Gmail Introduces AI Inbox Feature To Summarise Messages
Powered by the Gemini model, Gmail’s new tools reflect Google’s ongoing strategy to make AI a regular part of how people manage day-to-day digital life.
As part of its latest Gmail overhaul, Google has announced an AI inbox that offers a customised summary of tasks and important updates. The rollout also brings AI Overviews to search and introduces a Grammarly-style proofreading tool.
The AI Inbox is organised into two dedicated areas: “Suggested to-dos” and “Topics to catch up on”.
A demo clip highlights how the AI Inbox identifies actions that need attention, from rescheduling a visit to the dentist and replying to a coach, to paying a fee for a sporting event, while also rounding up updates on ongoing topics like a team’s football campaign and an upcoming family gathering.
“AI Inbox is like having a personalised briefing, highlighting to-dos and catching you up on what matters. It helps you prioritise, identifying your VIPs based on signals like people you email frequently, those in your contacts list and relationships it can infer from message content,” said Vice President of Product for Gmail, Blake Barnes, in a blog post.
“We’re giving trusted testers access to AI Inbox before making it more broadly available in the coming months,” he added.
Addressing privacy concerns, Google has said, “Crucially, this analysis happens securely with the privacy protections you expect from Google, keeping your data under your control.”
Gmail’s new AI Overviews in Search allow users to ask questions in plain language and receive instant answers, removing the need to browse through emails using basic keywords.
As an example, a query about a past bathroom renovation quote will prompt Gmail to generate an AI Overview, pulling together the most useful details from relevant emails.
“AI Overview conversation summaries are rolling out today for everyone at no cost. The ability to ask your inbox questions with AI Overviews is available to Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers,” Barnes wrote.
Gmail’s new tools reflect Google’s ongoing strategy to integrate AI into people's day-to-day digital lives, according to Wired.
Google says its new Proofread tool is intended to help users sharpen their writing, and reviewing drafts to enhance clarity and flow. The feature provides one-click recommendations covering word choice, brevity, active voice and the simplification of lengthy sentences.
The Proofread feature is being made available to users on Google’s paid AI plans, namely Google AI Pro and Ultra.
By introducing its own proofreading feature, Google appears to be aiming to keep users within Gmail, reducing reliance on third-party writing tools or external AI services to tidy up emails, reported TechCrunch.
“Many of these improvements are made possible by Gemini 3. These new capabilities begin rolling out today in the US to Gmail users as well as Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers. We're starting with English and are excited to roll out more languages and to more regions in the coming months,” the blog post concluded.
