Google Begins Adding AI Assistant Gemini to Gmail

Google is adding its artificial intelligence (AI) assistant, Gemini, to the side panel of Gmail.

The rollout of this feature on both web and mobile began Monday (June 24), the company said in a Monday blog post.

The AI assistant will be available to Google Workspace customers with the Gemini Business and Enterprise add-on, the Gemini Education and Education Premium add-on, and Google One AI Premium, according to the post.

The rollout of this feature follows the addition of Gemini to the side panel of Google Docs, Google Sheets, Google Slides and Google Drive, the post said.

With Gemini in Gmail on the web, users can deploy the technology to summarize an email thread, suggest responses to an email thread, get help drafting an email, and find specific information from emails within their inbox or from their Google Drive files, per the post.

“While Gemini in Gmail will provide proactive prompts to help you get started, you can also ask freeform questions,” the company said in the post. “For example, you can ask Gemini to search your inbox for things like ‘What was the PO number for my agency?’, ‘How much did the company spend on the last marketing event?’, or ‘When is the next team meeting?’ And just like that, you’ll have the information you need to quickly reply without having to ever leave Gmail.”

Gemini in the Gmail mobile app on Android and iOS can be used to analyze emails threads and see a summarized view, as can be done with the side panel on the web, per the post.

Additional mobile features will be added soon, the post said.

Google announced in May at its annual developer conference, Google I/O, that it would be enhancing Gemini to enable users to establish a virtual teammate.

The company said this AI-powered team member is designed to integrate with Google Workspace and perform various tailored tasks, including monitoring and managing projects, organizing data, providing insights, detecting trends and aiding in collaborative efforts.

Microsoft, too, has been expanding the capabilities of its AI assistant, Copilot, and other AI tools. The company recently reported that Copilot is being adopted across industries.