Artificial intelligence is there now busy solving some of the biggest problems facing humanity: acceleration drug designfight cancer detectionand finding solutions climate change. But none of these problems are likely as daunting as the task Google has given its Gemini AI bot.
In particular, the task of keeping your inbox tidy. Gemini is now part of Gmail on the web and mobile devices. With it, you can not only find the right words in emails, but also summarize long emails and threads.
Here I’ll show you how these summarization tools work, what else Gemini can do for you, and report on how reliable they are currently. One caveat: For now, Gemini in Gmail is only available if you or your employer pays Google One AI Premium ($20/month) or to your Google Workspace account.
Get Gemini summaries in Gmail
Gemini can summarize single emails or multiple emails.David Nield
There are several ways to get Gemini summaries in Gmail if this feature is enabled in your account. Most of them can be accessed through the Gemini logo, which has a distinctive black star shape. Onlineclick the Gemini button in the upper right corner of Gmail to display the sidebar. There you can see summaries for your entire inbox or for a specific open thread.
In Gmail for Android AND iOSthe Gemini button appears in the top right corner if you’re viewing an email list, or in the top center if you’re viewing a specific thread. On mobile devices it is also specific Summarize this email button that appears when you are viewing a single email message or a single email thread.
This Summarize this email is the easiest way to start, but you can also tell Gemini to “summarize today’s emails”, “summarize this week’s emails”, “summarize my unread emails”, or “summarize the emails I received last month” – anything like that. When Gemini spends a few moments thinking, the answer will appear on the screen along with additional questions worth asking. (For example, you can ask for a longer summary.)
Ask your Twins other questions in Gmail
There’s more to Gemini than just summaries.David Nield
I’m mainly focusing here on summarizing what Gemini can do in Gmail, but there are many other commands you can explore. In fact, you can ask Gemini any question you want about what’s in your inbox, and Gemini will at least try to answer you – by sifting through the gigabytes of data in your emails for the answer.