Gemini in Gmail: What Every Feature Actually Does
Gemini in Gmail is not one feature. It is six or seven of them, shipped at different times, on different plans, and recently rearranged in a way that made a chunk of users think the whole thing had been taken away.
Here is what each one is, what it can and cannot do, and where the pricing line falls.
The features, one at a time
AI Overviews. Two jobs under one name. It condenses a long thread into the key points, and it answers natural-language questions about your inbox from the search bar. Conversation summaries are rolling out to everyone at no cost. The question-asking half is tied to a Google AI Pro or Ultra subscription.
Help me write. Drafts a new email from a short instruction, or rewrites something you already typed. Rolling out to everyone at no cost.
Suggested Replies. The successor to Smart Reply. Contextual one-click responses that aim at your own writing style rather than three interchangeable pleasantries. Rolling out to everyone at no cost.
Proofread. Grammar, tone and style suggestions on a draft. Available to Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers.
Help me schedule. Reads the thread, works out that people are trying to find a time, and proposes slots from your calendar inside the email.
AI Inbox. The most ambitious one: it filters clutter, identifies the people who matter to you, and surfaces the things that actually need action. Google has it in trusted tester hands with broader availability described as coming in the following months, so most accounts will not see it yet.
Inbox cleanup. Announced separately, this lets you tell Gemini to delete or archive a batch of mail you no longer need and approve it in a click. Google has said it becomes generally available in a following quarter.
Where the side panel went
If you had the Gemini side panel in Gmail and it vanished, nothing is broken. Google’s own documentation carries the notice:
“Google AI Pro and Google AI Ultra subscribers in the US may no longer see Ask Gemini in Gmail or be able to open the Gemini in Gmail side panel. New in-line AI experiences in Gmail, such as AI Overviews and ‘Help me write,’ are available directly in the product.”
The capability moved rather than disappeared. Summarizing and drafting are now inline where the work is, instead of in a panel you had to open. Older guides that tell you to click the Gemini spark in the top right are describing a layout that no longer exists for some accounts, which is worth knowing before you spend twenty minutes hunting for a button.
How to turn it on
For most personal accounts there is nothing to enable. The inline features appear based on your account and plan.
Two settings can still block things. In Gmail settings, Smart features in other Google products needs to be on, and in your Google Account, Keep Activity has to be on. On a work or school account, your Workspace administrator controls whether Gemini features are available at all, and no user-side toggle overrides that.
Note that the separate Gemini app is a different product with a genuine connection step. If what you want is Gemini answering questions about your mail from gemini.google.com rather than from inside Gmail, follow how to connect Gemini to Gmail instead.
What Gemini in Gmail does not do
Three things, and they are the three people most often assume are included.
It does not send. Help me write produces a draft in your compose window. Suggested Replies produce a reply you click to send. The send is yours in every case.
It does not run when you are away. Every feature listed above activates because you opened a message, typed in the search bar, or clicked a button. Nothing processes mail that arrives overnight.
It does not reach a second mailbox. The features work on the account you are signed in to. A personal address and a work Workspace login are two separate contexts.
| Summarize | Draft | Send | Act on new mail | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gemini in Gmail | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Gemini app + Workspace | Yes | No | No | No |
| Carly | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
When you want the inbox handled, not assisted
Everything Gemini adds to Gmail makes the minute you are already spending in your inbox faster. It does not remove the requirement that you be there.
Carly is an AI executive assistant built the other way round. It connects to Gmail and works on triggers, in the cloud:
- Mail gets handled when it arrives, not when you next open the tab. Triage, reply, file, create the task, update the CRM.
- It sends real email, with attachments, rather than leaving you a draft.
- Gmail and Outlook at the same time, so work and personal are one assistant.
- You describe what you want in plain English and it interviews you, then builds the workflow with you.
Free Zapier-style workflows; AI agents from $35/month. Start on the integrations page or see Gmail.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Gemini in Gmail free?
Partly. Conversation summaries, Help me write and Suggested Replies are rolling out at no cost. Asking questions of your inbox through AI Overviews, and Proofread, are tied to a Google AI Pro or Ultra subscription.
How do I use Gemini in Gmail?
For most accounts the features are already inline: summaries appear on long threads, Help me write sits in the compose window, and natural-language questions go in the search bar. Make sure “Smart features in other Google products” and Keep Activity are turned on.
Why did the Gemini side panel disappear from my Gmail?
Google states that AI Pro and Ultra subscribers in the US may no longer see Ask Gemini or the side panel, because the summarizing and drafting features moved inline into Gmail itself.
Can Gemini in Gmail send emails for me?
No. It drafts and suggests replies, and you click send. There is no autonomous send and no rule that fires on incoming mail.
Can Gemini in Gmail delete or archive emails?
Google has announced inbox cleanup, where you ask Gemini to delete or archive a batch and approve it in one click, with general availability set for a following quarter.
More: Can Gemini access Gmail? · How to connect Gemini to Gmail · Can Gemini manage my inbox? · Can Gemini send emails? · Gemini connectors · Best AI email apps
Ready to automate your busywork?
Carly schedules, researches, and briefs you—so you can focus on what matters.
See what people say
"Before Carly, I relied on a Calendly link, but the whole process felt impersonal and not very professional. Carly changed that by handling all the back-and-forth, so I'm no longer stuck in endless email threads trying to line up schedules.
Now Carly reaches out to candidates, shares my real-time availability, lets them pick a slot, then sends a Zoom link and drops it straight into my calendar. She sends reminders to both of us before each call, which has significantly reduced no-shows and last-minute confusion.
On top of scheduling, Carly acts like a full executive assistant, sending me my schedule the night before so I can prepare for each call. It reminds me of the old x.ai assistant, but Carly is noticeably smarter, faster, and better suited to my healthcare recruitment business."
