Generative AI Arrives in Gmail! It will write and read emails, but now major questions have been raised about user privacy.

Gmail AI: About two years ago, Google introduced artificial intelligence to the general public by displaying AI-generated answers in search results.

Gmail AI: About two years ago, Google introduced artificial intelligence to the general public by displaying AI-generated answers in search results. Now, the company has applied the same strategy to Gmail. Generative AI is now being added to the email service used daily by millions of people worldwide. The goal is to make the inbox smarter and reduce the time spent writing and reading emails, but this has also raised new questions about user privacy.

New AI Entry in Gmail: How will it change the email experience?

Google has started rolling out several new AI-based tools for Gmail this month. Some of these features are free for all users, while others require a subscription. Google's AI assistant, named Gemini, will now understand your emails and help you find them, summarize them, and write replies.

Now, instead of typing keywords in the search box, users can write questions, such as "What was the name of the job recruiter I received an email from last month?" In addition, the company is also working on a new AI inbox that will automatically create your to-do list based on the conversations in your emails.

AI Inbox

Managing an email inbox today is nothing short of a headache. Promotional and irrelevant messages fill up the inbox, making it easy to miss important tasks. Google's new AI inbox attempts to solve this problem.

The AI ​​inbox reads your recent emails and understands which tasks you need to focus on today. It extracts the essence of conversations and presents the necessary action items. For example, if you receive an email from a school regarding admission or if a doctor asks you to fill out a form, the AI ​​inbox will remind you directly of that task, filtering out the rest of the clutter.

What's special about the free and paid AI tools? Google has also made some AI features free that were previously only available to subscription users. These include suggested replies based on your past email style, automatic summaries of long email threads, and features like "Help Me Write," which allows you to compose an entire email with just a single prompt.

Meanwhile, the paid plan offers features like advanced search, improved proofreading, and more accurate AI overviews. The feature that allows you to search for emails by asking questions is particularly useful for those whose inboxes are overflowing with thousands of emails.

Is Gemini reading your emails?

The biggest question is: Does the introduction of AI in Gmail mean Google is reading your emails? The company says that the Gemini system only processes emails; humans do not read them. According to Google, Gmail data will not be used to train the AI, nor will it be manually reviewed by employees.

However, privacy experts believe that technically, a company always retains the possibility of accessing the data. Google has also clarified that user data may be shared with law enforcement agencies if a legal order is received, as has been the case in the past.

Privacy experts' warning

Digital privacy experts say that emails should never be considered completely private. As we share more information through Gmail and Gemini, more data will be stored in the system. This means that the same information can be accessed if needed.

Can these features be turned off?

Currently, all AI features except the AI ​​inbox are enabled by default in Gmail. If a user does not want to use them, they can turn off "Smart features" in their account settings.

Ultimately, the decision rests with the user. Gmail's AI experience certainly makes the inbox easier and smarter, but in return, you will have to share even more data with Google. This is why this new era of AI in Gmail is as convenient as it is sensitive.