Don’t want AI to summarize your Gmail messages? You might see it anyway. Some Gmail app users soon will see AI-generated summaries of their emails, according to a Google blog post on Thursday.
Gmail users with paid Workspace accounts and accounts with Google AI Premium subscriptions will see the summaries in the Gmail app on Android and iOS. Previously, users had to tap the “summarize this email” button at the top of their phone screen for the AI summary, but now, the summaries will just appear. Some users may be already seeing the changes, but it could take up to 15 days to roll out to all users.
In the AI email summary, Gemini will provide bullet points of all the key aspects of the email and will update the summary with any subsequent replies to the email thread. The summaries will only be available for emails in English, as of now.
The summaries will occur automatically “where a summary is helpful, such as longer email threads or messages with several replies,” according to Google.
Users can disable the automatic AI summaries, but doing that will also disable other smart features such as high-priority notifications, package tracking, Smart Compose, Smart Reply, and nudges.
‘How hard is it to read an email?’
Ron Richards, co-host of the Android Faithful podcast, finds the Gemini AI email summaries “amusing.”
“How hard is it to actually read an email?” Richards told CNET. “We’re all busy, sure, but the time it takes to read the summary, you can just read the email! That said, I can see where this can be helpful for long emails or long threads maybe.”
It’s all part of Google’s latest plan to get users to interact further with Gemini, its AI-powered assistant. Last year, Google enabled Gemini in the side panel of Gmail to summarize email threads, get help drafting an email, see suggested responses to an email thread, and other features.
Gemini is also available in the side panel of Google Docs, Google Sheets, Google Slides and Drive.
If you don’t want Gemini in your Gmail at all, CNET has a guide to disabling it.
With Google integrating AI further into Gmail messages and threads, some are wondering if data privacy will be at risk if their emails are being mined by Gemini. One subReddit called r/hacksguider posed the question, “Is Google Gemini invading your privacy by diving into your Gmail and Docs?“
The post marvels at the “convenience” of having AI that “understands your communication style” and organizes your Google Docs, but “the flip side is quite alarming. With Gemini having access to our personal emails and documents, we must question how our data is being used and safeguarded. Are we trading our privacy for convenience?”
In its Thursday announcement, Google does state that, “As with all of our AI features, Gmail remains committed to protecting user data and prioritizing privacy.”
Richards, of the Android Faithful podcast, understands that some people don’t want AI in their email at all, but is realistic about the fact that it’s here to stay.
“That ship has sailed,” he said. “And not just from Google, but across the industry, from Google to Apple to Microsoft. AI is here … and it’s not going to go away. It’s a matter of how you choose to interact with it and use it or leverage it for your needs or not.”
