Google adds AI Overviews to Gmail for work accounts

In short: Google says it is bringing its AI Overviews feature to Gmail at work, so people can get quick summaries and answers pulled from multiple emails.

What happened

Google announced at its Google Cloud Next conference that AI Overviews will be added to Gmail for workplace users. AI Overviews is a feature Google already uses in Google Search to summarize information, and now it will do something similar inside Gmail.

The idea is simple. Instead of opening several emails and reading long threads, a person can type a question in normal words, like “What are the latest project milestones?” and Gmail will return a short answer. Google says the summary can pull details from multiple emails and conversations, like invoices, comments on slide decks, travel plans, and performance updates.

Google says AI Overviews in Gmail will be turned on by default for organizations that have Gemini for Workspace enabled in Gmail and also allow what Google calls “Workspace Intelligence” access to Gmail. End users also need to have Gmail’s smart feature settings turned on. (Think of these as permission switches that let Gmail offer extra automated help.)

Google says this feature has already been available for consumers who pay for Google AI Pro or Ultra. It is now also coming to Business Starter, Standard, and Plus, Enterprise Starter, Standard, and Plus, Frontline Plus, and an education add-on called Google AI Pro for Education.

Why it matters

For many people, work email is where decisions and details get buried. A built-in summary tool could save time, but it also means employers and employees may want to double-check what is enabled, since the feature depends on settings that control how Gmail can process messages.

Source: TechCrunch AI