Where it runs
A Google Cloud project
Standard, Plus and pay as you go are run from the Google Cloud console. The Business edition stands alone at business.gemini.google, with its own settings and no Cloud console, for up to 500 users.11
Enterprise AI · Gemini Enterprise
Gemini Enterprise, set up and run properly.
We set up Gemini Enterprise in your Google Cloud project, join it to your systems, and coach each team until it is part of the work.
Updated
What do we set up?
Gemini Enterprise runs as an app in a Google Cloud project, under Cloud IAM, with each license tied to one project and one location.1 It is bought apart from Google Workspace.2 So the setup is part cloud project and part workplace rollout, and we do both: the project, sign‑in, data, agents and controls, then each team on its own work.
- Identity and sign‑inGoogle Identity, or workforce identity federation with Entra ID, Okta or another SAML or OIDC provider, chosen once with your identity team.3
- Data and permissionsEach source’s own permissions carried across, so people see and ground answers only on what they can already open.3
- ConnectorsWorkspace, SharePoint, Jira, Salesforce, ServiceNow, Slack and more than 100 others, and custom MCP servers for your own systems.4, 5
- AgentsWorkflow Builder agents for each team’s repeat work, with triggers, schedules and human approval steps.6
- Admin and spendRoles, licenses, Model Armor and model choices set to your policies, with the Claude models, off by default and billed per token, left off until you decide.7, 8
- CoachingEach team taught on its own work, with champions inside it and the playbooks written down and handed over.
How does it run, step by step?
In Google’s own order, with where each step trips companies up and what we do about it.
- 01Project and billing
Create or select a Google Cloud project and confirm billing is on.7
- 02Turn on the APIs
Enable the Gemini Enterprise (Discovery Engine), Cloud Storage and IAM APIs.7
- 03Buy and place licenses
Choose Standard, Plus or pay as you go, monthly or annual, and place the licenses in a project and a location: global, us or eu.7
Where it trips Licenses are per project and per location, so a person in two locations needs two, and they can’t be reduced during a term.3
What we do We count seats by team and location before anything is bought, and start with the teams who will use it first.
- 04Grant roles
- 05Assign licenses
By email, or automatically at first sign‑in.7
- 06Identity provider
Google Identity, or workforce identity federation with Entra ID, Okta or another OIDC or SAML 2.0 provider, with SCIM where needed.7
Where it trips Changing providers later wipes everyone’s chat history. Workforce identity pools must sit in the global location, even for us or eu apps. And indexing SharePoint, OneDrive or Outlook needs Entra ID, even if another provider signs people in.3
What we do We decide the provider once, with your identity team, against every source you plan to connect, before anyone signs in.
- 07Create the app
Name it and choose its location and company name in the console.7
Where it trips Customer-managed keys and Access Transparency need a us or eu app, while newer models and Google Search grounding run only in global.3
What we do We choose the location from your residency and key requirements first, and say plainly which features it rules out.
- 08Connect data
Add Google sources and third‑party connectors such as SharePoint or Jira.7
Where it trips A federated connector sends the query, which may include conversation content, to the third party under its terms.9
What we do We choose indexed or federated for each source with your security team, and test each one with real people’s permissions.
- 09Model Armor and options
Turn on Model Armor and set the assistant’s options, model toggles and web grounding.7
Where it trips Grounding with Google Search sets aside the residency, customer‑managed key, VPC Service Controls and Access Transparency guarantees.10
What we do Web grounding stays off where those guarantees matter, and on only where you decide they don’t.
- 10Share it
Optionally set up the mobile app, AI developer tools and Enterprise Gateway, then share the app’s address with your people.7
What we do We launch team by team, with coaching, rather than with one email to everyone.
What should you know before you start?
What a buyer asks first, from Google’s own pages as read in October 2026.
Price
From $21 a seat
The Business edition starts at $21 a seat a month; Standard and Plus are quoted by sales.12, 13 Standard and Plus share daily quotas: 160 or 200 assistant questions a person.9
Data residency
US, EU and six countries
Data can be kept in the us or eu multi‑region, or, by allowlist, in Brazil, Canada, India, Japan, Singapore or the UK. Some models and features run only in the global region.14
Your own keys
CMEK, in the US and EU
Customer-managed keys on Standard and Plus, in the US and EU multi‑regions only, never in the global region.10
HIPAA and FedRAMP
A BAA; FedRAMP level unstated
Gemini Enterprise is a covered product under Google Cloud’s HIPAA business associate agreement.15 FedRAMP is listed, with no impact level given on Google’s Gemini Enterprise pages, and the Business edition is not on the compliance list.10
Audit
Cloud Audit Logs
Use is logged in Cloud Logging, with prompt and response text only if an admin turns it on.16 No eDiscovery or compliance API is named.17
Is it the right one for you?
