Google Vault Gemini Exports Reach Gmail and Docs, but Retention Rules and Holds Come Later

Google Vault Gemini coverage grew on October 22, 2026, according to Google’s Workspace Updates blog. Admins can now export the Gemini conversations staff have in the side panel of Gmail, Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides and Meet, filtered by user, organizational unit and date.

That matters to anyone who answers records requests. Until now, Google Vault Gemini support covered only the standalone Gemini app, not the chats people have inside a document or an inbox. Since October 26, Vault’s supported services page lists Gemini in Workspace as export only, with no retention, holds, search or preview.

This post covers what the export captures, who gets it, what it lacks, and what admins should check.

The short version: you can now export side panel conversations, in JSON, as long as conversation history was on when they happened. You cannot yet place them on hold or keep them with a Vault retention rule. Google says those come in future releases. Until then, the Admin console’s history and deletion settings decide how long these conversations last and whether staff can delete them.

This post describes the tool. What counts as a record, and when you must keep it, is a question for your records officer or counsel.

## What Google shipped on October 22

The main points from Google’s October 22 post:

In Vault, admins pick “Gemini in Workspace” from the service list on the Search tab, enter their filters and export. Google says “There is no end-user setting for this feature.” The post describes no notice to staff.

## What a Google Vault Gemini export contains

According to Google, exports include user prompts, Gemini’s responses and generated attachments such as images. They also include links to Workspace files Gemini referenced, such as Drive documents or Gmail threads, and citations.

The export links to the referenced file. It does not appear to copy the file itself. If a staff member asked Gemini to summarize a budget spreadsheet, you get the prompt, the summary and a link. The spreadsheet lives in Drive, under Drive’s own retention rules and holds.

Google says “While exported in JSON, the metadata tags align with the GenAI conversation format used in the Gemini app.” Vault’s export contents page describes Gemini app exports as one XML file per conversation owner, and since October 26 it says Gemini in Workspace conversations export as individual JSON files, up to 10,000 per ZIP. So Google Vault Gemini exports arrive in two formats, depending on the service. Check that your review tool reads both.

## Two Gemini stores, two sets of Vault rules

Vault treats the Gemini app and Gemini in Workspace as separate services, and they reached Vault on different timelines.

For the Gemini app, search and export came first, in a February 2025 update. Retention rules and holds followed about 16 months later, in a June 11, 2026 update. Google’s June post said those rules and holds “will always take precedence over Admin console settings” and apply “specifically to the Gemini app (on web and mobile).” Google has not given a date for the side panel.

The practical gap is plain. Today you can collect a side panel conversation, but Vault cannot stop it from being deleted.

## Which editions get Google Vault Gemini exports

Google’s October post lists the same editions as its June post on Gemini app holds:

• Business: Business Plus
• Enterprise: Enterprise Standard and Plus, plus Enterprise Essentials Plus
• Frontline: Frontline Standard and Plus
• Education: Education Fundamentals, Standard and Plus
• Add-on: customers with the Vault add-on

Side panel history reaches more editions. Google’s conversation history settings page lists Business Starter and Business Standard among the editions with Gemini in Workspace history.

On Business Standard, staff can build up months of side panel history, but Google Vault Gemini exports need the Vault add-on or an upgrade. Ask your reseller what the add-on costs.

## The history setting decides what exists to export

Google says the update captures conversations “created when conversation history is turned on.” If history was off, there is nothing to export.

Side panel history is also new. Google announced it in February 2026 and finished the end user rollout in April. That post says conversations from before a user’s rollout were not saved. For most domains, the record starts in spring 2026.

According to Google’s admin help page, two Admin console settings then decide how long it stays. Both sit under Generative AI, then Gemini for Workspace, then Conversation history and deletion:

• Manual deletion: whether staff can delete their own conversations. Google’s February post says this is on by default.
• Auto-deletion: let users choose, delete inactive conversations after 90, 540 or 1,080 days, or never delete. The February post says conversations are kept indefinitely unless admins turn auto-deletion on.

