If you prefer not to have AI summarize your Gmail messages, you might still encounter these summaries. According to a blog post from Google on Thursday, some users of the Gmail app will soon start to see AI-generated email summaries.
Gmail users who have paid Workspace accounts or Google AI Premium subscriptions will find these summaries in the Gmail app on both Android and iOS platforms. In the past, users needed to click the “summarize this email” button at the top of their phone screen to receive the AI summary, but now, the summaries will appear automatically. A few users may already notice these updates, but it could take as long as 15 days before it is available to all users.
The AI email summary, powered by Gemini, will present bullet points highlighting the main elements of the email and will refresh the summary with any follow-up replies in the email thread. Currently, the summaries are only accessible for emails written in English.
The automatic summaries will be generated “in situations where a summary could be beneficial, such as lengthy email conversations or messages with multiple replies,” as stated by Google.
Users have the option to turn off the automatic AI summaries; however, this action will also disable other intelligent features such as high-priority notifications, package tracking, Smart Compose, Smart Reply, and nudges.
Ron Richards, co-host of the Android Faithful podcast, finds the Gemini AI email summaries “entertaining.”
“How difficult is it to read an email?” Richards remarked to CNET. “Everyone is busy, of course, but the time taken to read the summary could be spent just reading the email itself! That said, I can understand how this might be useful for lengthy emails or extended threads.”
This is part of Google’s newest strategy to encourage users to engage more with Gemini, its AI assistant. Last year, Google introduced Gemini in the Gmail side panel to summarize email threads, assist with drafting emails, suggest responses, and provide additional features.
Gemini is also accessible in the side panel of Google Docs, Google Sheets, Google Slides, and Drive.
If you prefer not to have Gemini in your Gmail at all, CNET offers a guide on disabling it.
As Google continues to weave AI deeper into Gmail communications and threads, some users are concerned about data privacy and whether their emails are being analyzed by Gemini. A subReddit, r/hacksguider, raised the question, “Is Google Gemini compromising your privacy by accessing your Gmail and Docs?”
The post highlights the “convenience” of having AI that “understands your communication style” and organizes your Google Docs, but it also notes the concerning aspect of giving Gemini access to personal emails and documents, posing the question of how our data is utilized and protected. Are we sacrificing our privacy for the sake of convenience?
In its announcement on Thursday, Google assured that “as with all our AI features, Gmail remains dedicated to safeguarding user data and ensuring privacy.”
Richards from the Android Faithful podcast recognizes that some individuals would prefer no AI in their email, but he is aware that this technology is not going away.
“That ship has sailed,” he stated. “And it’s not just from Google; the entire industry, spanning from Google to Apple and Microsoft, is onboard. AI is here … and it’s not going to disappear. It’s about how you decide to interact with it and either use or benefit from it to meet your needs or not.”
Gmail’s smart replies, which offer suggested responses to your emails, will now be capable of tapping into your Gmail inbox and Google Drive, allowing them to better align with your tone and style, thanks to Gemini, as announced at I/O.
These enhancements build on the “contextual” upgrade to smart replies that Google released last year. This update permitted replies to be lengthier than previously, expanding smart replies beyond a brief “Sounds good!” However, they were still limited to drawing information solely from the current Gmail thread you were engaged in. With the newly announced changes, smart replies are expected to incorporate significantly more context.
The goal is that “Gemini can understand the context of your required response” and handle the task of “sifting through all the other files” and reviewing lengthy threads to ensure the reply contains all necessary details, explains Blake Barnes, the VP of product for Google Workspace, to The Verge.
Smart replies can now also adapt for tone and style based on your conversation partner, suggesting more formal responses for emails to your manager and casual replies for interactions with friends.
“We’re transitioning from a phase where AI is generally useful to AI that is specifically helpful for you,” Barnes states.
There is a potential for widespread usage: although Barnes did not disclose an exact number of smart reply users, he mentioned that “many people utilize them.” However, similar to all AI-generated content, it’s crucial to review it for any inaccuracies before hitting send. It would surely be awkward if smart replies contained errors in a critical email to your boss.
At first, these smart replies will be released in English and will be accessible on the web, iOS, and Android platforms, launching in alpha in Google Labs in July. The feature is anticipated to become widely available in the third quarter of the year. Nevertheless, access to these advanced smart replies will require a subscription, as they will be included in paid Workspace plans and Google One AI Premium. Over time, it is “possible” that this feature could be extended to free Workspace users, according to Barnes.
During I/O, Google also unveiled additional features for Gmail. Gemini will assist with inbox management, such as enabling you to instruct the AI assistant to remove unread emails from specific senders through a function referred to as “inbox cleanup.” This tool is set to be generally accessible in the third quarter. When attempting to schedule a meeting, Gmail will utilize Gemini to prompt suggestions for available times from your calendar. This feature will also be rolled out in Q3.
Moreover, Google announced other upcoming features for Workspace products, including speech translation in Google Meet, AI avatars in Google Vids, and Gemini’s ability to extract information from linked documents in Google Docs while providing writing support.