The short version
Gemini in Google Workspace is an assistant built into Gmail, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Meet and Drive, plus the Gemini app for chat. Since 2025 Google includes it in Workspace Business and Enterprise subscriptions instead of selling it as a separate add-on. If your company already runs on Google Workspace, you already pay for it.
Sluis is a different kind of product. It is an AI workspace (conversations, agents and Skills built by describing them, spreadsheets and presentations, private or shared Knowledge) and a governed gateway that applies one policy and one audit trail to every model request. Sluis is hosted in the EU, routes to EU providers by default, and works with models from many vendors. It does not replace your mail, calendar or documents.
So the question is rarely "which one". It is whether you need AI inside Google's apps, a neutral place for AI across the company, or both.
At a glance
| Gemini in Google Workspace | Sluis | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | AI features inside Gmail, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Meet, Drive, plus the Gemini app | Standalone AI workspace plus a governed API gateway |
| Models | Google's Gemini models | Many providers: Mistral, Scaleway, Nebul, Google Vertex, OpenAI, Anthropic, xAI and others, chosen by your policy |
| Pricing | Included in Workspace Business and Enterprise plans; per-user plan price | Provider list price + 10%, no seat fees; bring-your-own-key at €0.50 per 1M tokens |
| Data location | Admin-selected data region (EU or US) for covered data; in-region AI processing depends on edition | Managed service hosted in the EU; API routing defaults to EU-only |
| Sensitive-data handling | Workspace data protections and admin settings | Detects and reversibly pseudonymizes sensitive values before dispatch |
| Audit | Workspace reporting and audit tools, by edition | Tamper-evident hash-chained audit log, verifiable offline |
| Sign-in | Google accounts, SSO via your identity provider | Microsoft, Google or Apple sign-in; authenticator-app two-factor, which owners can require |
| Self-hosted option | No | Optional Sluis Edge: the data plane as one binary on your infrastructure |
| Fits best | Teams already on Google Workspace | Teams that want model choice and one policy across chat, agents and APIs |
Pricing
Gemini has no separate price. Google's Workspace help states that the AI features formerly sold as add-ons are now included in Business and Enterprise editions, and the old add-ons are no longer for sale. You pay the Workspace plan price per user. On the UK pricing page we checked, Business Standard was listed at £11.80 per user per month; prices differ by region, currency and commitment, so confirm on Google's page. Which Gemini features you get depends on the edition.
Sluis has no platform subscription and no seat fee. Managed model usage costs the provider's list price plus 10%. If you bring your own provider keys, or connect a custom OpenAI-compatible endpoint, Sluis charges €0.50 per 1M input plus output tokens, and the provider bills its own usage separately. Self-service is prepaid with a €25 minimum credit purchase, there is no free tier, and payment-method surcharges apply. Some optional checks (AI name recognition, prompt-injection scanning, OCR) are metered separately; the pricing page lists them.
The practical difference: Gemini is cheap if you are already paying for Workspace and your people use it every day. Sluis costs nothing when nobody uses it, and it scales with actual usage, which suits companies where AI use is uneven.
Data residency and protection
Google lets Workspace administrators choose a data region, EU or US, for covered data. In June 2026 Google announced that the Gemini app follows these data region settings too. Google's announcement lists in-region processing and storage for Enterprise Plus and Frontline Plus, while some Education editions get in-region storage only. If you rely on EU processing, check which edition you are on and what the data region policy covers. Google also states that Gemini interactions stay within your organization and that content is not human reviewed or used for model training outside your domain without permission.
Sluis answers the residency question at the request level. The managed service is hosted in the EU. API routing defaults to EU-only, and the organisation decides explicitly whether other jurisdictions are allowed or whether EU-owned providers are required. An EU region does not imply an EU-owned provider, so these are separate policy settings.
Before a request leaves, Sluis detects PII and secrets (60 built-in detectors, plus optional name recognition) and applies your policy: block, mask, log, or reversible pseudonymization, where each value becomes a typed token such as «EMAIL_1» and is restored in the response. Detection is not a guarantee that every sensitive value is found, and using Sluis does not by itself establish GDPR compliance. Sluis is ISO 27001 certified.
Admin and governance
Gemini inherits the Workspace admin console. Admins can switch the Gemini app, Gemini Notebook, Vids and meeting notes on or off, and, in Enterprise editions, control access to Gemini features inside Workspace services. That is strong if your governance already lives in the Google admin console.
Sluis puts governance in the AI layer itself: per-workload budgets and limits, residency and provider-ownership policy, data protection modes, a scope guard that can refuse out-of-scope model calls, and deny-by-default grants for MCP tools. Every call is written to a hash-chained audit log, with the checks that ran grouped under each request. Members sign in with Microsoft, Google or Apple, can add an authenticator app, and owners can require two-factor. Sluis has no SAML single sign-on or SCIM provisioning.
Model choice and agents
Gemini means Google's models. That is a feature if you want one vendor and one contract, and a constraint if you want to compare models or move when pricing changes.
Sluis is model-neutral. A sluis/* alias or a provider/model id reaches any connected provider, and the same gateway speaks the OpenAI and Anthropic Messages APIs, so existing applications and coding agents such as Claude Code, Codex and Cursor can connect by changing a base URL. Agents and Skills are built in a chat by describing them, and external tools go through the same gate via MCP.
When Gemini is the better choice
- Your company runs on Google Workspace and most AI value is inside Gmail, Docs, Sheets, Meet and Drive. Sluis does not edit your Google documents in place or summarise your meetings.
- You want AI included in a subscription you already pay, with no new vendor to onboard.
- Google is already an approved processor, with its data region, contractual terms and admin console fitted into your compliance process.
- You do not need multiple model vendors or a separate API gateway.
When Sluis is the better choice
- You want to choose models per use case and keep that choice when vendors change.
- Your policy needs to be enforced where the request is made: pseudonymization, residency, provider ownership and a verifiable audit chain.
- You also have applications or coding agents calling models, and want one policy and one audit trail for them and for employees.
- You need usage-based pricing without seat fees, or a self-hosted data plane through Sluis Edge.
Many companies use both: Gemini inside Google apps, Sluis for everything that crosses models and needs a single record. For other employee AI options, see European ChatGPT alternatives for organisations.
FAQ
Is Gemini in Google Workspace GDPR compliant?
Google publishes data processing terms and data region controls for Workspace, and states that Gemini interactions stay within your organization. Whether your use is compliant depends on your own assessment, configuration and legal basis. The same is true for Sluis: using it does not by itself establish GDPR compliance.
Can Sluis replace Gemini in Gmail and Docs?
No. Sluis is a separate workspace and gateway. It can work with spreadsheets and presentations as attachments and generated files, but it does not sit inside the Google apps.
Does Sluis use Google's models?
Yes. Google Vertex (including Gemini) is a supported provider in an EU region, so the default EU-only policy allows it. Google is US-owned, so you can switch on the EU-owned-only restriction to exclude it.
Which is cheaper?
If your team already has Workspace Business or Enterprise, Gemini adds no separate charge. Sluis charges provider list price plus 10% for managed usage, with no seat fees. Compare against your actual usage, not list prices alone.
Can I keep prompts inside my own infrastructure?
Gemini is a Google-hosted service. Sluis offers an optional Edge deployment that runs the data plane as one binary on infrastructure you control. Model-provider egress then depends on the providers you configure.