The help page says both settings work by organizational unit or configuration group, and group settings override OUs.

## Why records teams will ask about Google Vault Gemini

Staff can use the side panel to draft and summarize. A program officer asks Gemini to summarize a grant thread. An HR manager asks it to tighten a performance note. A registrar asks it to draft a reply to a student. Some of that may be business records under your policies.

For our readers, the requests take a few common shapes:

• Government agencies answer public records and FOIA requests.
• Public colleges and universities face state public records laws, and all of higher ed handles student records questions.
• Associations and nonprofits handle eDiscovery in disputes and internal HR investigations.

Whether a Gemini conversation is a record in those cases depends on your law, your policy and your counsel. What changed is that IT can now produce one when asked. We covered Google’s agency product, which raises similar questions, in our post on [Gemini for government services](/artificial-intelligence-ai/gemini-for-government-services/).

## Questions to take to your records and legal team

Bring these to whoever owns your retention schedule:

1. Are Gemini side panel conversations records under our policy, and does that differ by department?
2. Should our auto-deletion period match a retention schedule we already have for email or chat?
3. For OUs under investigation or likely litigation, should we turn off manual deletion until Vault holds arrive?
4. Who is allowed to run Vault exports of Gemini data, and who reviews the results?
5. Does our records request process need a line for AI conversations, separate from email and Chat?
6. Do we tell staff that these conversations can be exported? Google shows them no notice.

## Steps for Workspace admins this week

1. Confirm your edition. Check whether you have Business Plus, an Enterprise or Education edition, or the Vault add-on.
2. Check the history settings. Look at Manual deletion and Auto-deletion for every OU and configuration group. Write down what each is set to.
3. Check who has Vault access. Review the Vault privileges in admin roles. Gemini exports can be sensitive, especially HR conversations.
4. Run a test export. Run a Google Vault Gemini in Workspace export for one IT account and a short date range. Confirm your review tool reads the JSON.
5. Compare with a Gemini app export. Same account, same dates. Note what lands in which file.
6. Plan for the API. If you export through the Vault API, Google says support follows within 14 days of the UI rollout. Test it once it appears.

If you have not yet reviewed the Gemini switches Google turned on in September, our post on [Gemini defaults in Google Workspace](/artificial-intelligence-ai/gemini-workspace-default-on-settings/) lists them. Google’s Gmail Live help article says “Gmail Live saves transcripts in your conversation history with Gemini in Workspace.” We covered that feature in our [Gmail AI Inbox and Gmail Live post](/artificial-intelligence-ai/gmail-ai-inbox-workspace/). Google’s Vault post does not say whether those transcripts are in the export, so check your test file.

## How Microsoft and OpenAI handle the same records

Google Vault Gemini exports are one model. The other big platforms took different routes. According to Microsoft’s Purview retention documentation, Copilot prompts and responses are stored in a hidden folder in the mailbox of the user who runs the app. Purview retention policies, eDiscovery searches and holds reach that folder, and new policies use a separate “Microsoft Copilot experiences” location. OpenAI’s Compliance Platform help article says ChatGPT Enterprise and Edu workspaces can feed logs, including conversation messages, to partner eDiscovery, DLP and SIEM tools through an Admin key. OpenAI says only a workspace owner can grant the Conversation messages permission. It also says the Compliance Logs Platform keeps data for 30 days, so customers who need longer should download the logs continuously. Our [ChatGPT Enterprise admin checklist](/artificial-intelligence-ai/chatgpt-enterprise-edu-september-2026/) covers the rest of that admin console.

## What is still unclear

Google has not said when Google Vault Gemini in Workspace holds and retention rules will ship. It has not said whether features like Gmail Live are in scope. Vault’s export contents page and supported services page now cover Gemini in Workspace, as of October 26, and both describe it as export only.

## Frequently Asked Questions