Google adds AI upgrade to your Gmail that writes your emails for you

GOOGLE has announced the release of an artificial intelligence tool that increases productivity for users with jam-packed inboxes.

The company announced a new Gemini side panel in the web version of Gmail on Monday, promising “new, powerful ways to get more done in your personal and professional life.”

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The multi-purpose tool is designed to accommodate models including Gemini 1.5 Pro, which boasts a longer context window and more advanced reasoning.

The AI can assist in drafting messages, generate suggested responses to email chains, and create a summary of emails in a thread.

It can also function as a powerful search tool that reviews the contents of your inbox in seconds.

Users can ask it to show unread emails and find information contained within the messages they receive.

Users will also be able to use Gemini in the Gmail mobile app on Android and iOS to review email threads and see a summarized view of just the highlights.

“This is useful when you’re on the go, especially because reading through long email threads can be time consuming and even a bit of a challenge on a smaller screen,” the company professed in a blog post.

However, there’s a catch. Free Gmail users won’t get their hands on the tool anytime soon – and it isn’t available for all paying users, either.

Users will need a subscription to Google One AI Premium, which is more than double the price of Google One Premium.

Gemini for Workspace is available through two plans: a Gemini Enterprise add-on, which replaces Duet AI for Workspace Enterprise, and a new Gemini Business add-on, which carries a lower price tag.

And while rollout began yesterday, it may take some time before the feature appears in your inbox.

Users who are part of the Google Workspace Rapid Release program should expect to see the feature within three days of the launch.

Rollout begins July 8 for those on the standard Scheduled Release and can take up to 15 days.

As for the mobile app, the tool will become available up to two weeks after the June 24 release across the board.

A Gemini 1.5 Pro side panel is also coming to other services like Google Drive, Docs, Sheets, and Slides.

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The company teased two other features that are coming to Workspace Labs in July.

Contextual Smart Reply will offer longer, more detailed suggestions for email messages and provide one-tap options on mobile.

Gmail Q&A will allow users to ask Gemini “more complex questions,” including requests to compare information contained in different emails. This feature will be available on both mobile and web.

What is Google Gemini?

You may have heard of Google’s Gemini AI tool – so what exactly is it?

Google’s Gemini AI launched in December 2023 and is available online, billed as a way to “supercharge your creativity and productivity”.

Gemini is a multimodal model that learns from a variety of data types including images, text, and audio.

When a user enters a prompt into Gemini, it generates a response using information it already knows or pulls from other sources (often Google services).

While training on datasets, it identifies patterns that help it mimic a human response. As it is continuously learning, Gemini also learns from your prompts, responses, and feedback.

Google has admitted that “Gemini will make mistakes and might even say something offensive”.

The program occasionally cites its sources. If it quotes at length from a webpage, for instance, it makes reference to that page. Sometimes, it generates a URL that users can click.

Gemini has usage limits to reduce traffic, meaning it may cap the number of prompts and conversations a user can have within a specific timeframe.

This number depends on factors like how long and complex a user’s prompts are and the length of the conversation with Gemini. Google will alert you when you are close to hitting the limit for a given period.

Google leapt headfirst into the AI craze and continues to battle its competitors for a spot at the forefront of innovation.

The company faced criticism over its AI Overview tool, which is meant to summarize search engine results, but has so far been error-prone.

Netizens have complained about false and misleading answers and asserted that the tool makes the search engine more difficult to use.