Gemini, the artificial intelligence assistant created by Google, now provides email summary cards directly within your Gmail inbox. Starting this week, these summaries will automatically show at the top of certain emails, highlighting key points without any prompt from the user.
Previously, users could click to request a summary, but this step is no longer necessary as Gemini will generate overviews as soon as it detects lengthy messages. Replies to the conversation will cause the summary card to update itself, reflecting any new information that arrives.
Email Summaries Arrive Automatically
According to Google, the manual button to request an AI summary will remain available for those who prefer more control. This button can be found both at the top of each email and in the Gemini side panel.
Despite its benefits in helping users manage overflowing inboxes, AI-generated summaries have had a rocky track record. When Apple recently introduced a similar feature for summarizing app notifications, it faced criticism after several high-profile mistakes, particularly in summarizing news stories, which led to the tool being suspended for certain types of apps.
Even Google’s own AI-generated summaries in Search have drawn concern over errors and misleading content, underscoring the risks of machine-generated overviews. With the deployment of Gemini’s summary cards, Google is proceeding cautiously and currently limits the service to English-language emails only.
For many users, summary cards will be activated by default, though this setting varies based on location. In parts of Europe such as the United Kingdom, Switzerland, the European Union, and Japan, the feature will be switched off unless explicitly enabled.
Access to the summary tool can be managed in Gmail’s Settings menu under Smart features, allowing users to choose whether they want these summaries in their workflow. For business customers, workplace administrators also have the ability to turn off personalization options for entire teams through the Admin console. Learn more about automatic email summarization features.
