Too Many Emails? This New Gmail AI Feature Can Help – CNET [CNET]

Google wants to help you read, write and manage email better with its new Gemini AI tools.

If you’re striving for “inbox zero,” or just trying not to get completely overwhelmed by emails, Google might have an AI solution. During May’s Google I/O event, the search giant introduced a series of tweaks it plans to bring to Gmail, its free email software. Now, thanks to Google’s AI assistant Gemini 1.5 Pro, Gmail can streamline the process of reading and replying to emails.

Gemini is the AI-based assistant from Google, built right into Gmail, Docs, Sheets and more. Gmail users could already use Gemini to help them write emails based on their prompts. For instance, you can use it to write a cover letter, create birthday invitations and write a more detailed email. Now that Gemini 1.5 Pro is available, it’s expanded to do even more, with a laundry list of new and useful abilities you’ll want to take advantage of now. 

Below, explore the new features, all of which are available in Gmail right now for Gemini Advanced subscribers paying $20 monthly. If you’re interested in cleaning up your inbox without lifting a finger, it may be worth the money to you, too. 

1. Summarize this email

With Gemini 1.5 Pro, when there’s an email thread you don’t have time to read, you can tap the “summarize this email” button to get a summary card with highlights of the email or email thread.

2. Enter a prompt here 

In the summary card, you can type questions and have Gemini search your email and attachments for an answer. The example Google’s Vice President of Workspace Aparna Pappu showed was “compare my roof repair bids by price and availability.” The new Q&A feature makes it easier to get quick answers for anything in your inbox.

Gemini can also pull information from different email threads and combine them in an organized summary.

3. Suggested replies

When you’re ready to reply to an email, Gemini can give you a few suggestions to choose from, based on the context of the previous emails. For each suggestion, you can see a long preview of the reply email by long-pressing on the tab.

When will the new features roll out?

The Gemini 1.5 Pro update is currently available to Gemini Advanced subscribers. It costs $20 a month to access this plan. 

Google also announced that the Gemini for Workspace side panel will be widely available in June.

For more, find out how Google’s Gemini will bring richer image descriptions to its TalkBack screen reader.

Editors’ note: CNET is using an AI engine to help create a handful of stories. Reviews of AI products like this, just like CNET’s other hands-on reviews, are written by our human team of in-house experts. For more, see CNET’s AI policy and how we test AI.