Google is rolling out a new wave of artificial intelligence features in Gmail, aiming to turn the e-mail service into what it has described as a more proactive “inbox assistant” as e-mail volumes continue to grow.
The updates form part of Google’s broader push to embed Gemini across its consumer products, following similar integrations in Search, Docs and other Workspace tools. Gmail, which Google says is used by more than three billion people, has already relied heavily on AI for years through spam filtering and features such as Smart Reply.
The most significant addition is a new feature called AI Overviews. Borrowing from the same concept used in Google Search, AI Overviews summarise long e-mail threads into concise digests, highlighting key decisions, deadlines and discussion points. Instead of scrolling through dozens of replies, users are presented with a short synthesis of the conversation when opening an e-mail.
Gmail is also gaining the ability to answer questions about the contents of a user’s inbox using natural language queries. Users can ask questions such as who supplied a quote for a past renovation or when a particular bill was sent, with Gemini generating an AI Overview that surfaces the relevant details. Conversation summaries are rolling out to all users at no cost, while the inbox-query feature is limited to subscribers of Google’s paid AI Pro and AI Ultra tiers.
On the writing side, Google is expanding “Help Me Write”, which can draft or refine e-mails, and rolling out new Suggested Replies that are designed to better reflect a user’s writing style and the context of a conversation. These features replace the older Smart Reply system, offering more detailed, one-click responses that users can edit before sending. A separate Proofread tool, which performs deeper grammar, tone and style checks, is reserved for paying subscribers.
AI Inbox
Another notable addition is AI Inbox, a feature designed to prioritise important messages and tasks. Rather than showing e-mails strictly in chronological order, AI Inbox highlights high-priority items such as bills, appointments and messages from frequent contacts. Google says the system infers importance using signals such as contact frequency and message content, while keeping analysis within its existing privacy and security framework. AI Inbox is currently available to a limited group of testers.
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The new capabilities are powered by Gemini 3 and are beginning to roll out to Gmail users in the US, initially in English. Google said additional languages and regions will follow in the “coming months”. – © 2026 NewsCentral Media
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