• Up to 80% of RFI questions answered automatically by Gemini

• Reduced time for first drafts of RFI responses from days to minutes

• Reduced time from project brief to project kickoff from months to weeks

• Five hubs across nine time zones collaborate seamlessly and efficiently

But it’s the operational efficiencies Beyond has realized through Gemini for Google Workspace that have been transformative. 

Like any services company, their business relationships begin with procurement questionnaires, including requests for information (RFIs). While these documents can be long and complex, they often ask for the same standard business information — everything from staff turnover rates to industry accreditations — albeit in slightly different ways.

"Sales cycles and procurement processes can be lengthy, so clients demand quick turnaround times for RFIs," Jakeman says. "Gemini empowers our salespeople by putting the information they need at their fingertips so they don’t have to rely on others to complete a response."

In the past, the Beyond team had to spend hours or even days sifting through dozens of different documents for the most up-to-date information each time a new RFI came across their desk. Using Gemini, they can now pull the latest information from documents all across Beyond’s Google Drive — including special research done for a specific client or project — and draft answers for up to 80% of an RFI’s questions automatically. "That leaves us more time to discuss and answer the highest-value questions and finesse our response," he says.

Jakeman estimates Gemini can draft an RFI response that in the past might have taken two or three days — and a half dozen people — to compile and write in just minutes. "We can often have a working draft of a response the same day we receive the RFI," he says with a note of pride. "It may not be perfect, but it gets us to where we can strategize about how we want to proceed."

Indeed, Jakeman cautions his clients against making perfection the enemy of progress when it comes to the adoption of AI-driven workflows. "Some people become uncomfortable if a Gemini prompt doesn’t return the response they were expecting," he observes. "But working with generative AI requires a shift in mindset: It’s not a replacement for human intelligence, but it will get you where you need to go more quickly than you could have on your own." 

Gemini has also become part of Beyond’s overall data strategy.

While he finds automated note-taking a powerful convenience, Jakeman also adds the automated transcriptions generated by Gemini in Google Meet into Beyond’s knowledge base to inform future RFIs. "It’s about being smarter with data," he says, noting that "including firsthand client information demonstrates we really understand the business challenges our client expressed."

For an organization with such a rich history of projects, locating needed information among thousands of documents in that knowledgebase can be a challenge. "The marketing folders on our Google Drive are full of great information, but finding just the right case study on website migrations in healthcare or digital transformation of legacy business information for a prospect can be daunting," Jakeman says. 

So Beyond uses Gemini for signposting, allowing the AI to root out the right documents based on prompts. "Gemini not only helps us surface the right information quickly and easily, it helps us keep our documentation up to date," he adds. When it returns documents with incorrect or outdated information, the Beyond team flags them for updating.

Gemini has proved so useful that Jakeman decided to roll it out to everyone at Beyond — a move enabled by Google's decision to include Google AI in standard Workspace Business and Enterprise subscription plans, which now come with access to the standalone Gemini app, NotebookLM, and Gemini in Gmail, Docs, Meet, and other Workspace apps.

"Google has removed a significant barrier to adopting Gemini and made it cost-effective — and simpler — to deploy across our entire organization," Jakeman observes. "Their decision aligns perfectly with Beyond’s mission to help businesses embrace and leverage AI for tangible business outcomes."

Jakeman is now piloting Gems, the Gemini productivity agents, as well as NotebookLM, with a small user group tasked with coming up with ways to save time using AI-based tools. (The RFI tool that scans their Google Drive for the most up-to-date facts and figures on the firm’s capabilities and qualifications, and the Case Study Identifier that finds the most relevant, impactful case studies for a specific prospect, were both products of this user group.)

Jakeman enjoys writing, trialing, adjusting, and refining Gems — a process he finds intuitive — and says that both NotebookLM and Gemini are already helping him research and write project briefs and sell sheets more quickly. 

It’s Gemini’s ability to function as a virtual copywriter and editor, however, that may be Jakeman’s favorite capability. "I usually know what I want to say, but it’s sometimes hard for me to write it out," he confides. "But if I just pour my thoughts into the Gemini window, the AI does a great job of helping me tell the story I want to tell. It’s fantastic at grasping what I’m thinking and then building a compelling narrative about it." 

Using a slightly different tactic for white papers and strategy documents, Jakeman will show Gemini various source documents and ask it to review them and provide ideas — and highlight gaps in his thinking. "It’s like having someone knowledgeable to review my work before I present it to a client," he adds, concluding, "Gemini helps me think more creatively and gives me new ideas, and that’s a really powerful tool for any task."