Google smartens up Gmail with Gemini-powered AI Overviews, Help Me Write, AI Inbox

Another significant development is the launch of AI Inbox, a tool intended to assist users in concentrating on what really matters. (Image: Google)

Gmail is entering a new phase as Google begins rolling out Gemini-powered features designed to turn the inbox into a more proactive assistant rather than just a place where messages accumulate.

Google is launching the “Gemini era” for Gmail, a collection of AI-driven tools designed to enhance users’ comprehension, writing, and prioritisation of emails. A key enhancement is AI Overviews, a function that converts fragmented email details into concise replies. Long email threads often contain critical details buried across the thread of replies.

Originally, Google’s email service relied on Artificial Intelligence to power features like spam protection and Smart Replies. And since Gmail was introduced in 2004, the nature of email has changed significantly. All of us have a busy inbox; while some of the challenges we face include sending and receiving mail, grasping meaning, prioritising tasks, and promptly reacting to information.

With AI Overviews, Gmail can now automatically summarise entire conversations, highlighting key decisions and discussion points without requiring users to read every message.

The feature also allows users to ask direct questions of their inbox using natural language. Users can ask questions like “who sent a particular quote” or “what decision was made last year on a specific topic” instead of depending on keyword searches and manual scanning. Powered by Gemini’s reasoning capabilities, Gmail generates concise answers by analysing relevant emails and surfacing the needed information. While Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers can access inbox questions, conversation summaries are being made available to all users at no cost.

Additionally, Google is increasing the number of tools that enable users to react more quickly and confidently. Everyone can now use the ‘Help Me Write’ feature, which helps with email drafting and refinement. Updated ‘Suggested Replies’ go beyond earlier ‘Smart Replies’ by using the context of the conversation to generate responses that better match the user’s tone and writing style.

In practical terms, this means Gmail can suggest a thoughtful reply to a nuanced question, such as coordinating plans with family or colleagues, while leaving the final approval in the user’s hands. A new Proofread feature adds deeper grammar, style, and tone suggestions to help ensure messages are polished before sending. Help Me Write and Suggested Replies are free for all users, while Proofread is limited to AI Pro and Ultra subscribers. Google has also confirmed that next month, Help Me Write will gain greater personalisation by drawing context from other Google apps.

The function generates a customised daily summary by identifying significant senders, impending deadlines, and urgent notifications like bills or appointment reminders. Google claims that this assessment makes use of trustworthy privacy safeguards, guaranteeing the security of user data. AI Inbox is currently only accessible to a small number of reliable testers, but a wider rollout is anticipated in the upcoming months.