Did you know that Gmail was launched as a prank on April Fools’ Day? While there’s little substance to that theory, Gmail was originally launched on April Fools’ Day in 2024 in Google’s attempt to take a chance in the email section. More than two decades later, Gmail’s history isn’t unknown to anyone. The free email service is now used by over 3 billion people on the planet, and 21 years down the line, Google wants to give it a proper Gemini upgrade.
Although Gmail has had AI-based features to help with email chores, its CEO, Sundar Pichai, is now giving it Gemini features to give it an edge over its rivals. Pichai announced that the world’s most popular email service is entering the “Gemini era,” powered by the company’s advanced Gemini 3 AI model to evolve into a proactive personal assistant instead of just being an email client.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Pichai reflected on Gmail’s origins. “We launched Gmail on April Fool’s Day in 2004. 20+ years later, we’re bringing Gmail into the Gemini era,” he added. The update introduces a suite of AI tools designed to tackle email overload, summarise complex threads, draft responses, and prioritise tasks automatically.
Gemini AI features to transform Gmail
The new AI overhaul from Gemini promises to shift Gmail from a passive inbox to an intelligent assistant, addressing the reality of hundreds of weekly emails burying critical information.
AI Overviews: With this feature, Gmail will now provide concise summaries of long email threads at the top, similar to Google Search’s AI Overviews. Users can also search their inbox with natural language queries (e.g., “Who sent me an electrician’s quote last year?”) for direct answers rather than lists of emails. Note that while thread summaries are free for all, advanced Q&A is for Google AI Pro/Ultra subscribers only.
Suggested Personalised Replies, Help Me Write:
Upgraded Smart Replies now use full conversation context for contextual one-tap responses. The expanded “Help Me Write” tool drafts emails from scratch or refines text, with improved personalization rolling out next month.
Proofread:
As the name suggests, this feature will help users check their grammar, tonality, and style for professional polish, available to Google AI Pro and Ultra users.
AI Inbox:
A personalised briefing system with streamlined views, suggested catch-up topics, urgent to-do highlights, and prioritisation of “VIP” contacts based on interactions.
Gemini features on Gmail: When will you get it
The updates are initially rolling out to English-language users in the United States region. Google says that expansions to other languages and regions are planned throughout 2026. The company emphasises that while Gmail has used AI for years (e.g., spam filtering), this marks a major upgrade toward advanced, user-centric assistance.
