Imagine transforming your busy inbox into a productivity superpower with just a few clicks! Learning how to turn on AI in Gmail unlocks an impressive suite of intelligent features that can complete your sentences, suggest perfect responses, and help you communicate more effectively. Gmail's evolution from simple webmail to smart assistant with features like Smart Compose and Smart Reply has revolutionized how professionals manage communication.

Premium apps like Superhuman take email intelligence even further for high-performance teams. Ready to save hours each week and become an email champion? Let's dive into the world of AI-powered email!

From basic email client to intelligent assistant

Gmail has evolved dramatically since 2004, transforming from a simple webmail service to a sophisticated intelligent assistant. Learning how to turn on AI in Gmail represents a significant shift from manual management to AI-assisted communication.

Built-in intelligence: Smart Compose and Smart Reply

The foundation of Gmail's AI capabilities begins with two core features available to all customers:

Smart Compose works as you type, offering predictive text suggestions that complete your sentences based on your writing style. This feature speeds up email composition and helps reduce grammar errors and typos.

Smart Reply provides short, contextually relevant response options at the bottom of emails you receive. With just a click, you can select an appropriate response without typing a single word.

These features are enabled by default in most Gmail accounts, but you can check your settings to ensure they're active. Here's how to turn on AI in Gmail:

• On desktop: Click the gear icon > See All Settings > General tab > Look for Smart Compose and Smart Reply sections
• On mobile: Tap the menu icon > Settings > Choose your account > Find Smart Compose and Smart Reply toggles

Advanced capabilities with Gemini

For customers who need more sophisticated AI assistance, Google's Gemini AI assistant brings powerful new capabilities to Gmail:

• Email Summarization: Instantly condenses long email conversations into concise summaries (available in supported Gmail accounts with Gemini enabled)
• "Help Me Write" Tool: Generates complete email drafts from simple prompts
• Draft Refinement: Polishes your existing drafts by adjusting tone, length, and formality (currently being rolled out to supported accounts)
• Smart Features: Gmail automatically suggests calendar events from email content — a long-standing smart feature now enhanced with Gemini

Note that these features are being gradually rolled out and may not be available for all accounts yet.

Gemini is available through Google Workspace subscriptions for business accounts or Google One AI Premium plans for personal accounts. The mobile experience has been streamlined too, with features like Smart Reply making AI assistance accessible on the go.

Gmail's native AI capabilities

Gmail has integrated sophisticated AI tools that help manage your inbox more efficiently. Understanding how to turn on AI in Gmail and their capabilities is essential for teams evaluating whether Gmail's native AI meets their needs.

Categorization and priority management

Gmail's organization tools use AI to sort and prioritize your messages:

• Priority Inbox separates important emails from less urgent ones
• Tab-based categorization automatically sorts incoming messages into Primary, Social, Promotions, Updates, and Forums tabs
• AI Filters and Labels help organize emails based on content and sender

These features help reduce inbox clutter but offer limited customization compared to specialized email management tools.

Activating and configuring AI: How to turn on AI in Gmail

Here's how to turn on AI in Gmail for different account types.

For personal Gmail accounts

On Desktop:

1. Open Gmail in your browser
2. Click the gear icon (Settings) in the top-right corner, then select "See All Settings"
3. Navigate to the "General" tab
4. Scroll down to find the "Smart Compose" section and toggle it to "On"
5. Optionally, enable "Smart Compose Personalization" to adapt suggestions to your writing style
6. Continue scrolling to the "Smart Reply" section and check the box to enable it
7. Scroll to the bottom and click "Save Changes"

On Mobile (iOS & Android):

1. Open the Gmail app
2. Tap the menu icon (three horizontal lines) in the top-left corner
3. Scroll down and select "Settings"
4. Choose your email account
5. Scroll through the settings to find and enable both "Smart Compose" and "Smart Reply"
6. If available, toggle on "Personalization" for more tailored suggestions

For Google Workspace customers

If you're using Gmail through your organization's Google Workspace:

1. Check if your admin has enabled AI features for your organization
2. Follow the same steps as personal accounts to access Gmail settings
3. If features appear disabled or missing, you may need to contact your administrator to request access

Enabling Gemini integration

Gemini provides features like email summarization and the "Help Me Write" tool. To turn on AI in Gmail with Gemini:

Prerequisites:

• For personal accounts: You need a Google One AI Premium plan ($20/month)
• For Workspace accounts: Your organization must have an eligible Google Workspace subscription

For Google Workspace Customers:

1. Your administrator must enable Gemini through the Google Admin Console
2. They need to expand the "Generative AI" section
3. Select "Gemini" and set the "Service Status" to "On for Everyone"

For Google One AI Premium Subscribers:

1. Log in via the Gemini website
2. Navigate to "Settings > Extensions"
3. Enable the Gmail integration

Note: Access to Gemini features in Gmail is being gradually rolled out and may not be available for all accounts yet. The Extensions tab may not appear for all users depending on your region and rollout stage.

