Google’s Gmail gets a major update: AI-powered UI overhaul

The year 2026 has begun, and Google is moving forward with its mission to bring Gemini to as many people as possible, including new AI features for Gmail announced.

AI-powered summaries coming to Gmail

Previously, you could type a word or phrase into the search bar above your Gmail inbox and get messages related to that. AI Overviews goes a step further, letting you ask questions and search for what you’re looking for in natural language, with the algorithm providing answers based solely on data gleaned from your inbox (unlike Google’s AI Overviews, it doesn’t search the entire web to provide a response).

proofreading

Google is also debuting its AI-powered Proofread feature, which you can think of as a smarter version of the autocorrect tool. When you’re drafting a message in Gmail, Proofread will automatically underline any words that could be tweaked to make it more concise or clearer, and suggest changes.

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AI Inbox

The third and final update rolling out to Gmail is also the biggest change. It offers a completely new take on the basic user interface of your digital inbox. But it’s also perhaps the riskiest, since it’s completely unclear whether many users will prefer it to the classic Gmail layout. So, it’s not surprising that Google is limiting the initial rollout of this update to participants in its “trusted testers” program.

Essentially, AI Inbox uses Google’s flagship large-scale language model (LLM), Gemini, to act as an intermediary between email senders and recipients. In the traditional inbox you see when you log in to Gmail, messages are arranged chronologically and the sender, subject, and other details are displayed. However, AI Inbox analyzes and aggregates all messages, and actionable items are displayed at the top of the home screen. Specifically, it starts with a “Suggested to-dos” section, followed by a list of “Topics to catch up on.” However, this layout may change based on feedback from early users.

SOURCE: ZDNET