With Google’s next AI update for Gmail, you can ask Gmail to write emails with your voice
If composing the perfect email isn’t your forte, help may be coming from Google, in the form of a new AI voice feature for Gmail that will make composing emails less of a pain for Android users.
At its IO event in March last year, Google announced a new ‘Help me write’ tool that creates draft emails based on written prompts you enter. For example, you can ask the AI ββto draft an email party invitation or a job application.
The feature is currently only available in Google’s invitation-only Workspace Labs program, which allows select users to try out new AI features before they are rolled out more widely to users.
Now it looks like Google is going one step further, by allowing you to submit directions using your voice, instead of having to type them. The updated feature is called ‘Draft Email with Voice’ and was spotted by Android Blog DeSpAndroid. The new voice feature is also currently only available in Google Workspace Labs, and we don’t know yet when either of these AI tools will be officially released.
Gmail’s new feature goes beyond the voice typing features currently found on a standard keyboard on an Android device. Draft Email with Voice, like Help Me Write, is integrated into the Gmail app, rather than an option on your keyboard.
Built into Gmail
As you can see in the images above, ‘Draft Email with Voice’ opens right above your device’s keyboard when you start a new email. You can then tap the microphone icon to record your prompt, for example: “Schedule a meeting with John for next Friday at 3:00 PM to discuss the project.”
To send the prompt, tap “Create” and Gmail will generate a full email draft. You can then edit the text, or ask Gmail to generate a new version, and you can also provide feedback on the generated text.
As mentioned, we don’t yet know when Help Me Write or Draft Email with Voice will be publicly available, or which devices will support the features. But it’s an interesting insight into the time-saving features that could soon be available in the Gmail app.