Google announced at the I/O Developer Conference that it will launch a major new feature for Gmail called "Gmail Live". This is an AI voice interaction mode specially designed for email. Its experience is similar to Gemini Live, but it is optimized for the user's inbox.
When using Gmail Live, users simply click on the icon that appears in the search bar and start speaking. During the press conference, a Google employee gave a live demonstration, asking questions about her children's school activities and an upcoming trip to Detroit. Gmail Live pulls relevant information from the employee's inbox and displays details in the interface, such as the date and location of a school showcase event.
The demo is engaging and shows how useful Gmail Live can be. When searching for mail, users no longer need to wade through a huge mailing list to find specific details, but can directly ask Gmail Live to get the information they need. But that means the feature has to be trustworthy—if it doesn’t provide accurate information at a critical moment, such as an error when trying to get a flight confirmation code at an airport, users may stop using it.
"Trust is a cornerstone of how we think about Gmail's overall functionality," said Gmail VP of Product Blake Barnes. He said the company spent a lot of time figuring out how to "give users a trustworthy product" at every step of using Gmail Live, even when handling complex queries. "Our job is to remove complexity for you in a way you can trust and rely on." Gmail Live can also display the source of information and let users verify the content they provide.
Google is also introducing voice-driven AI capabilities into Docs and Keep applications. With Docs Live, users can discuss ideas with Gemini, who will help structure the document and pull details from places like Gmail and Google Drive. In the Keep app, when users dictate what they need to track, the system can automatically organize reminders and shopping lists. The voice features of Gmail Live, Docs Live, and Keep will be rolled out to Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers on mobile devices starting this summer, with an upgraded version of Keep initially launching only on Android devices.
In addition, Google has extended Gmail’s AI inbox feature to Pro and Plus subscribers. The feature, which essentially turns your inbox into an email version similar to Google's search AI model, was previously only available to Ultra subscribers.