Google has unveiled a suite of new Artificial Intelligence (AI) features for Gmail, aiming to enhance productivity, streamline information access, and improve writing quality for its users. These innovations include a new AI Inbox, AI Overviews for Gmail Search, and a Proofread feature, alongside making previously premium AI functionalities available to all users.

The centerpiece of these new offerings is the AI Inbox, designed to provide a personalized and proactive overview of tasks and crucial updates. This new view, which users can toggle in and out of, features two primary sections: “Suggested to-dos” and “Topics to catch up on.” “Suggested to-dos” intelligently summarizes top-priority emails that require immediate action, such as bill reminders or appointments, ensuring users stay on top of their commitments. The “Topics to catch up on” section provides a consolidated feed of important updates, grouped into categories like “Finances” and “Purchases,” offering insights into events like return processes or new financial statements. This feature is currently rolling out to trusted testers, with a broader release expected in the coming months, embodying Google's vision of Gmail proactively supporting user organization.

For searching within one's email, Google is introducing AI Overviews in Gmail Search. This functionality allows users to employ natural language questions to search their inbox, eliminating the need for traditional keyword searches and the tedious process of opening multiple emails. For example, a user can ask, “Who was the plumber that gave me a quote for the bathroom renovation last year?” and receive an AI-powered summary that directly pulls answers and highlights key details from relevant emails. This feature, which exclusively relies on a user's personal email data, is being rolled out to subscribers of Google AI Pro and Ultra tiers.

Addressing the need for polished communication, Gmail is also launching a Grammarly-like “Proofread” feature. This tool is designed to help users refine their writing by analyzing drafts for clarity and structure. It offers one-click suggestions to improve word choice, promote conciseness, encourage active voice, and aid in splitting complex sentences. Examples include suggesting “might disturb” instead of “might inflict disturbance” or correcting common word usage errors like “weather” versus “whether.” Google anticipates that this integrated proofreading solution will reduce the reliance on third-party tools for email refinement. The Proofread feature will be available to subscribers of Google AI Pro and Ultra.

In a move to democratize AI capabilities, Google is also rolling out several previously paid AI features to all Gmail users. These include “Help Me Write,” which assists in composing emails from a simple prompt; “AI Overviews for threaded emails,” providing concise summaries of lengthy email conversations; and “Suggested Replies,” which offers contextually relevant responses tailored to the conversation's tone and style.

Google emphasizes that all these AI features are optional, reiterating its commitment to user privacy and data security. The company states that it does not utilize personal content to train its foundational AI models and processes personal data within a strictly isolated environment, ensuring user information remains private and secure.