Gmail is getting new UI tools for managing email

Google has unveiled a new "AI Inbox" for Gmail, designed to be a personalized overview of tasks and important updates in your inbox. Gmail is also introducing "AI Overviews" in search, a new "Proofread" feature for improving text, and expanding access to several UI features that were previously limited to paid users.

What does “AI Inbox” bring?

The new “AI Inbox” tab is divided into two main sections: “Suggested to-dos” and “Topics to catch up on.” The former collects summaries of the most important messages that require the user’s attention – for example, a reminder about a due bill or a request to confirm a delivery address.

In the “Topics to catch up on” section, Gmail groups together informative updates, such as refund statuses, order delivery statuses, or notifications from financial institutions. Updates are automatically categorized into categories like “Finances” and “Purchases,” allowing users to quickly see what’s happening in their inbox.

According to the words Blake Barnes, Google's vice president of product, it's an approach where Gmail proactively helps users figure out what's important. Google emphasizes that the classic inbox view remains unchanged, and "AI Inbox" is just an additional view that can be turned on or off at will.

Google will initially make the feature available to a limited group of testers, with expansion planned in the coming months.

“AI Overviews” in Gmail search

With the introduction of “AI Overviews” in Gmail search, users can search with questions instead of classic keywords. The system then extracts the answer from emails and displays it at the top of the results.

For example, you can ask: “Who was the plumber who gave me a quote for my bathroom renovation last year?"Gmail will compose a response from the content of your messages, highlighting key information. According to Google, the model uses only the user's email and not external sources."

This functionality is rolling out to Google AI Pro and Google AI Ultra subscribers.

“Proofread” as Google’s alternative to Grammarly

The new “Proofread” feature is designed to improve the quality of your writing. The tool analyzes your draft email and offers suggestions for better word choice, shorter sentences, using the active voice, and breaking up complex sentences.

For example, Gmail will suggest replacements for awkward expressions or warn you about misspelled words, much like services like Grammarly. With its own proofreading tool, Google is clearly aiming to reduce the need to use external services or copy text into other AI chatbots.

The “Proofread” feature will also be available to Google AI Pro and Google AI Ultra subscribers.

More UI features for all users

Along with the new paid features, Google is expanding the availability of some of its existing UI tools. “Help Me Write,” “AI Overviews” for email threads, and “Suggested Replies” will gradually be available to all Gmail users.

“Help Me Write” allows you to compose emails based on a short description, “AI Overviews” summarize longer email conversations, and “Suggested Replies” suggest replies based on context, tailored to the tone of the conversation.

Google emphasizes that all AI features in Gmail are optional, that it does not use personal content to train its underlying models, and that data processing takes place in a strictly segregated environment.