Google releases Gemini-powered data science tool in Colab for free

The natural-language-to-anything-you-want pipeline continues to add miles.

Google‘s new Data Science Agent, powered by Gemini 2.0, represents a significant leap in making data analysis more accessible through artificial intelligence. This free AI assistant, available through Google Colab, transforms natural language descriptions into fully functional Jupyter notebooks, streamlining workflows for researchers and data scientists. The tool’s launch signals an escalation in the AI-powered data analysis space, directly competing with OpenAI‘s ChatGPT Advanced Data Analysis capability.

The big picture: Google has expanded access to its Data Science Agent following a limited December 2024 testing phase, offering the tool free to users 18 and older in select countries.

• The system operates within Google Colab, the company’s browser-based Python code execution environment that utilizes Google’s GPUs and TPUs.
• This release builds upon Google’s previous AI integration efforts, including the Codey-powered coding assistance launched in May 2023.

Key capabilities: The Data Science Agent automates complex data analysis tasks through natural language processing.

• Users can request specific analyses like trend visualization or prediction model training using plain English.
• The system generates complete, executable Jupyter notebooks rather than isolated code snippets.
• Generated solutions remain fully customizable, allowing users to modify and adapt the code.

How it works: Users can access the service through a straightforward process within Google Colab’s environment.

• Analysis begins by uploading datasets in formats like CSV or JSON.
• Users describe their analytical goals through the Gemini side panel.
• The system generates and executes notebooks to produce insights and visualizations.

Pricing structure: While the Data Science Agent is free, Colab offers tiered pricing for enhanced capabilities.

• Colab Pro costs $9.99 monthly, providing 100 compute units and faster GPUs.
• Colab Pro+ is available at $49.99 monthly, offering 500 compute units and priority GPU access.
• Enterprise solutions integrate with Google Cloud and include AI-powered code generation.

Behind the numbers: Google Colab’s foundation in Jupyter Notebook technology supports over 40 programming languages, building on an open-source framework that originated from the IPython project in 2014.