If your files and mail live in Google Workspace, Gemini Enterprise reads them natively and is the natural place to start. If they live in Microsoft 365, it can still index SharePoint, OneDrive and Outlook, but only with Entra ID through workforce identity federation,3 and Microsoft 365 Copilot already sits on those permissions. Where writing, analysis and code matter most, or the work is split across both suites, Claude Enterprise or ChatGPT Enterprise may fit better; our comparison sets the four side by side. And where the data can’t leave the building, none of the four fits: that is private AI on your own hardware.
How does an engagement start?
The way every enterprise AI engagement runs: four stages, one team throughout, starting with a call.
- 01AssessWe talk with each team, list the tools and data in play, and pick the first uses worth doing.
- 02Set upThe platform configured with your IT and security teams: identity, data boundaries, connectors and audit.
- 03BuildThe first assistants, agents and connections, joined to your systems and tested on real work.
- 04CoachTeam by team, with champions and playbooks, then we measure use and keep improving it with you.
Questions
Is Gemini Enterprise included with Google Workspace?
No. It is bought separately from a Workspace subscription.2 Workspace includes the Gemini app in Gmail, Drive and Chat; Gemini Enterprise adds grounding across other systems, agents and central agent governance.13
Can we keep our identity provider?
Yes. Okta, Entra ID or any SAML 2.0 or OIDC provider works through workforce identity federation. Choose it once: changing it later wipes everyone’s chat history, and SharePoint, OneDrive and Outlook need Entra ID either way.3
Can agents run on a schedule?
Yes. Workflow Builder agents run on triggers and schedules, with approval steps.6 A scheduled agent runs on its author’s credentials, which expire every 14 days and must be refreshed, so each one needs an owner.9
We already have licenses. Can you help?
Yes, and it is the most common place we start. We review the setup as it stands, fix what keeps people from trusting it, join it to your systems, and coach each team on its own work.
Setting up another platform?
We set up all four, and compare them side by side.
References
Each fact on this page, read from the vendor’s own pages in October 2026.
- Google Cloud, “Gemini Enterprise licenses.” Updated October 2026. docs.cloud.google.com
- Google Workspace, “Turn Gemini Enterprise on or off for users.” Updated October 2026. knowledge.workspace.google.com
- Google Cloud, “Configure the identity provider for Gemini Enterprise.” Updated October 2026. docs.cloud.google.com
- Google Cloud, “Introduction to connectors and data stores.” Updated October 2026. docs.cloud.google.com
- Google Cloud, “Set up a custom MCP server.” Updated October 2026. docs.cloud.google.com
- Google Cloud, “Agent Designer and Workflow Builder.” Updated October 2026. docs.cloud.google.com
- Google Cloud, “Before you begin with Gemini Enterprise.” Updated October 2026. docs.cloud.google.com
- Google Cloud, “Manage web app features.” Updated October 2026. docs.cloud.google.com
- Google Cloud, “Gemini Enterprise quotas and overages.” Updated October 2026. docs.cloud.google.com
- Google Cloud, “Gemini Enterprise compliance and security controls.” Updated October 2026. docs.cloud.google.com
- Google Cloud, “Gemini Enterprise editions.” Updated October 2026. docs.cloud.google.com
- Google Cloud, “Gemini Enterprise Business edition.” Read October 2026. cloud.google.com
- Google Cloud, “Gemini Enterprise FAQ.” Read October 2026. cloud.google.com
- Google Cloud, “Gemini Enterprise locations.” Updated October 2026. docs.cloud.google.com
- Google Cloud, “HIPAA compliance on Google Cloud.” Updated September 2025. cloud.google.com
- Google Cloud, “Set up usage audit logs.” Updated October 2026. docs.cloud.google.com
- Google Cloud, “View Gemini Enterprise analytics.” Updated October 2026. docs.cloud.google.com