Google explores turning Gmail into a relationship-aware AI assistant

Google is exploring reworking Gmail into a proactive, relationship-aware AI assistant, according to a ZDNET interview with Blake Barnes, Gmail's vice president of product. The company and Barnes described these ideas as exploratory and not product commitments. Barnes told ZDNET that Google wants Gmail to do more than summarize threads or draft replies; the goal is for the inbox to help people manage life and understand what matters.

The interview describes an "AI Inbox" that offers a catch-me-up view, clusters information, and personalizes classification at scale, and Barnes discussed the idea of using natural-language instructions to surface grouped updates. The vision moves Gmail from sorting to interpretation, treating messages as events and aiming to understand relationships, identity, history, intent and goals rather than relying on brittle filters.

The ZDNET article also noted privacy and security concerns given the depth of users' Gmail archives, and Barnes said Google is keeping the AI work separate from the traditional inbox out of respect for users' established workflows. Barnes emphasized these are forward-looking ideas, not promises.

He told ZDNET, "We're not going to be able to do it overnight," and said Google must learn what works and build features that are trustworthy, explainable and reversible.

Key Topics

Tech, Gmail, Google, Blake Barnes, Ai Inbox, Relationship-aware Inbox