Gmail turns into an AI command center with a new Inbox, smarter search, and Proofread

Google is pushing Gmail a lot closer to a personal assistant than a plain inbox.

On January 8, 2026, the company announced a new AI Inbox, AI Overviews for Gmail search, a Grammarly-style Proofread tool, and a wider rollout of several AI tricks that used to be paywalled.

AI Inbox: Gmail as your to‑do list

The headline feature is a new AI Inbox tab that tries to summarize what actually matters in your email, instead of just listing everything in reverse chronological order.

It’s split into two sections:

• “Suggested to-dos” – summaries of priority emails that need an action.
• “Topics to catch up on” – grouped updates you should be aware of.

In Google’s demo, “Suggested to-dos” might surface:

• a reminder that a bill is due tomorrow
• a nudge to call your dermatologist to confirm a mailing address so they can ship a prescription refill

Under “Topics to catch up on,” you’ll see updates like:

• “Your Lululemon return is being processed, and your order of Metal Vent Tech shirts has been delivered”
• “Your end-of-year statement is now available from Wealthfront.”

Gmail groups these into categories such as “Finances” and “Purchases,” so you can skim through key areas of your digital life instead of digging through threads one by one.

“This is us delivering on Gmail proactively having your back, showing you what you need to do and when you need to do it,” said Blake Barnes, VP, Product at Google, in a briefing with reporters. “Don’t worry, the traditional inbox will remain available. This is simply a new view you can toggle in and out of as you please to cut through the noise of your incoming mail.”

The AI Inbox is rolling out first to trusted testers, with a broader launch “in the coming months.”

AI Overviews in Gmail search

Google is also bringing its AI Overviews concept into Gmail’s search box.

Instead of typing keywords and opening five different messages, you can ask Gmail a natural-language question and get a synthesized answer on top of the results.

Example prompt:

“Who was the plumber that gave me a quote for the bathroom renovation last year?”

Gmail then scans your inbox, pulls the relevant emails, and returns an overview with the key details — like the plumber’s name, company, and quoted price — right at the top.

“We scour every email in your inbox, and we give you the answer to your questions right at the top,” Barnes said. “So just like AI Overviews in Google Search, you can ask natural language questions to get an AI powered response. However, in Gmail, the model relies solely on your email, your personal memory brain, to generate the response.”

These AI Overviews in Gmail search are rolling out to Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers.

Google stresses that all Gmail AI features are optional, that it doesn’t use personal content to train its foundational models, and that it processes personal data in a strictly isolated environment.

Proofread: Google’s answer to Grammarly in Gmail

Next up is Proofread, a built-in writing assistant designed to clean up your drafts without leaving Gmail.

Proofread analyzes your email and offers one-click suggestions for:

• clearer word choice
• conciseness
• using active voice
• splitting long, complex sentences

In Google’s examples, if you write “might inflict disturbance,” Gmail suggests changing it to “might disturb.” If you accidentally type “weather” instead of “whether,” it’ll flag that too.

Functionally, it behaves a lot like popular grammar and style tools. The difference is that it’s native to Gmail, which may tempt users to skip third-party extensions or copying text into separate AI tools.

Proofread is also rolling out to Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers.

Paid AI features go free for everyone

Alongside the new tools, Google is making some existing AI features available to all Gmail users, not just paying customers:

• Help Me Write – generates a full email from a short prompt.
• AI Overviews for threaded emails – summarizes long, multi-reply threads so you can catch up fast.
• Suggested Replies – offers short, contextual responses that match your tone and style.

Those features have been some of the most visible AI additions inside Gmail’s compose and reading experience, and they now move from paid tiers to the default product.

Gmail is slowly becoming your AI dashboard

Taken together, AI Inbox, search Overviews, Proofread, and the now-free compose tools push Gmail toward being a personal command center for your digital life.

You’ll still be able to stick with the classic inbox and manual search if you prefer. But for users drowning in bills, shipping notifications, and long threads, Google is betting that an AI layer on top of raw email is the new default way to use Gmail.