Google has unveiled a new AI inbox for Gmail that gives you a personalized overview of your tasks and notifies you about important updates. Gmail is also introducing artificial intelligence reviews in search and a grammar-like “Corrections” feature. Additionally, Gmail is making several AI features available to all users that were previously only available to paid users.
The new AI Inbox tab contains two sections: “Suggested tasks” and “Topics to catch up on”. The first section displays summaries of the highest priority emails that require action, such as a reminder to pay a bill tomorrow or to contact your dermatologist to confirm your mailing address so they can send you a prescription refill.
In the “Topics to Catch Up” section, you'll see updates like “Your Lululemon refund is being processed and your Metal Vent Tech T-shirts order has been delivered” and “Your year-end statement is now available on Wealthfront.” These different updates are grouped into different categories such as 'Finance' and 'Shopping'.
“That means we're delivering Gmail by actively supporting you by showing you what you need to do and when,” said Blake Barnes, vice president of product at Google, during a briefing with reporters. “Don't worry, your traditional inbox will remain available. It's just a new view that you can switch to whenever you want to cut through the noise of incoming mail.”
Google will open the AI Inbox feature to trusted testers and then roll it out more broadly in the coming months.
Thanks to new AI sweeps in Gmail Search, users can now search their inbox using natural language questions to get a quick answer, instead of relying on traditional keyword searches and opening multiple emails to find specific information.
For example, you might ask, “Who was the plumber who gave me a quote for a bathroom renovation last year?” You'll then get an AI overview that pulls replies from your emails and highlights the key details you need.
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“We go through every email in your inbox and answer your questions at the top,” Blake said. “Just like AI reviews in Google Search, you can ask questions in natural language to get an AI-powered answer. But in Gmail, the model generates the answer solely on your email, your personal memory brain.”
This new feature is rolling out to Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers.
Google says all Gmail AI features are optional, that it doesn't use personal content to train its core models and that it processes personal data in a highly isolated environment.
As for the new proofreading feature, Google says it aims to help you refine and refine your text by analyzing your draft to improve clarity and structure. Offers suggestions on word choice, conciseness, active voice, and breaking up complex sentences with one click.
For example, if you write “may be disruptive,” Gmail will suggest changing the word to “may be disruptive.” It will also flag instances where the wrong word is used, such as “weather” instead of “or.” It is essentially similar to popular proofreading services like Grammarly.
By rolling out its own fixing tool, Google is probably hoping that people will stop using third-party tools or plugging their emails into ChatGPT to fix them.
The correction is made available to subscribers of paid Google AI Pro and Ultra subscription tiers.
While these new features are only rolling out to select users, Google has announced that Gmail's “Help Me Writing,” “AI Overview” features for threaded emails, and “Suggested Replies” will be rolled out to all users. These features were previously only available to paying subscribers.
Help Me Write can help you compose emails from a single prompt, while AI Reviews for Threaded Emails provide summaries of longer email threads with multiple replies. Suggested replies use the context of conversations to offer relevant answers that match your tone and style.
