The 8 Best Google Docs Add-ons I Use to Boost My Writing

Although Google Docs has been my go-to word processor for years, there are still a few features I wish were built in. To bridge these gaps, I use several useful plugins. From grammar checking to formatting, these tools save me time and effort. Here are the plugins I use to improve my writing process.

Google Docs has a built-in word count tool, but I’m missing it for several reasons. It doesn’t allow me to exclude specific types of content—such as bibliographies, parenthetical text, or other sections—from the word count limit, so I have to exclude them manually. Although it can display word count in real time, I have to enable this option for each new document.

Word Counter Max is a Google Docs add-on that displays my total word count in the sidebar and allows me to set a word count target with real-time progress tracking. It even shows the word count in a session, which helps me track productivity. Additionally, it offers advanced options for excluding text in parentheses, parentheses, tables of contents, bibliographies, and more from the word count.

When sharing documents with colleagues or team members, I often need to hide certain sections containing sensitive information. Making a separate copy or deleting the text are options, but will complicate document management. Since Google Docs doesn’t offer a native way to hide content, I rely on the Doc Secrets add-on.

With Doc Secrets, I can hide existing sections in a document or add confidential information directly through the add-on. To add hidden text, type it in the add-on text box and click Insert. To censor an existing section, select the text and click Censored text. To reveal content for yourself or others, select a hidden section in the sidebar and click Reveal.

Don’t forget to also adjust your sharing settings by clicking on the gear icon – this will allow you to manage who can insert, edit, reveal or censor secret text.

ProWritingAid is an excellent grammar checker and writing assistant that I highly recommend to all Google Docs users. I use it to catch and fix grammar problems, spot and fix spelling mistakes, remove overused phrases, simplify vague wording, shorten long clauses, and more.

It also gives me useful tips for improving the structure of the document, shortening the length of sentences and improving the readability of the document. With readability scores, summary reports, and plagiarism checks all in one place, ProWritingAid makes it easy to improve your document to communicate more clearly with your readers.

Problems or suggestions for improvement are shown with a red dot, while green indicates well-written content. After editing I can click Apply changes and close to save all edits at once.

A limited vocabulary often triggers writer’s block, so I often use the OneLook Thesaurus add-on. It helps break through mental blocks by offering a range of suggestions, including synonyms, commonly used nearby words, rhymes and rhymes, words starting with the same term, adjectives associated with the word and nouns it describes.

I can also select specific text in the document and click on Quotes button to show related quotes and ideas, which keeps me from getting stuck when the words don’t flow easily. With this add-on right in Google Docs, I no longer have to search for these tools online. If you often find yourself staring at a screen unable to type a single word, I highly recommend giving this add-on a try.

While the default font options in Google Docs cover most of my needs, I use the Extensis Fonts add-on to access a wide variety of additional fonts that add personality to my text. This plugin allows me to experiment with different styles to make certain sections stand out and improve the visual appeal of my work.

It is also easy to use. Once installed, I open the add-on and a list of fonts appears in the sidebar. To preview a specific font, just select your text and click on the font to be applied immediately. I can then choose to keep the new style or use the default Google Docs font by selecting from the font drop-down menu.

I work with foreign clients who manage blogs in their native language, mainly French and German. So I have to translate the text from these languages ​​to English. I use the Translate My Docs plugin to translate entire documents or specific parts of the text. Since I can use it directly in Google Docs, I no longer have to switch to another tab or another translation tool.

To use this tool, simply install the addon, open it and the sidebar will appear. Here you can select the source and target languages ​​for your translation. IN Settings in the drop-down menu you can choose whether you want to replace the original text with the translated version or keep them separate. Then just select the text and click on Translate button.

Paperpile is my ideal academic companion. When conducting research, it allows me to search for relevant publications using keywords, authors, years of publication and other details. Retrieves relevant articles from sources such as PubMed, CrossRef and Google Books. I can also manually create entries for items I want to cite in my work.

What I appreciate most about this extension is its ability to simplify citation organization and research resource management. I can cite references in Google Docs with one click and see all my citations in one place. Since it supports the most used citation formats, I can choose my preferred style. All these features make it one of the best add-ons for Google Docs citations and bibliography.

Once I’ve collected all my sources, I can easily update citations and create a bibliography with a click Update citations and bibliography.

GPT Docs Plus for Google Docs brings the power of an AI assistant to my Google Workspace apps. In Docs, I use them to generate content ideas and outlines, correct grammar issues, and adjust the tone of my writing. I can check my content for clarity, grammar and style. When working with large documents, I can summarize them to get the key points.

It also allows me to translate text between different languages ​​and create amazing images from a single challenge. The plugin also offers sample prompts that allow me to generate different texts with a single click. It tracks my previous interactions and I can easily clear the history. The extension uses the latest GPT-4 and GPT-4o models.

I find the add-ons mentioned above incredibly useful. They have become such an integral part of my workflow and have improved my writing in such a way that I can’t imagine working without them. If you haven’t tried these or any other supplements, I highly recommend them.