliver the fastest return because they require the least disruption.
Your team can summarize meetings and write first drafts with fewer manual steps. Sheets and Slides get the same treatment. No new software. No change management program.
The bottom line: Workspace AI is where most firms should start. The lift is immediate and the barrier to entry is near zero.
Strategic recommendations for firm leaders
Getting value from these tools requires more than access. Before you deploy broadly, do these five things.
1. Start with NotebookLM or Workspace AI. Neither requires new infrastructure or a rollout plan. Both connect to content your team already produces. You will see measurable time savings within the first month. Prove the value before you expand.
2. Lock down your data controls before anything goes live. Confirm that client and firm data will not feed model training. Review your data processing agreements with Google. This is a compliance prerequisite, not a configuration detail.
3. Put a review process in writing for client-facing content. A review by an adviser, compliance or marketing is needed before anything reaches a client. Document who reviews what, and when, before the first AI-assisted piece leaves your firm.
4. Build prompt templates and a short style guide before you deploy broadly. Consistent outputs require consistent inputs. One day of preparation prevents weeks of inconsistent output.
5. Measure outcomes from day one. Track turnaround time, content volume and team member satisfaction. The data you build now is what justifies the next phase of investment.
Conclusion
Google's AI ecosystem gives your firm a direct path to better client communication at lower operating cost. These tools do not replace your advisers or your compliance process. They give your team more capacity to do the work that builds client relationships.
Your competitors are not waiting. The firms building structured AI workflows today are gaining a cost and capacity advantage that compounds every quarter. The ones that hold off will keep subsidizing the gap with margin, and eventually with clients.
Related Content
- Are You the Doer or the Visionary of Your Advisory Practice? Here's How You Can Make the Leap to Chief Vision Officer
- How to Adopt AI and Keep Employees Happy
- How to Prevent AI-Generated 'Workslop' From Destroying Your Workplace Relationships
- I Met With 100-Plus Advisers to Develop This Road Map for Adopting AI
- Why Financial Advisers Will Benefit as Google Shakes Up Financial Research
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John O'Connell is founder and CEO of The Oasis Group, an award-winning consultancy and research firm serving wealth management firms nationwide. O'Connell has more than 30 years of leadership experience in financial technology and wealth management, including North American leadership at Oracle, fintech CEO and president roles and participation in IPO and M&A transactions. He is the creator of the AI WealthTech Map (100+ firms), the developer of the Oasis AI Readiness Index and is recognized as a leading independent voice on AI adoption in wealth management.