Google Cloud Dataflow is a unified streaming and batch data processing service that allows users to set up pipelines to process data in various patterns. It features both horizontal and vertical autoscaling, real-time monitoring, and integration with other frameworks. Getting started involves choosing a programming model like Java, Python, or SQL and running sample pipelines locally or on the Cloud Dataflow service. Use cases include stream analytics, real-time AI, log and sensor data processing. The documentation provides more in-depth information on features and usage.