How to activate AI in Gmail? Using Gmail AI Assistants

AI is enhancing the way we communicate, and Gmail is no exception. Nearly 47% of email marketers now utilize AI to create email campaigns, reflecting the increasing reliance on AI for effective email communication. This shift has resulted in a 13% increase in click-through rates and a 41% boost in revenue, showing the clear benefits of AI in driving engagement and business success.

In this blog, we’ll explore how to activate AI features in Gmail to enhance your productivity. You’ll learn how to enable built-in Gmail AI tools like Smart Compose and Smart Reply, and explore advanced features like Gemini for Workspace users. 

Steps to Activate Gmail’s Built-in AI Features

Here’s how to activate some of the most popular AI features in Gmail, whether you're using a personal account or a Google Workspace plan.

1. Enabling AI for Personal Gmail Accounts

For personal Gmail accounts, you can enable some basic AI features, like Smart Compose and Smart Reply, directly in the settings.

• On Desktop:

  1. Open Gmail in your browser.

  2. Click the Settings gear in the top-right corner and select See All Settings.

  3. Navigate to the General tab.

  4. Enable Smart Compose and Smart Reply.

  5. Optionally, toggle on Smart Compose Personalization for more tailored suggestions.

  6. Scroll down and click Save Changes.

• On Mobile (iOS & Android):

  1. Open the Gmail app.

  2. Tap the menu icon in the top-left corner.

  3. Go to Settings and select your account.

  4. Enable Smart Compose and Smart Reply.

2. Activating AI in Google Workspace Accounts

If you're using Gmail through a Google Workspace plan, follow these steps to enable AI features:

• Check if your admin has already enabled AI features for your organization.

• If not, contact your administrator to request access to AI tools like Gemini and Help Me Write.

• To activate Gemini, the admin must go to the Google Admin Console, expand the Generative AI section, and set the Service Status to "On for Everyone."

3. How to Enable 'Help Me Write' 

Here’s how to enable Help Me Write to get assistance writing and refining emails. 

• Open Gmail and start composing a new email.

• Click the sparkle icon in the bottom-right corner of the compose window.

• Type a brief prompt, such as a topic or question, and then choose Insert or Refine to generate your AI content.

Who gets access?

• Paid Google Workspace plan users can request to join Google Workspace Labs to access Help Me Write.

• Free Gmail users won’t have access to this feature.

4. How to Enable Smart Reply 

Smart Reply is a useful AI feature that helps you quickly respond to emails with suggested responses based on the email content. 

• Open Gmail and click on the Settings gear in the top-right corner.

• Select See All Settings.

• Under the General tab, scroll down to find the Smart Reply section.

• Toggle Smart Reply ON and then click Save Changes.

This feature is available to everyone, regardless of whether you use a personal Gmail account or Google Workspace.

5. How to Enable Nudging 

Nudging, available to everyone, helps you stay on top of important emails by reminding you to reply or follow up with messages that might have been overlooked.

• Open Gmail Settings > See All Settings.

• Under the General tab, scroll to Nudging.

• Toggle on the options for “Suggest emails to reply to” and “Suggest emails to follow up on.”

• Click Save Changes.

6. How to Use Google’s AI Assistant Gemini 

For paid Google Workspace users who have been accepted into Google Workspace Labs, Gemini offers a suite of advanced AI features.

• On any email, you’ll see the diamond icon at the top right or the option to select “Summarize This Email.”

• You can then:

  • Get a quick summary of long conversations.

  • Ask follow-up questions like, “What was discussed last week about this project?”

  • Use Help Me Write to draft quick responses based on the email content.

By following these steps, you can activate and use the built-in AI tools in Gmail, whether you're using a personal Gmail account or Google Workspace. 

[ Also Read: Should You Use AI for Writing Work Emails? ] 

Benefits of Using AI in Gmail

AI in Gmail includes smart features and tools designed to automate tasks. These tasks include drafting, organizing, and scheduling emails. By using AI, users can manage their inboxes more efficiently and save time. 

Integrating AI into Gmail can significantly enhance your inbox management, saving time and boosting productivity. Here’s how:

• Faster Email Responses: AI-powered features help you draft and send emails quickly, reducing the time spent on repetitive tasks.

• Better Email Organization: AI helps prioritize important emails, so you focus on what matters most. Less time is wasted sifting through clutter.

• Increased Productivity: With tasks like scheduling and organizing automated by AI, you can spend more time on high-priority activities rather than managing your inbox.

• Smarter Scheduling: Gmail AI can detect meeting requests in emails, automatically add them to your calendar, and even suggest the best time for a meeting.

• Reduced Email Fatigue: Automating routine tasks and responding with AI-generated suggestions helps reduce burnout and keeps your email workflow efficient.

