Lesson 2: Map of the Suite: Which App Does Which Job

Why a Map Helps

Google offers more than ten apps under one sign-in, and many of their jobs overlap. You can send a message in Gmail, in Chat or in a comment on a Doc. If you know which app is built for which job, you spend less time hunting through apps and lose fewer files. Think of the suite as an office building where each room has one main purpose.

This lesson covers three things:

1. Which app does which job.
2. How the browser, desktop and mobile versions differ, including offline use.
3. Your own shortlist of five apps.

The details below were checked against Google's help pages on 1 November 2026. Screens and features change often, so check the app itself if something looks different.

Step 1: Match the Job to the App

Read the table. Then cover the right-hand column and test yourself.

Three rules of thumb settle most overlaps:

• Email or Chat? Use Gmail for formal messages, outside contacts and anything you need to keep on record. Use Chat for quick back-and-forth inside a team.
• Keep or Docs? Keep is for short notes you capture in seconds. When a note grows into something you will share or format, move it to Docs.
• Drive or Docs? Docs, Sheets and Slides files are stored in Drive. Drive is where you find, organise and share them.

Gemini, briefly: the Gemini app is a separate AI assistant. Use it to draft, summarise or explain. Check every answer before you rely on it, because AI can state wrong facts with confidence. Whether you have Gemini at all, and which features you get, depends on your plan. On a work or school account, your organisation also has to allow it. Level 3 compares the plans.

Do now: For each of these jobs, name the app: (a) agreeing a meeting time with a client, (b) a monthly expenses tracker, (c) a 10-slide investor pitch. Answers: Calendar, Sheets, Slides.

Step 2: Know the Three Ways In

You can reach most apps in three ways:

1. Browser (web): go to the app's address, for example mail.google.com or chat.google.com, in any modern browser. This is the most complete version of most apps.
2. Desktop: On a computer, Docs, Sheets and Slides run in the browser. Drive for desktop is an installed program for Windows and macOS that shows your Drive files in File Explorer or Finder. On a computer you use Meet in the browser. Chat can also be installed from Chrome as a web app, so it opens in its own window.
3. Mobile: Android and iPhone/iPad have separate apps for Gmail, Calendar, Meet, Chat, Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Keep and Gemini. You can also use Chat inside the Gmail mobile app. Mobile apps suit quick tasks such as replying, reviewing or joining a call. Long editing is easier on a computer.

Gemini access: use gemini.google.com in a browser, or the Gemini app on Android or iOS. On Android, a work account can't use the Gemini app inside an Android Work Profile.

Step 3: Plan for Working Offline

Most apps need the internet. Set up offline access before you lose your connection.

Docs, Sheets and Slides on a computer:

1. Use Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge, in a normal window (not private or Incognito).
2. Install the Google Docs Offline extension. Despite its name, it also covers Sheets and Slides.
3. Open Drive, go to Settings, and turn on Offline.
4. When you reconnect, your changes sync automatically.

Gmail on a computer: this works only in Chrome, and not in Incognito. In Gmail's Offline settings, tick Enable offline mail, choose how many days of mail to sync, then save. Mail syncs only while Chrome is open.

Drive for desktop: choose Stream files to save disk space (files download when you open them, so you need a connection) or Mirror files to keep a full copy on your computer that works offline.

Phones and tablets: in the Drive app, tap the three-dot menu next to a file and turn on Available offline. On iPhone and iPad, only Docs, Sheets and Slides files can be created, viewed and edited offline. Android also handles some other file types, such as PDFs and images.

Plan note: on a work or school account, your administrator can switch offline sync off. In that case you will see a message that it is disabled by your administrator. Ask your IT team before you travel.

Step 4: Your Task: Build Your Top-Five List

Use your own work for this task.

1. Write down the jobs you do most often in a normal week.
2. Match each job to an app using the table in Step 1.
3. Pick the five apps you will use most.
4. For each app, write the main device you will use it on (computer browser, Drive for desktop, phone or tablet).
5. Mark any app you need offline, and set up offline access for it today using Step 3.

Example: Gmail – laptop browser; Calendar – phone; Docs – laptop (offline on); Meet – laptop browser; Keep – phone.

Keep this list. You will use it when you set up your account in Level 4.

Key Takeaways

• Each app has one main job: Gmail for email, Calendar for scheduling, Meet for video, Chat for quick messages, Drive for files, Docs, Sheets and Slides for writing, numbers and presentations, Forms for collecting answers, Keep for quick notes, and Gemini for AI help.
• Docs, Sheets and Slides files are stored in Drive.
• The browser version is usually the most complete. Drive for desktop puts Drive into File Explorer or Finder. Mobile apps suit quick tasks.
• Offline use needs setting up in advance: the Docs Offline extension, Gmail offline in Chrome, Mirror mode in Drive for desktop, or Available offline on mobile.
• Your plan and your employer's settings decide what you get, including Gemini and offline sync.
• Always check Gemini's answers before you use them.