If you send and receive emails, chances are you use Gmail. Google’s email service is one of the most widely used in the world thanks to the ubiquity of Google and the ease of use in signing up for and using Gmail. Though the app used to be fairly simple, there have been a recent slew of new features and design changes that have improved the day-to-day experience.
Today, Google has announced it is adding another new perk into Gmail for iPhone and Android that it hopes will help show you important information from your emails when you actually need it. The firm says it is introducing new and updated ‘summary cards’ within your Gmail inbox that show you relevant information such as package delivery estimates, bills, travel details and restaurant reservations – but only when the details are useful.
Summary cards already exist in Gmail but Google says they’re getting a whole lot smarter.
After the update has fully rolled out, Gmail should show you that a package is arriving today, or that there is a new bill in your inbox that needs paying soon. It shouldn’t show you your flight details for a flight that’s several days away, nor should it show you concert tickets unless it’s that night.
The idea is that if you go to Gmail to find any of this information, it will be displayed and available without you having to search or trawl through old emails using keywords and a lot of scrolling. Google is pulling the information from what it says are four common email categories: purchases, events, bills and travel.
“Receipts, bills, travel confirmations, dinner reservations — important details often get scattered amongst apps and emails,” said Maria Fernandez Guajardo, Sr. Director of Product, Gmail. “While you can count on your Gmail inbox to hold all this valuable information, the sheer volume can be overwhelming.
“For years summary cards in Gmail have provided a snippet of helpful information at the top of your emails. But we know email habits continue to evolve. That’s why today we’re announcing big changes to these summary cards and new features to help you find exactly the right information, just when you need it.”
The summary cards will have various actions attached to them, so you can tap ‘Get directions’, ‘Track package’ or ‘Remind me’ – we imagine these specific actions would take place in Google Maps, Google Chrome and Google Tasks respectively. Google scans the contents of your emails to display accurate summary cards, but then you can continue to use the information in other Google apps.
Google says summary cards are dynamic, so they should update with relevant information even when those times and dates change. The cards will appear in three different places in Gmail, with individual emails, Gmail search, and a new ‘Happening soon’ section that will be added to the Gmail app when it updates with this latest version.
The summary cards are rolling out from today in an update to Gmail users worldwide to include purchase information, with the other categories appearing in the coming months. Head to the app store on your phone and search for the Gmail app to see if the update is there to download. If not, make sure you have automatic updates turned on and you’ll see summary cards soon.