Maximizing email productivity with AI assistance

AI tools have revolutionized how we interact with our inboxes, dramatically boosting productivity while reducing stress.

Effective email composition strategies

Gmail's native AI features provide an excellent starting point for boosting productivity. Smart Compose predicts what you might type next, allowing you to complete sentences with a simple tab key press. This feature alone can reduce drafting time by up to 40% for routine communications.

For more sophisticated needs, Gemini AI's "Help Me Write" feature can generate complete email drafts based on simple prompts. Try prompts like "Draft a polite follow-up email to a client who hasn't responded in two weeks" or "Write a formal email declining a vendor proposal while keeping the door open for future opportunities."

Inbox prioritization and management

AI tools excel at helping you focus on what matters most. Gmail's Priority Inbox uses machine learning to identify important messages and display them prominently.

Gemini AI takes this capability further with its "Summarize This Email" function. When faced with lengthy email conversations, you can get the key points distilled into a concise summary, allowing you to quickly grasp the situation without reading every message.

Privacy and security considerations

When using AI-native email tools, privacy and security considerations should be at the forefront of your decision-making:

• Gmail's native AI features analyze your emails to offer suggestions, but Google emphasizes that data used for AI training remains encrypted
• Enterprise security is critical for business environments, with Gmail in Google Workspace providing admin-level controls for enabling AI features across your organization

Beyond Gmail: Advanced email intelligence with Superhuman

While turning on AI in Gmail provides valuable tools, many professionals find themselves needing more sophisticated solutions. As email volumes grow, Gmail's basic features can fall short for high-performance teams. This is where advanced email intelligence platforms like Superhuman come in, offering capabilities that exceed Gmail's native features.

Superhuman: AI-native email excellence for Gmail

Superhuman integrates seamlessly with Gmail, allowing teams to get more from their inbox while saving an average of 4 hours per person every week. The platform preserves all your historical emails, contacts, and settings while overlaying a lightning-fast interface that supercharges your email experience.

Here's how Superhuman elevates Gmail:

• Customizable Split Inbox: Unlike Gmail's limited inbox customization, Superhuman allows you to create personalized views based on your workflow, helping you respond faster to what matters most. Organize tabs for your team, VIPs, and tools to stay on top of priorities.
• Team collaboration: Superhuman enables you to share a live view of any email and comment directly with your team. You can @mention teammates to rapidly unblock progress on deals, partnership opportunities, or customer requests—without the need to repeatedly screenshot, forward, or BCC.
• Advanced AI capabilities: While Gmail's AI features are limited, Superhuman offers AI that drafts and edits emails in your own tone and voice. The platform's Auto Summarize feature provides instant 1-line summaries above every conversation, letting you process information quickly without reading the entire email.
• Ask AI: Superhuman's AI allows you to get rapid search results from your inbox and calendar—2-3x faster than Gmail's search with more comprehensive results. Simply ask about multiple emails without having to remember senders, guess keywords, or scan subject lines.
• Keyboard shortcuts: Fly through your inbox using intuitive keyboard shortcuts that are more extensive than Gmail's options, freeing up time from excessive clicking and streamlining your workflow.
• Recent Opens tracking: Get a live feed of recent email opens, allowing you to reach out at the perfect moment—a feature not available in Gmail.
• Shared Snippets: Create and share snippets for entire emails, including attachments, a significant improvement over Gmail's templates which don't support attachments and can't be easily shared.

For teams looking to improve communication efficiency, Superhuman's enterprise-grade features include concierge support, centralized account management, advanced security controls, and regulatory compliance with SOC2 Type 2, ISO 27001, and GDPR.

These advancements transform email from a simple communication channel into a strategic business intelligence platform, helping teams be more productive, respond up to 12 hours faster, and handle twice as many emails. The Superhuman productivity insights provide further examples of how advanced email tools can impact productivity.

Implementing Superhuman can be a crucial part of your workplace effectiveness strategies, enabling you to work smarter, not harder. For sales teams specifically, adopting advanced email intelligence tools can unlock significant sales technology benefits, improving efficiency and effectiveness.

By turning on AI in Gmail and upgrading to Superhuman, you'll have the most productive email app ever made at your fingertips, helping you fly through your inbox and save 4 hours per week. Make email feel good again with what email should have been all along.

Reduce distractions and save 4+ hours every week with Superhuman!

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