Google Chat Adds Code for Managing AI Sources and Presentation Styles [APK Teardown]

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What to know
Google Chat is building a source-management interface
Each supported source type gets its own management control
Drive presentations can serve as style references

What to know

Google Chat is developing controls for adding and managing AI reference sources.
The interface tracks source counts and supports documents, folders, images, PDFs, spreadsheets, presentations, and videos.
We found the dormant code in the unreleased Google Chat v2026.09.28.989469340.Release build, but the controls do not surface in the app yet.

Google publicly announced Ask Gemini in Chat on August 19, making the broader AI capability public. What has not been documented is the more detailed source-management interface now taking shape inside Google Chat.

Now, a teardown of Google Chat v2026.09.28.989469340.Release reveals controls for adding and managing individual reference sources. The same build also introduces a separate flow for attaching a presentation from Google Drive as a visual style reference.

About APK teardowns — An APK teardown works by reading the not-yet-shipped code inside a beta build, which lets us preview features a developer is working on before they’re announced. But work-in-progress code can change, stay hidden behind a server-side flag, or be scrapped before it ever reaches your phone.

Google Chat is building a source-management interface

The clearest additions are labels for an “Add and manage sources” button. Google Chat can also change that label to show how many sources are currently attached, including distinct text for one source and multiple sources.

MSG_ADD_SOURCES_BUTTON_ACCESSIBILITY_LABEL = "Add and manage sources"

MSG_ADD_SOURCES_BUTTON_ACCESSIBILITY_LABEL_WITH_CURRENT_COUNT = "{COUNT, plural, =1 {Manage 1 source} other {Manage # sources}}"

MSG_ADD_SOURCES_LABEL = "Add sources"

MSG_ADD_SOURCES_LABEL_WITH_CURRENT_COUNT = "{COUNT, plural, =1 {1 source} other {# sources}}"

These strings point to a persistent source list rather than a one-time file picker. The count-aware labels would let you see how many references are attached and return to manage them as a group.

Each supported source type gets its own management control

Google Chat’s code identifies separate management actions for documents, Drive folders, images, PDFs, spreadsheets, presentations, and videos. That suggests the interface will distinguish between source types while still bringing them together under the same source-management control.

sidekick_manage_docs_source_content_description = "Manage Document source"

sidekick_manage_folder_source_content_description = "Manage Folder"

sidekick_manage_image_source_content_description = "Manage Image source"

sidekick_manage_pdf_source_content_description = "Manage PDF source"

sidekick_manage_sheets_source_content_description = "Manage Spreadsheet source"

sidekick_manage_slides_source_content_description = "Manage Presentation source"

sidekick_manage_video_source_content_description = "Manage Video source"

The build also includes a response for cases where a referenced file has been moved to the trash. It tells the user to restore that file or add a different one, showing that Google Chat is preparing to handle changes to attached sources after they have been selected.

MSG_FILES_TRASHED_RESPONSE = ""I can’t reference a file because it’s in the trash. You can restore it from the trash or add a different file.""

Drive presentations can serve as style references

A separate set of strings introduces a “Style reference” section. Its description asks the user to add a presentation from Google Drive so its visual style can be matched, while the attachment chip is labelled “Add file to match style.”

execution_plan_confirmation_add_style_reference_chip_label = "Add file to match style"

execution_plan_confirmation_style_reference_section_description = "Add a presentation from your drive to match its visual style."

execution_plan_confirmation_style_reference_section_title = "Style reference"

This is more specific than attaching a presentation as an ordinary information source: the referenced presentation is selected for its visual style. Google’s public Ask Gemini announcement covers the broader Chat capability, while these new strings expose the source controls, per-source management, source counts, and presentation-style attachment flow being developed around it.

The controls are not available to users yet, and we’ll watch future Google Chat builds for their rollout.

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