More AI for the Gmail inbox isn’t the end of email marketing

Last week, Google introduced AI for the Gmail inbox, an announcement that got the attention of many email marketers.

The new AI features now available in Gmail are built on Google’s Gemini 3 AI model, according to a blog post by Blake Barnes, VP of product for Gmail at Google. For Gmail users, these new tools take the AI-powered email experience beyond Smart Replies and largely invisible spam detection.

If you’re an email marketer trying to deliver messages to the 3 billion Gmail users around the world, more AI in Gmail probably raises your anxiety. That’s understandable. We’ve all seen how AI has upended the work of colleagues in SEO. One of the new features for Gmail is essentially AI Overviews for email.

Another feature, AI Inbox, summarizes messages and helps users prioritize tasks and requests. Barnes described it as a personalized briefing for Gmail users. In practice, it helps people get the information they need without having to read all their emails.

Take a deep breath. I’m not naive enough to say “this too shall pass,” because it won’t. However, we’ll adjust to AI in the inbox, just as we have to everything else.

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4 reasons email marketers shouldn’t panic about more AI in Gmail

1. It’s a noisy world

Be honest: how effective are you at managing your inbox? We live in a noisy world, and it seems to get noisier every day. Gmail already offers features to help users manage email subscriptions as part of the fight against the noise.

That tidal wave of messages means some Gmail users on your email list don’t really want to be there; they’re just too overwhelmed to unsubscribe. To them, you’re adding to the noise.

2. Intent beats opens and reads

There’s another group of users who want to be on your list but are overwhelmed. They’re likely having trouble finding your emails, or don’t need them in the moment. Still, they haven’t unsubscribed.

Imagine a Gmail user looking for a new pair of jeans who asks their inbox whether they’ve received any jeans promotions in the past two weeks. That’s where AI uncovers a promotional email the user didn’t realize they had. That’s intent.

3. Brand matters

In response to the changes AI brought to web traffic, marketers leaned into branding. In a LinkedIn post, MarTech contributor Jaina Mistry emphasized brand memorability as a key strategy in an AI-influenced inbox.

4. This isn’t entirely new

As Valimail’s Al Iverson noted on his Spam Resource Center blog, AI in the inbox may actually help good email senders. The AI will prioritize content that users want to see. But he also pointed out that not everyone will use the new features.

One reason? Many people already use AI to manage email. ChatGPT users, for instance, can connect their inboxes to the LLM to search and summarize.

Yes, integrating these features directly into Gmail will expand access beyond early adopters. But tools to manage inbox clutter aren’t entirely new. See point No. 1 above.

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