What changed
Google’s November 5 update expands document handling in the Gemini API, which lets an app send a request to Gemini. Google says older Word .doc files, older PowerPoint .ppt files, and OpenDocument .odp presentations are processed as pictures of the pages or slides. That gives Gemini a view of the layout and charts. [1] [2]
For an OpenDocument .ods spreadsheet, Gemini receives data and formulas from the first sheet. In Excel .xls and .xlsx files, it gets first-sheet values without the formulas. Newer .pptx presentations provide text and embedded images without rendering each slide. [2]
Files can come from a tool
Google also documents more file formats that software tools can return to Gemini, including Office files, audio, and video. Developers should check which request interface and version accept the return type they need. [1] [3]
Our take
If a budget workbook has a summary in the first tab and expenses in the second, a polished answer can still miss every expense. Put the sheet you need first in a copy or save it separately. Compare a total you already know before trusting the result for a new calculation. For an old deck, try one chart with a known label and value before relying on a summary.
These are checks to try in your own application. The update is for the developer interface. We have not tested file uploads or calculations.