A 'summarize this email' button is coming to the Gmail app

One of the more common features enabled by generative AI is summarization functionality, allowing users to get summaries of articles, documents, and even audio recordings and phone calls. However, it looks like Google is preparing to offer email summarization in the Gmail app.

PiunikaWeb and code sleuth AssembleDebug report that Google is readying a “summarize this email” button in the Gmail app on Android. Hints related to the feature were spotted in v2024.03.31.621006929 of the Gmail app. Check out the screenshot below, showing the relevant (but inactive) button below the email title.

For what it’s worth, Google already allows email summaries for people using its Gemini for Workspace suite. However, Google’s support page notes that this feature is only available on desktop and is limited to email threads with more than two replies rather than individual emails. This is also obviously an enterprise feature, while the “summarize this email” button is ostensibly available for consumers.

This would nevertheless be a useful feature for Gmail on smartphones, especially for super-lengthy or info-dense messages. But I hope Google makes this an on-device AI feature on supported phones (e.g. Pixel 8 series) down the line. This would allow you to generate email summaries on flights and in other situations where data isn’t guaranteed while also preserving privacy.