Early adopters of Google’s paid-for AI features won’t be too thrilled about the recent announcement that it was tearing down the paywall and offering up Gmail’s AI powers to everyone. Even those who’d rather read their emails instead of a soulless bot doing it for them will have to opt out of the features, which are on by default.
The change was announced alongside several other additions headed to the mail client, all while Google pulled back the curtain to offer us a peek at what we can expect later this year. AI overviews — those confidently incorrect summaries plaguing Google search — are one of the features rolling out to free users today.
You had mail!
It’s not all recycled content. Some features are completely new to Gmail, like the new ‘AI Inbox’ view. It supposedly filters out the clutter that’s typically right at the top of their inbox, leaving only the important stuff behind. Bills, or a reminder for the dentist, will rise to the top as the due date draws near. “Crucially, this analysis happens securely with the privacy protections you expect from Google, keeping your data under your control,” it wrote. This, however, is currently reserved for “trusted testers” before it expands in the coming months.
“Help me Write” is one of those previously paywalled features headed for your inbox for free. It can be used as an accomplice when deciding the right tone to speak to your boss, or just have it generate the email for you. It’ll be available on the web, Android, and iOS and can be found near the ‘AI spark’ button when composing a mail.
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Up next is “Suggested Replies” — an update of Smart Replies that Google reckons is a whole lot more personable than it ever was before. Instead of generating vague replies, Suggested Replies relies on the user’s tone and style to generate a draft that Google still hopes you’ll give a once-over before hitting send. “Proofread” brings “advanced grammar, tone and style checks” to the party, reserved for Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers.
For the time being, only US Gmail users will get access to the new suite of free AI-powered features, though Google mentions it won’t be long before it expands them to more territories. When they do turn up, users can visit their Gmail settings to toggle the ‘Google Workspace smart features’ off to opt out.
