It was inevitable. Google is rolling out new AI functionality on its Gmail service to personal Google accounts. Called AI Inbox, it is designed to “help you manage a busy inbox”, says Google.
What that means? AI is scanning emails to identify the ones that require immediate attention. The feature has its own entry point on Gmail. When you activate AI Inbox, you get two different sections:
- Suggested To-dos: Here, the AI lists incoming emails that need your immediate attention or action. High-priority tasks are identified and the AI explains to you in bold, what you need to do.
- Catch-up Topics: This offers summaries of “important updates across projects and topics”, especially if they are scattered in different email threads or unrelated emails.
Google is limiting the feature currently to English-language users from the United States who are subscribed to Google AI Ultra, which costs 275 Euros per month currently (three month 50 percent introductory offer may be available).
You also need to enable smart features in Gmail to make use of it. Smart Features refers to a bundle of features, including translations, Smart Compose, or personalized search.
The Pros and Cons of letting AI handle your inbox
While there are certain pros to letting AI handle your email inbox, such as saving time, prioritization, or tone and grammar help, there are significant downsides.
Besides privacy and security concerns, there is the risk of missing important emails or of costly mistakes that the AI may make when it starts to hallucinate.
Privacy aside, the best way for users who want to make use of AI to tame their inbox is to use it as a helper, not the ultimate tool on autopilot. This is true for most AI solutions and services nowadays: you always have to verify that the AI did not miss something or introduced something that should not be there or that does not exist in the first place.
Would I use AI Inbox? I would not and the reason could not be simpler: I have no desire to give AI access to my emails because of privacy. Add a medium-sized inbox to that, and I do not have a need for any AI functionality at the time of writing.
I can see AI Inbox as a useful addition in certain cases, for instance, when so many emails arrive in an inbox that humans can’t keep anymore or when someone needs AI because of a packed day and little time to manage emails.
What is your take on this? Would you use AI features on Gmail or your email service? Or do you plant to stay away from them?