Gemini’s formulas reached Google Docs as code; a year on, Docs still does not understand LaTeX
In November 2025, Gemini was already writing and editing formulas in LaTeX, but when they were taken into Google Docs they arrived as code. A year on, Google’s word processor still cannot read LaTeX and the remedy is the same: an add-on or a separate editor.
On 11 November 2025, in ChatGPT-IA-edu, people were welcoming the new LaTeX features in Gemini, announced on 27 October: copying formulas, editing them in Canvas and generating PDFs. But when exporting to Google Docs the formulas were not converted, and when copied they came out as plain text. Secondary-school maths teachers were already asking about it. That same day, Juanjo de Haro presented EdiMarkWeb, a Markdown editor that converted LaTeX into DOCX, ODT or HTML.
A year on, the problem is where it was. The Google Docs help page explains equations through the Insert menu and with backslash shortcuts, without mentioning LaTeX. In January 2026, Eric Curts found that Gemini’s export still left the code in view and recommended an add-on. And the listing for another, MathInk, updated on 30 October 2026, puts it bluntly: Docs and Slides do not natively support LaTeX.
The editor, at least, has changed: it is now called EdiMarkdown, with a desktop version and a formula editor of its own. That the workaround of back then is still the solution also says how far each thing has come.
Gemini’s formulas reached Google Docs as code; a year on, Docs still does not understand LaTeX
In November 2025, Gemini was already writing and editing formulas in LaTeX, but when they were taken into Google Docs they arrived as code. A year on, Google’s word processor still cannot read LaTeX and the remedy is the same: an add-on or a separate editor.
On 11 November 2025, in ChatGPT-IA-edu, people were welcoming the new LaTeX features in Gemini, announced on 27 October: copying formulas, editing them in Canvas and generating PDFs. But when exporting to Google Docs the formulas were not converted, and when copied they came out as plain text. Secondary-school maths teachers were already asking about it. That same day, Juanjo de Haro presented EdiMarkWeb, a Markdown editor that converted LaTeX into DOCX, ODT or HTML.
A year on, the problem is where it was. The Google Docs help page explains equations through the Insert menu and with backslash shortcuts, without mentioning LaTeX. In January 2026, Eric Curts found that Gemini’s export still left the code in view and recommended an add-on. And the listing for another, MathInk, updated on 30 October 2026, puts it bluntly: Docs and Slides do not natively support LaTeX.
The editor, at least, has changed: it is now called EdiMarkdown, with a desktop version and a formula editor of its own. That the workaround of back then is still the solution also says how far each thing has come.
