Gmail’s new inbox is the ultimate gateway drug to AI

Gmail was always a gateway drug for the greater Google ecosystem. When it launched in 2004, Gmail stood out by offering then-wild amounts of storage for free. Despite few updates to its design in two decades, it now boasts 2.5 billion users and is the largest email service in the world.

And—like so much of the tech industry—Google is betting that email will sell you on its next big bet: AI.

Starting today, Gmail will begin rolling out three new AI services that will significantly impact the way use your inbox. 

Gmail’s new AI features

Two of the services require a $20/mo subscription to its Gemini AI service, while the third will come to all users, free. (And yes, you will be able to opt out if you don’t want them.)

The biggest, and most exciting update is AI Overviews. In essence, this is the Gmail search bar you know—that perplexing window that stares you in the face as you wonder, “what combination of keyword do I need to recall from a random message thread from 6 years ago?”

But now, the search bar is infused with AI. So you can ask anything—like, “who was the recruiter I talked to last week”—and it’ll pop up their name alongside other recruiters you may have been talking to a bullet point summary that includes names, dates, and other details from your conversations. What’s interesting about those summaries is that they might include things that your friends said about these recruiters and companies in other emails on the topic—which Gmail cites with its now-familiar notation we see in Google’s main AI search.

Then below this new AI summary, you’ll find all your related emails, much like in classic Gmail search.

The next feature is a bit more disquieting, and a direct extension of Google’s autocomplete “Smart Replies.” Now called Suggested Replies, it’s essentially an auto-email writer. At the bottom of someone’s email to you, Suggested Replies floats a gray preview of an already-written response. If you tap on it—much like you can tap on Google’s autocomplete suggestions today—it transforms from a gray preview into a fully editable email box. Suggested Replies is actually coming to all users, free, as is a related “Help Me Write” feature which generates an email from a prompt. (Pro users also get a set of features also includes a more generalized “proofread” grammar check, for those who respect the people they’re emailing enough to actually write a note themselves.) 

Finally, all users will get access to a new Gmail AI inbox. This is at least the third attempt Gmail is making to cut through the clutter of your emails—which is necessary for most people, as the average, overwhelmed person gets dozens of emails a day but takes action on fewer than five, according to Yahoo. 

AI Inbox has two big features. The first turns your emails into a to-do list. Instead of showing you an email you haven’t responded to, it actually gives you a job like “send Ernie’s vaccination records to Doggy Daycare.” What’s clever in the UI is that these to-dos are actually presented a lot like emails. They’re familiar—which is key to a platform used by billions of people. You see someone’s avatar alongside a two-line summary of what you have to do. And by clicking a reply button, and you’re ushered into the proper email thread to do it.

Just below the to-do list, there’s a second, “catch me up” list. This goes into various topics, ranging from your children’s school updates to your bills. It summarizes the state of play, reminds you of upcoming chats, and lists pertinent dates coming up. It’s also heavily cited, with direct links to emails on each topic.

Google’s greater AI-meets-email strategy

For Google, AI is not just a means to improve your inbox clutter in the immediate. In the longer term, Blake Barnes, head of Gmail product, shared that Google is building a future where the lines between the rich data inside our inboxes and our search queries combine into a far more satisfying, and effective manifestation of Google AI. Assuming you’re willing to open up your email to Google’s wider service stack.

“What if Gemini could help you plan a vacation with all of the context Gmail has? Imagine that experience. We know what kind of places you like to go to. We know the budget you usually spend. We know how many people you’re traveling with,” Barnes told us for an essay in Fast Company’s Winter issue, imagining that it could eventually help with about any task you wanted to do. “It’s like having your own personal chief of staff,” he said. 

However, in the immediate, a Google spokesperson confirmed that Gmail’s AI is being operated as a separate silo from Gemini AI, and using Gmail AI does “not involve ads or commingling with core Search.” 

That seemingly trial separation is enough to make Gmail AI seem like an inevitable, and irresistible toe dip for a large swath of the global population into having a personal AI assistant. 

Just please, please write me that next email yourself.

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