VaynerX: Supercharging modern marketing using Google Workspace with Gemini

As the foundational technology for VaynerX, Google Workspace underpins everything from internal communication to global project management. The majority of internal and external communications run through Gmail and Google Chat, while all project files are created using Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides. The legal team, for instance, uses Docs to create and disseminate policies and educational materials to foster compliance across the organization through materials that can be easily accessed and referenced.

Ben Allison, executive vice president of media at VaynerMedia, leads a team of 400 media buyers, planners, and strategists. He says Sheets and Slides have become indispensable tools for contextualizing data and visualizing strategies for clients. "Workspace has been our go-to partner at an enterprise level across all of these fundamental parts of our business," he says.

All resources are organized in and shared with Google Drive, using rigorous access controls to keep all files secure. VaynerMedia adheres to the principle of least privilege to ensure that only individuals who need access to specific client data can view it. "We take our access control very seriously," says Melissa Moriarty, deputy general counsel and executive vice president of innovation and policy. "The ability to manage access within Google Workspace is essential to protecting our clients' sensitive information."

As a global organization with offices spanning from New York to Singapore and beyond, VaynerX also relies on Google Meet to maintain strong relationships and facilitate real-time communication. Moriarty says Meet has enabled her to build close connections with leaders in international offices. "Having virtual face-to-face conversations helps break down walls that often exist in remote workplaces," she explains. "People can see that I'm a real person, not just a lawyer behind a screen." This also creates a sense of partnership where the legal team is viewed as an enabler rather than a blocker to innovation.

The advent of generative AI brought both excitement and caution to VaynerX. With its seamless integration across Google Workspace, Gemini was a natural fit for VaynerX, and employees were keen to get their hands on the tool. "Being practitioners and first movers is in our DNA," Akkineni says. "Everyone in our organization is tasked with understanding and embracing emerging technology. When we had the opportunity to join the Gemini alpha program, we immediately raised our hands."

With Gemini, team members can access generative AI across the solutions they already use in their day-to-day work. This low-stakes introduction made for an easy rollout and quick adoption.

One of the most immediate and widely adopted use cases has been the notetaking feature in Google Meet. "To be more efficient with my time, I've found 'Take notes for me' invaluable. It not only saves me time but also provides a written record of every meeting, which is a detail I truly appreciate having," shares Melissa Moriarty.

For Allison, Gemini in Gmail has been a huge personal unlock, allowing him to quickly identify urgent emails and streamline his workload. The integration with Sheets enables his team to quickly create formulas and summarize data, saving valuable time that can be reinvested into strategic client work.

VaynerX also uses the AI-powered research and notetaking tool NotebookLM, particularly to help the legal team efficiently answer frequently asked questions by aggregating and synthesizing existing documents. The strategy team leverages custom Gems — AI experts tailored to specific needs — to embody audience personas like "Gen Z ad analyst" or a "financial services expert." These custom Gems are trained on publicly available information to provide unique perspectives and insights for different verticals, serving as a powerful brainstorming partner.

When implementing Google Workspace with Gemini, VaynerX established key policies, including the crucial principle of human review for all AI-generated outputs, ensuring human oversight and the addition of the company's unique expertise. Gemini also adheres to existing Workspace permissions, reinforcing VaynerX's principle of least privilege.

To guide usage, the company maintains a "red, yellow, green" stoplight system that maps common use cases to risk levels. Green is used for approved uses, yellow is used for those requiring additional guardrails or legal consultation, and red is used for unapproved uses. "As emerging technologies like AI have become more prevalent, our people were looking for guidance on how they were allowed to use it at work," Moriarty says. "Our stoplight system is a simple way to help our global organization understand how to use AI."

VaynerX recognizes generative AI as a significant driver of transformation in the advertising industry. Being early adopters of Gemini also positions VaynerX as knowledgeable experts, guiding their clients on their own AI adoption journeys.

Akkineni shares, "Generative AI is unlocking unprecedented opportunities for advertisers of all shapes and sizes, and at VaynerX, we're thrilled to partner with Gemini to lead the charge into the next era of advertising."