Your Gmail inbox is about to be much easier for you to manage. Google unveiled a handy artificial intelligence (AI)-powered voice tool for Gmail that will allow you to speed through your tasks with speech rather than typing.
Yulie Kwon Kim, VP of Product at Google Workspace, wrote in a blog post: "More than 4 billion users rely on Google Workspace apps like Gmail, Docs and Drive to create, collaborate, and get things done. Today, we’re announcing new ways that AI can help you do even more."
Gmail Live is a voice-activated search function designed to help you locate information buried in your inbox
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At the heart of the announcement is Gmail Live, a voice-activated search function designed to help you locate information buried in your inbox.
Ms Kim wrote: "When you’re on the go, you don't have time to dig through emails. With Gmail Live, you can just ask for what you need. Say things like, 'What’s my flight's gate number?' or 'What’s going on at my kid’s school this week?' and Gmail Live will search your inbox to find the answer instantly."
The feature responds to naturally phrased questions and can handle follow-up queries, according to Devanshi Bhandari, Gmail's product lead. He said: "Gmail Live can answer naturally phrased questions, respond to follow-up questions, and pivot if you need to interrupt it."
During a demonstration, the tool retrieved information about a child's show-and-tell project, school trips, and travel arrangements, including hotel and flight details.
The AI can distinguish between similar terms such as "field trip" and "trip" and extract specific details like hotel room numbers from messages.
It can also identify people being discussed even when they are not named directly, showing it can remember your past queries and conversations.
However, it should be noted that Gmail Live will not replace the traditional search function, but instead offers an alternative method for finding emails. Google appears to have learned from previous missteps after its AI-powered search upgrade to Google Photos prompted significant user complaints, leading the company to make this new feature optional.
Google is also rolling out Ask YouTube, which helps you find answers more easily when you’re searching for something new
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Similarly, Google is also rolling out Ask YouTube, which helps you find answers more easily when you’re searching for something new. Since there are often countless helpful videos available, it can sometimes feel overwhelming to know where to start.
Instead of making you scroll through or guess where the right information is, Ask YouTube shows you the videos that best match what you’re looking for and takes you directly to the most relevant part of each video. This makes it quicker and simpler to get the information you need without watching unnecessary sections.
Docs Live lets you dictate complex outlines, while Google's AI assistant Gemini helps structure and refine your ideas without requiring hands-on input
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Google also hit the copy and paste to this new feature with Google Docs — where you can create, edit, and share documents with others in real time from any device.
Called Docs Live, you can dictate complex outlines while Google's AI assistant Gemini helps structure and refine your ideas without requiring hands-on input.
For example, if you’re preparing a strategy proposal for a new marketing campaign, but have you're hands full, you can open Google Docs and start speaking your ideas out loud, saying: “I want the campaign to focus on Gen Z audiences, use short-form video content, include influencer partnerships, and have a three-phase rollout starting with awareness, then engagement, then conversion…”
As you dictate, Docs Live is designed to automatically turn your spoken thoughts into a structured outline — organising headings, grouping related points, and refining messy ideas into clear sections like “Objectives,” “Target Audience,” and “Execution Plan,” without you needing to stop and format anything yourself.
Google's AI Inbox brings you personalised draft replies, automatic surfacing of relevant Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides links, and streamlined task management options
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Additionally, Google's AI Inbox, which launched earlier this year, is expanding beyond Google AI Ultra subscribers to include Plus (£6.99/month) and Pro tier (£18.99/month) users.
The AI Inbox update brings personalised draft replies, automatic surfacing of relevant Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides links, and streamlined task management options.
Gmail Live will become available this summer, but will initially be restricted to Google AI Ultra subscribers (£234.99/month) only.
Ask YouTube and Docs Live will also be rolled out later this year and are currently being tested.