If you have been using your Gmail lately, you might be distracted by its new appearance.
Starting this week, Googlerolled out new artificial intelligence features for its enterprise and business Gmail plans that are front and center in your inbox.
Called Gemini, these default AI features include a prominent “Summarize this email” button that appears at the top of all emails and a “Help me write” function that shows up when you want to draft a reply.
Google claims Gemini is “a strategic thought partner to bring ideas to life and find ways to problem solve,” but I think of it as a nuisance. So far, I do not think that Gemini can summarize any quicker than a succinct subject line in an email. When I click the “Summarize this email” button, what I receive takes just as long, if not longer, for me to synthesize as just skimming an email. And on top of doing more reading, I feel like I’m wasting time by fact-checking Gemini’s answers.
I do, however, see some use in the “Help me write” function for the kind of formulaic emails people send all the time. Gemini can draft answers to your boss based on previous email threads, and you can choose to “formalize,” “elaborate” or “shorten” what you see. The main problem with this feature is that you still need to be a close editor. What is crucial in any working relationship is tone. It’s what can signal if you need to stay buttoned-up formal or whether you are growing closer to colleagues.
And Gemini does not yet pick up on the human sarcasm and humor that bonds people together. When I used the “Help me write” suggestions, casual brainstorming emails with my own manager sounded too stuffy and formal, even with the “shorten” option.
And using what Gmail drafted without edits could have negative consequences to your career. If I replied to my close colleagues’ suggestions using the email signature “Best,” that Gemini suggested, I believe my tone would sound oddly cold and a little hostile, too.
Even Google itself does not want you to rely on it. “Gemini for Workspace can make mistakes, including about people, so double-check it” is the reminder you see at the bottom of the Gemini pop-up in your inbox.
On top of efficiency concerns, there are data privacy concerns. Do you want to share your drafted ideas and emails to Google AI? “Your content is not human reviewed or used for Generative AI model training outside your domain without permission,” Google states on its privacy hub site. But the parameters of what permission users gave and when is not explicitly stated.
For now, expect to get used to Google Gemini’s features. If you, like me, miss the old Gmail, tough luck. Gmail users were automatically opted into this feature, and turning it off has larger consequences for your inbox.
To turn off Google Gemini and other “smart” Google Workspace features:
- In Gmail, click the Settings button and then “See all settings.“
- Under the “General” tab, scroll to “Google Workspace smart features.”
- Click “Manage Workspace smart feature settings.”
- Turn off smart features in Google Workspace.
Keep in mind that turning off smart features are all-or-nothing. If you toggle off these features, you will get rid of the “Summarize this email” prompt, but it will also get rid of other longtime “smart” functions you might enjoy, like the ability to personalize your search with keywords, or get nudges about emails you received a few days ago, or be able to see flight itineraries and invitations from Gmail in Calendar.
You do not have to rely on Google AI to clear your inbox. Beyond smart features, you can also use Gmail’s file and folder systems to organize your inbox and make summarizing easy. Creating one folder or label called “Past Emails,” for example, and moving all non-actionable emails there is one quick way to make skimming many emails easy ― no AI assistant needed.
And no matter what you plan to do with Gemini’s Gmail features, my general advice remains. Whether you are in Slack or in Gmail, think twice before sharing your most sensitive conversations in an online message.
So much gets lost to tone. If you really need an AI assistant to workshop more than three paragraphs of a hard conversation, I would suggest asking for a meeting where you can talk it out in person.