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ZDNET’s key takeaways
- Google introduced new AI upgrades for Gmail on Thursday.
- They include AI Overviews, Proofread, and a new AI inbox.
- The biggest upgrade is going to trusted testers first.
Kicking off 2026, Google is advancing its mission to bring Gemini to as many people as possible, accompanied by some fresh AI upgrades for Gmail.
The upgrades — which include AI Overviews, a new proofread feature, and an “AI inbox” interface — have been engineered with an eye toward boosting personalization within Gmail. Like other tech giants, Google has been pushing to deliver customizable AI tools — that can analyze the context of specific users — in order to gain an edge in the ongoing AI race.
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“We want [users] to feel like this is the Gmail they’ve always known and loved, just more effective,” Gmail VP of Product Blake Barnes told ZDNET.
Here’s what you can expect from each of the new AI features, how they work, and who can access them.
AI Overviews in Gmail
Credit: Google
In May 2024, Google launched AI Overviews for search (originally Search Generative Experience, or SGE), a feature that leverages AI to provide summaries to user queries in natural language at the top of search results pages. The feature has now been embedded into Gmail.
Previously, users could enter keywords or phrases into the search bar at the top of their Gmail inbox and be directed to relevant messages. AI Overviews takes a significant step further by allowing users to ask questions or search for subjects in natural language, and the algorithm responds with a summary based solely on data gleaned from that user’s inbox. (Unlike AI Overviews for search, it doesn’t search the entire web when formulating its response.)
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Say you’re planning a ski trip with a large group of friends. Rather than searching for keywords to surface specific logistical details from your group thread, you can enter a prompt like, “What should I pack for my upcoming trip to Breckenridge?” The system will generate a personalized response based on your message history.
You might also ask questions like: “How much did I pay in utilities last month?” or “When do I owe my team a draft of the new presentation?”
“These are uniquely personal questions that only your inbox can answer for you, and that is the difference between core Google search and what we’re doing here with Gmail,” said Barnes.
Proofread
Credit: Google
Google is also debuting a new AI-powered Proofread feature. Think of this as a smarter auto-correct tool: When you’re drafting messages in Gmail, the feature will automatically underline words or phrases that could be edited for brevity and/or clarity, and also suggest some changes.
Proofread and AI Overviews within Gmail will initially be available only to G1 Ultra and Pro subscribers.
AI Inbox
Credit: Google
The third and final update now being rolled out in Gmail is also the largest, as it offers an entirely new take on the basic user interface of a digital inbox. It’s also probably the riskiest, since it’s by no means clear yet if the majority of users will prefer it over the traditional Gmail layout. It’s therefore not a surprise that Google is initially rolling it out to its “trusted testers” program.
The AI Inbox essentially turns Google’s flagship large language model, Gemini, into an intermediary between email senders and recipients. Rather than logging onto Gmail and seeing the usual inbox, with messages organized chronologically and displaying sender name, subject, and so on, the AI Inbox analyzes all messages and condenses them into actionable items at the top of the homepage: a “Suggested to-dos” section, followed by a list of “Topics to catch up on.” That layout could change down the road depending on early user feedback, however.
Also: Want to change your embarrassing Gmail address? Google may be working on a fix
“It’s an entirely different view of how to look at [Gmail],” said Barnes. “It’s going across your inbox and synthesizing it down — it’s not the same experience at all.”
Don’t worry, Google isn’t replacing the traditional Gmail UI wholesale (not yet, anyway). For early testers with access, the AI Inbox will be accessible via a separate view that can be selected at the top of the left-hand menu on the Gmail homepage.
Each of the three new features is now being rolled out in English and to users in the US, but they’ll be expanded to other regions and languages in the coming months, according to Google. Google will not collect data from user emails to train its AI models, Barnes told reporters in a virtual press conference on Wednesday.
The company also announced today that other AI-powered features within Gmail, which were previously only available to paying subscribers, including Help Me Write and Suggested Replies with personalization (an update to Smart Reply), are also now available for free to all users.
