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Triage your email with Gmail AI Inbox

Turn Gmail's AI Inbox into a daily to-do list: clear suggested to-dos, catch up on topics and sweep the rest of your email in 15 minutes.

By Recaply EditorsBeginner15 min5 stepsUpdated

A hand lifts one envelope off a stack while the other envelopes sit beside it, tied in a bundle with string

What you need

AI Inbox is only offered in the US, and only in English.

  1. Step 1: Turn on smart features

    3 min

    AI Inbox reads your mail through Gmail's smart features, so it stays empty until they're on.

    1. In Gmail on your computer, click Settings at the top right, then See all settings.
    2. On the General tab, find Google Workspace smart features and click Manage Workspace smart feature settings.
    3. Turn on Smart features in Google Workspace and Smart features in other Google products.
    4. Click Save.

    You should see both smart feature settings switched on and saved.

    You can't find this setting in the Gmail app?

    This setting can only be turned on in a web browser. Do this step in Gmail on a computer, then use the app as usual.

    Your first to-dos and topics can take a few hours to show up, and up to 7 days.

  2. Step 2: Open AI Inbox

    1 min

    AI Inbox sits next to your normal inbox, so you can switch between the two at any time.

    1. In the left panel, click AI Inbox.
    2. Click Refresh at the top to load the latest updates.
    3. On your phone, tap Menu, then AI Inbox. Pull down to refresh.

    You should see two sections: Suggested to-dos at the top and Topics to catch up on below.

    No AI Inbox in the left panel?

    Go to Settings > See all settings > Inbox and check Show AI Inbox. If it's still missing, check that your plan, country and language qualify.

  3. Step 3: Clear your suggested to-dos

    5 min

    Each to-do shows the action in bold, such as a bill's due date, so you can act without reading every thread.

    1. Read the bold action on the first to-do.
    2. Handle it with its action button, such as View or Reply.
    3. Click Mark done when it's finished.
    4. For an item that isn't yours to do, open More options and remove it.

    You should see a shorter to-do list, with your finished items marked done.

    An email you expected isn't on the list?

    AI Inbox only reads the Primary tab. It skips spam and any mail you archived, deleted, muted or snoozed. Find that email in your normal inbox.

    AI Inbox doesn't read attachments, delegated inboxes or encrypted emails. Check those yourself.

  4. Step 4: Catch up on topics

    3 min

    A topic pulls scattered updates, such as a trip or a string of orders, into one short summary.

    1. Under Topics to catch up on, read the summary for each topic.
    2. Open a related source when you need the full email.
    3. Click Mark all as read when you're done with a topic.

    You should see your topics read, with no unread updates left in them.

    Mark all as read hid an email you still need?

    It also marks the matching emails as read in your normal inbox. Open the email there and mark it as unread again.

  5. Step 5: Check what's left and rate items

    3 min

    The main view shows the top items only, and your ratings tell Google which ones helped.

    1. At the bottom of AI Inbox, select View all to see the to-dos and topics left out of the main view.
    2. Next to an item that helped or missed, open More options.
    3. Pick Positive feedback or Negative feedback.

    You should see the to-dos and topics the main view left out, ready to clear the same way.

    Items look out of date?

    Click Refresh at the top of AI Inbox. If nothing changes, check your connection and that you're signed in to the right account.

You get

A daily to-do list built from your email, with low-priority mail grouped into short topic summaries

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