Google adds natural language search to Drive

[XAMI]

Searching for documents in Google Drive just got easier thanks to the addition of Natural Language Processing, a new feature that will allow you to type things like “find my budget spreadsheet from last December” and get the corresponding results.

As Google explains, the search bar will interpret your query and translate it to the proper format (for example: "budget Type:Spreadsheet”). It won’t search right away but rather present you with “Did you mean” options that you can click on to do the actual search. According to Google Drive Product Manager Josh Smith, the natural language processing in Drive lets you “search like you talk” and it will only get smarter the more you search.

Drive is also adding autocorrect that suggests corrections to misspelled searches -- something that was surprisingly lacking before.

Another often requested feature that is being added is the ability split a document into multiple columns by choosing the new “Columns” option from the “Format” menu. And lastly, whenever you convert and edit non-Google files in Docs, Sheets and Slides, Drive will now save a copy for you. This will be available from “Revision History” menu.

The new features will begin rolling out gradually today to all users worldwide.