Gmail's Gemini-powered inbox answers are rolling out widely, but you still need to pay up

After announcing AI features in Gmail in January this year for its highest-tier paying users, Google has slowly rolled them out to many more folks. While AI Summaries for individual emails are already available to all paying and non-paying users, AI Inbox and the ability to search for specific information are limited to Google AI subscribers in the US. That changes now, as Google brings some of these features to users in more regions.

In a Workspace blog post, Google has confirmed that the ability to search through AI Overviews in Gmail is now available to users globally. This feature lets you ask specific questions using both natural language and keyword-based queries by typing them in the Gmail search bar, just like you would on Search. The only difference here is that instead of using the entire web as the source of information, the search functionality in Gmail’s AI Overviews uses information only from your emails.

Aside from mentioning “globally,” Google doesn’t specify which users in which regions benefit from this. A support page, however, notes that the search feature in Gmail’s AI Overviews is available to everyone except users in the European Economic Area (EEA), Japan, Switzerland, and the UK.

To use these features, “Smart features” must be enabled in Gmail. Enterprise admins must turn them on for Workspace accounts manually, but Google has already enabled them for end-users. The only requirement is that users must have a Google AI Plus, Pro, or Ultra subscription and must use Gmail in English.

Google insists that all the data from your Gmail remains reserved in a sandboxed environment and isn’t visible to anyone, including Google itself. However, it’s valid if you don’t feel comfortable with it. There, Google also lets you turn the feature off.

You can do that by going to Settings. Under the General tab, find Google Workspace smart features and click Manage Workspace smart features settings.