Google is introducing Gemini-powered tools in Gmail for summarising threads, drafting messages, refining text and answering questions about inbox content. The rollout has also drawn attention to smart-feature controls, which Google says are off by default in the EEA, Japan, Switzerland and the UK.
Google is expanding Gemini-powered capabilities in Gmail, adding tools designed to help users read, write, search and organise email.
In a product announcement, Google said Gmail will receive AI Overviews for summarising email conversations, Help Me Write for drafting messages, Suggested Replies and Proofread assistance. The company also said users will be able to ask questions based on information in their inboxes, providing an alternative to manually searching individual messages.
The features are intended to make Gmail more active in processing email content. AI Overviews can condense long threads, while Help Me Write is aimed at producing draft text. Suggested Replies offers response options, and Proofread is designed to help users improve wording before sending a message.
Google is also testing an experimental AI Inbox feature. According to the company, the tool is intended to surface priorities from email content.
Associated Press reported that the AI Inbox test can sort messages into suggested tasks and topics. That would extend Gmail's role beyond conventional email search and filtering by attempting to identify information that may require a user's attention.
The usefulness of such features will depend on whether they accurately interpret message context, distinguish urgent items from less important correspondence and produce reliable summaries. Google has described AI Inbox as a test rather than a broadly established feature.
The rollout has prompted questions about how the new capabilities are activated. The New York Times reported that Gmail's newly introduced Gemini features were enabled by default for users, with the exception of the still-testing AI Inbox. Users can turn the features off through Gmail settings, the newspaper reported.
Google's support documentation describes smart features as experiences that can use Gmail content and activity to provide personalised functions. The documentation also says smart-feature settings are off by default in the European Economic Area, Japan, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
That means the initial configuration may differ by region. In locations where the controls are not disabled by default, users who do not want Gmail content and activity used for personalised smart features may need to review the relevant settings themselves.
The Gmail update is part of a wider effort by technology companies to build generative AI into everyday productivity services. Associated Press characterised Google's changes as an attempt to turn Gmail into more of a personal assistant, combining writing support with tools that can retrieve and organise inbox information.
For users, the practical changes are likely to be most visible in long email threads, routine correspondence and inboxes containing large amounts of reference material. At the same time, the regional differences in default controls underline the importance of clear settings for features that analyse personal email activity.
Google's documentation directs users to smart-feature controls for managing these experiences. As Gemini-powered features reach more Gmail users, those controls will remain central for people who want to decide whether and how AI functions are used in their inboxes.
Gemini features arrive in Gmail Google is expanding Gemini powered capabilities in Gmail, adding tools designed to help users read, write, search and organise email.
In a product announcement, Google said Gmail will receive AI Overviews for summarising email conversations, Help Me Write for drafting messages, Suggested Replies and Proofread assistance.
The company also said users will be able to ask questions based on information in their inboxes, providing an alternative to manually searching individual messages.
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