How to Use Gmail’s New AI Tools: Help Me Write, Smart Search, and AI Inbox

Google is reshaping Gmail with artificial intelligence, marking one of the most significant changes since its launch more than two decades ago. With over three billion users worldwide, the update aims to transform email from a simple communication tool into a proactive assistant. 

 Help Me Write: Drafting Made Easier 

The new Help Me Write feature is designed to reduce the effort of composing emails. Users can start typing and Gmail will suggest sentences, refine phrasing, or even generate full drafts. The system adapts to individual writing styles, but users remain in control by editing or discarding suggestions before sending. 

 Smart Search: Conversational Queries 

Subscribers to Google’s Pro and Ultra services gain access to Smart Search. Instead of relying on keywords, users can ask natural questions such as “show me last year’s travel receipts.” Gmail then scans the inbox and delivers precise results, mirroring the conversational search experience Google introduced in 2023. 

 AI Inbox: Organising Your Messages 

Google is testing AI Inbox with a limited group of users in the United States. This tool scans emails to highlight reminders, action items, and themes that may otherwise be overlooked. It shifts Gmail from being a passive archive to an active organizer that helps users stay on top of tasks. 

 Powered by Gemini 3 

All of these features run on Gemini 3, Google’s latest large language model. Gemini is designed to make Gmail more conversational and context-aware, turning the inbox into something closer to a thought partner than a static message hub. 

 Privacy and Control 

The rollout raises questions about privacy, as deeper AI access means analyzing communication patterns. Google has stated that email content will not be used to train Gemini’s models and that safeguards are in place to keep inbox data secure. Users can also switch off or edit AI suggestions at any time. 

 What It Means for Users 

For everyday users, the changes could make email faster, searching less frustrating, and organization more seamless. But whether people embrace an inbox that thinks for them or view it as an intrusion will determine if this becomes Gmail’s defining moment or its most debated experiment. 

Read More: Google Reimagines Gmail With AI-Powered Writing, Search and To-do Lists