Gmail adding support for native add-ons for app and web

As of now, third-party add-ons for Gmail can only be installed through a browser extension. It looks like this will soon change, thanks to the just announced Gmail Add-ons. The new feature will initially be aimed at business users who will be able to integrate a few different add-ons with the popular email client.

Once you install an add-on, it will work on desktops as well as on the Android and iOS Gmail apps. Google said that Add-ons will be available later this year via the G Suite Marketplace, but did not specify a more exact time frame. The company did mention that a few companies are already working on Gmail add-ons including Intuit, Salesforce, and ProsperWorks.

It is great to see that Gmail will soon support native add-ons. We already know three of them are already being developed, but we expect to see quite a few more once the feature goes live. Google plans on opening an early developer access program soon, and those who are interested in joining can already sign up on the company’s website.

As already mentioned, the new feature will initially only be aimed at business users, but we hope that we’ll soon see add-ons that will appeal to the rest of Gmail users as well.

Further reading: How to configure Gmail SMTP settings