Gmail will also push AI-powered search

Searching for a specific email in a sea of ​​emails can be a really tough situation. Since Gmail search performance isn’t always the best, Google is now using the power of AI to refine the results better.

Google is adding AI-powered search to Gmail

After adding a new Gemini feature to Gmail for more efficient scheduling, Google is now rolling out an AI-powered search engine to its email app. As reported by Google's The Keyword, you'll soon be able to switch between Most Relevant and Most Recent results , giving you more control over how you find and filter emails.

Previously, when you searched for messages on Gmail, the platform would display a chronological list of emails that matched your keywords. Now, thanks to AI analysis, you can also get search results that prioritize contacts you interact with frequently. Here's how Google came up with it:

Instead of simply displaying emails in chronological order based on keywords, Gmail search results now take into account factors like recent, most-clicked emails, and frequent contacts. With this update, the emails you’re looking for are more likely to appear at the top of your search results—saving you valuable time and making it easier to find important information.

For example, the author of this article was recently looking for the next delivery date for her cat food order. When she searched for “chicken,” the first six emails that came up were either advertisements (Whole Foods) or newsletters she rarely interacted with. In the middle of the page was an automated delivery notification from the author’s pet food supplier, Chewy.

While the Most relevant search option isn’t yet available in Gmail, the AI ​​engine will infer that the author interacts with emails from Chewy much more than emails from Whole Foods, so the feature will prioritize emails the author is actually looking for closer to the top of the page.

When to Expect Gmail's "Most Relevant" Search Setting

If you have a personal account, you'll soon see Google's new Most Relevant search filter as the company rolls out the update globally. The setting will be available in your browser or in the Gmail app, for both Android and iOS devices.

Note : Google says it will roll out this feature to business accounts next.

While this feature is useful, many people are still a little hesitant to add AI to their daily lives. At the very least, they want AI features to be optional tools that they can turn off at will. In this case, it seems like Gmail’s AI search tool will be optional. You’ll have the freedom to choose the classic Most recent search filter and filter through messages yourself.

It’s unclear, however, what Gmail will default to. For example, will there be an easy-to-find button to select the search mode you want to use before performing a search? Will this setting be hidden in the advanced search options, or will it only be adjustable after launch? If it’s the latter, then AI will be analyzing our emails at least once, whether we like it or not.

Google will give users upfront control over this new AI feature that will analyze their emails. This seems promising if we look at other companies’ AI tool launches. When Microsoft integrated Copilot with its Microsoft 365 apps, there was a way to opt out of the update. However, Google has not always been the first to respect user privacy.