Gmail enters Gemini era with AI Overviews, personalised replies and smarter inbox tools

Google has announced a significant update to Gmail, ushering the email service into what it calls the Gemini era with a suite of artificial intelligence-powered features aimed at helping users manage their inboxes more efficiently.

The update was announced by Google CEO Sundar Pichai in a post on X, where he stated that more than 20 years after Gmail was launched in 2004, the company is integrating Gemini-powered capabilities into the platform. He informed that the new features include AI Overviews, suggested personalised replies, Proofread, an AI Inbox with streamlined views and suggested topics to help users catch up on emails, among other additions.

We launched Gmail on April Fool’s Day in 2004. 20+ years later, we’re bringing Gmail into the Gemini era.

AI Overviews, Suggested personalized replies, Proof read, AI Inbox with new streamlined views and suggested topics to catch-up on and loads more, read the full details…

— Sundar Pichai (@sundarpichai) January 8, 2026

Google said in a blog post that the new tools are designed to transform Gmail into a more personal and proactive inbox assistant, enabling users to better manage the flow of information and prioritise important messages.

A key feature of the update is AI Overviews, which summarise long email threads and provide direct answers to questions, making it easier for users to locate critical information without scanning lengthy conversations. Google stated that when users open an email chain with multiple replies, Gmail synthesises the entire discussion into a concise summary of key points. It also allows users to ask questions directly within their inbox, with Gemini generating a simple AI Overview in response.

According to the company, AI Overview conversation summaries are rolling out at no cost to all users, while the ability to ask the inbox questions using AI Overviews is available to Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers.

The update also enhances Gmail’s writing assistance features. Suggested Replies, an evolution of Smart Replies, provide one-click responses that use the context of an email conversation to match the user’s writing style and tone. The Help Me Write tool allows users to draft emails from scratch or polish existing drafts, while the Proofread feature offers advanced checks for grammar, tone and style to improve overall email quality.

Google stated that Help Me Write and the new Suggested Replies are being rolled out to all users at no cost, while Proofread is available to subscribers.

Another addition is the AI Inbox, which is designed to reduce clutter by filtering less important messages and highlighting priority emails. The company said these capabilities are powered by Gemini 3, its latest AI model.

The update is currently rolling out in the US, beginning with English-language support, and is available to Gmail users as well as Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers. Google said the features will be expanded to additional languages and regions in the coming months.

Under the rollout, AI Overview conversation summaries are available to all users, the ability to ask inbox questions using AI Overviews is limited to Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers, Help Me Write and Suggested Replies are available to everyone, and Proofread remains a subscriber-only feature.