Competition in the email market is intensifying. After Apple's iOS 18 introduced a lots of Gmail-like features to Apple's Mail app, including transaction categorization, updates and promotions, as well as the addition of Smart Replies (in the upcoming iOS 18.1 update), Google also announced a set of improvements to Gmail on Wednesday. Google's popular email service will now add revamped “summary cards” to help users better organize and take actions in their inbox, such as tracking packages, checking in for flights, setting reminders, marking bills as paid, and more .
The company says that summary cards will visually organize information from all related emails and appear in email categories such as Purchases, Events, Invoices, and Travel. With the addition, users won't necessarily have to read individual emails to find the information they need, such as receipts, invoices, travel confirmations, and dinner reservations, for example.
Google says the changes are meant to reflect the changing habits of Gmail users, but Apple's iOS 18 Mail update could have prompted the company to act more quickly.
As the feature rolls out, new summary cards will appear at the top of a message, offering quick access to information you may need at a glance, such as when a package will arrive, when a flight is scheduled to land, when the invoice due date or information about the seats you reserved for your concert ticket, among other things.
At the bottom of the summary card, Gmail users can click the blue buttons if they want to take additional actions, such as tracking the package, viewing an order, viewing their ticket, getting directions to a show, setting up a reminder to pay a bill, manage your airline reservations and more.
The release is based on the existing Gmail one. summary cardswhich offered snippets of information at the top of an email, such as package tracking information. However, the updated cards will allow you to do more as they are now dynamic and will update in real time with new information. Additionally, Google has introduced a set of new actions that were not previously available, including the ability to check in for a flight, set a bill payment reminder, or invite others to an event.
Gmail will also introduce a new “Coming Soon” section to your inbox where it will organize timely summary cards for easy access. Later, cards will also appear in Gmail searches.
The feature will begin rolling out on October 2, initially with the launch of purchase summary cards on iOS and Android, which some users had already spotted before the official announcement. Over the next month, Gmail will introduce additional summary cards and a “Coming Soon” section for purchase-related emails. Going forward, all four card categories (purchases, events, bills, and travel) will begin to appear in individual emails, in the “Coming Soon” section, and in search.
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