[ Also Read: Benefits of AI in Email Marketing Automation. ] 

With AI handling the routine tasks, Gmail becomes a streamlined workspace, helping you stay organized and focused on what truly matters.

Now that we’ve covered the advantages of AI in Gmail, let’s take a look at the key features that make it effective.

Key Features of Gmail AI

The introduction of AI-powered features helps you manage emails, organize tasks, and respond more efficiently. Here’s a breakdown of the key AI features that can streamline your email experience:

1. Smart Compose: Writing Suggestions

Smart Compose is Gmail’s autocomplete feature for emails. It suggests text as you type, based on your writing style and the context of your message. This feature helps speed up email composition and reduces errors, saving you time while ensuring your messages are polished and professional.

2. Smart Reply: Quick Responses

Smart Reply suggests short, contextually relevant responses at the bottom of your received emails. You can select a response with a single click, making it easy to reply without having to type. It’s a great way to save time when dealing with routine emails, especially those that require simple replies. 

3. Help Me Write: Your Personal Writing Assistant

The “Help Me Write” feature is a new, generative AI tool that drafts or refines emails based on simple prompts. You can generate entire email drafts with just a few words. For example, you might prompt it with: “Write an email to cancel a meeting and request a reschedule.”

This feature is currently available to Google Workspace customers and is ideal for common email tasks, such as follow-ups, cancellations, or scheduling requests.

4. Gemini: Advanced AI Assistance

For users of Google Workspace, Gemini brings useful AI features to Gmail. It can help with:

• Email Summarization: Gemini can condense long email threads into easy-to-read summaries, making it easier to stay on top of important conversations.

• Draft Refinement: If you’ve written an email draft, Gemini can help adjust the tone, length, or formality of the message to ensure it’s exactly what you need.

• Smart Features: Gmail can automatically suggest calendar events based on email content, such as meeting requests or event reminders.

These advanced features are available for Workspace users who have been accepted into Google Workspace Labs.

5. Nudging: Never Miss an Important Email

Nudging uses machine learning to remind you of emails that you typically respond to but might have missed. If an email hasn’t been replied to after a few days, Gmail will move it to the top of your inbox. You’ll receive a reminder, such as, “Received 3 days ago. Reply?”

This feature ensures you don’t forget important follow-ups, helping you stay on top of your communication.

6. Categorization & Priority Management

Gmail’s AI helps organize your inbox by categorizing incoming emails into tabs, such as Primary, Social, Promotions, Updates, and Forums. The Priority Inbox feature utilizes AI to automatically sort important messages, thereby reducing clutter and enabling you to focus on the most critical emails.

While these built-in organization tools work well for many users, they do have some limitations in customization compared to more specialized email management tools.

With a clear understanding of the key features, let’s walk through the steps to activate these AI tools in your Gmail account. 

Don’t Have Access to Gmail’s Built-In AI Tools?

If you're not on a paid Google Workspace plan or don’t have access to features like Help Me Write or Gemini, that doesn’t mean you’re stuck. 

NewMail AI is a modern, privacy-first assistant designed to help you manage your email and calendar more efficiently without requiring a premium subscription or learning a new system. Here’s what you can do with NewMail AI:

• Smart Drafts: Instantly generate thoughtful, professional replies tailored to your unique email context, saving you time while maintaining a consistent tone.

• Daily Briefings: Begin each morning with a concise summary of your emails, calendar events, and key updates, so you can start the day with confidence.

• Personalized Priorities: Your inbox is organized around what matters most to you. Important messages stand out, while low-priority noise fades into the background.

• Actionable Insights: Automatically extract actionable items from your inbox and convert them into organized, trackable tasks, ensuring nothing falls through the cracks.

• Smart Tagging & Organization: Emails are automatically sorted into intuitive categories, helping you stay organized without manual filing.

• Simplified Scheduling: Receive a daily calendar snapshot and manage events with a click, no tab-switching required.

If you're ready to experience a smarter, more organized inbox, NewMail AI is the tool for you. Explore NewMail AI today! 

Conclusion

AI tools in Gmail are designed to simplify how you write, reply, organize, and stay on top of emails. Features like Smart Compose, Smart Reply, Nudging, and Gemini help you work more efficiently and reduce inbox fatigue. Workspace users gain access to more advanced options, such as Help Me Write and email summarization, but these features aren’t always available to everyone.

If you’re looking for something more consistent and flexible, NewMail AI adds intelligent automation to your Gmail account without requiring an upgrade or additional setup. It helps you write better, prioritize smarter, and keep everything organized in one place.

Contact NewMail AI today and experience a more organized, efficient inbox on your terms.