Gmail can use Google's AI to write replies for you
Gmail is about to get a lot smarter.
Google just updated the Gmail app with an AI-driven "Smart Reply" feature that predicts responses you may want to send.
Google first introduced Smart Replies in 2015 in its alternative email app, Inbox. Since then, the feature has popped up in its messaging app, Allo, but it hasn't been in Gmail until now. The feature uses machine learning to analyze your emails and suggest quick, bite-sized responses you may want to send.
"What this does is it takes an incoming email message and then, given the text of the email message, it tries to predict what are likely responses you might want to give," Jeff Dean, senior fellow in Google's research group, explained in January.
It might sound gimmicky, but even the Google researchers who created the feature say they are surprised at how well the feature works. It's also become popular with Inbox users -- 10 percent of all emails sent with Inbox's app were generated using Smart Replies, Dean said in January.
Gmail Smart Replies are available now in both the iOS and Android app in English. Google says a Spanish version will be available in the couple weeks as well with more languages "coming soon."
Topics Artificial Intelligence Google
Karissa was Mashable's Senior Tech Reporter, and is based in San Francisco. She covers social media platforms, Silicon Valley, and the many ways technology is changing our lives. Her work has also appeared in Wired, Macworld, Popular Mechanics, and The Wirecutter. In her free time, she enjoys snowboarding and watching too many cat videos on Instagram. Follow her on Twitter @karissabe.
