Gemini Now Auto-Summarizes Gmail Emails
Google Introduces Hands-Free AI Email Summaries
Google’s Gemini AI assistant has taken a more proactive role in Gmail, now automatically generating summaries for lengthy emails. The email summary cards appear at the top of messages without requiring user activation, representing a significant upgrade to Gmail’s AI capabilities.
How Gemini’s Auto-Summarization Works
When you open an email, Gemini scans the content and displays key points in a convenient card format. This feature builds upon last year’s addition of manual summarization tools in Gmail’s side panel, which required users to click a button to activate.
The AI maintains and updates these summaries as new replies arrive in email threads, keeping you informed about ongoing conversations. While automatic summaries are now the default, Google maintains the option to manually request summaries through the familiar chip interface.
The Evolution of AI in Email Management
Potential Accuracy Challenges
This update continues Google’s push to integrate AI-powered features across its products, though previous implementations have faced accuracy issues:
- Apple’s similar notification summary feature was paused after generating incorrect news alerts
- Google’s AI Overviews in Search has delivered questionable results in some cases
The company acknowledges these growing pains but continues refining its AI offerings across services.
Availability and Privacy Considerations
Currently, the auto-summarization feature only supports English-language emails. Regional availability varies significantly:
- Automatically disabled in EU, UK, Switzerland, and Japan markets
- Enabled by default in other regions where Google’s smart features are active
Users and administrators can control this feature through Gmail Settings under “Smart features.” Workplace admins have additional controls via the Admin console to manage these settings organization-wide.