Google Drive is much broader than Panza
That is a strength, not a flaw.
Drive can hold PDFs, images, videos, spreadsheets, presentations, folders, work files, shared files, and almost everything else. Its search can look across file names, contents, metadata, people, types, and locations.
If you need a general-purpose file system, Panza is not trying to beat that.
The difference is what sits at the center
In Drive, the file is the object.
In Panza, the useful thing may be one field inside that file: a policy number, expiry date, passport number, VIN, member ID, or warranty detail.
Panza brings that layer forward while keeping the source document right behind it.
Folders are flexible. They also ask you to maintain folders
A good Drive setup can be excellent.
It can also become Family / Documents / Travel / 2026 / Final / Final 2 surprisingly fast.
Panza deliberately uses a narrower model: a visual deck of the documents you repeatedly need. Less flexibility, less filing work.
Search is not the dividing line
Drive has strong search. On eligible Workspace or Google AI plans, Gemini can also help retrieve files and answer questions from stored content.
The Panza argument is different: for a small set of important personal documents, the useful answer should often be visible before you think about opening a file at all.
Use Drive when you need a drive
Use it for broad storage, folders, collaboration, and mixed file types.
Use Panza when the problem is smaller and more specific: I know this document matters. I just want the right detail now, and the original right behind it.