Hmm. That sounds interesting.
It sounds like that covers Gmail and stuff like that, but at least in this 2022 article, it doesn't sound like it covers Web searches on Google, or YouTube, or Google Maps. That sounds like it's fair game for data-mining.
Regarding the promise to not use data from "Workspace core services," Google's statement doesn't cover Google Search (it's not a core Workspace app), which is the primary vector for Google ads and data for Google ads. That's right—the "Search History" setting from Google doesn't cover Google Search history.
Google's reasoning for this change is that, because Workspace apps are paid for, "Google never uses your data in Google Workspace core services for advertising," the company said. So basically the new "Search History" setting could be called "save data that won't be used for ads."
The terms "Google Workspace products" and "additional Google services" are the key to understanding that description. Basically, Google is splitting the data that was previously captured by "Web & App Activity" into two settings. "Search History" will only cover apps that are part of the "Google Workspace" product lineup. There is a full list of those services here, but it's basically Gmail, Calendar, Docs, Contacts, Drive, Google Chat, and Keep—the business apps—and not Google Maps, Google Search, YouTube, and other products that lack a strong business use case. So for paying Workspace users, Search History will now cover usage data for Workspace stuff, while Web & App Activity will cover every other Google product that isn't specifically listed in the Workspace terms.