In the five decades since its invention, email has revolutionized the way we communicate, but it has also become something of a drag. Many of our menial tasks—like booking a pet-sitter, calling a doctor for medical records or requesting refunds from retailers—turned email into a chore.
Gmail is adding a new feature that aims to take the pain out of crafting boring emails. On Wednesday Google I/O event“Help me write,” CEO Sundar Pichai declared. Powered by the company’s proprietary AI, Google’s new service will craft automated messages for you in Gmail, text messages, and other Google apps.
video: It’s all announced at Google I/O 2023
with 1.8 billion active Gmail users At last count, Help Me Write is expected to have a huge impact on the way the world communicates via email. Learn more about how Help Me Write works and when it will be available for use in Gmail and other Google programs.
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How will you help me type in Gmail?
Gmail’s new “Help Me Write” feature for composing email using AI will expand on the Smart Compose feature introduced by Google in 2018, as well as the Smart Reply feature added in 2017.
While Smart Reply offers basic automated replies, and Smart Compose provides suggestions as you type, Help Me Write will go a step further, creating an entire email message from a basic prompt. The Refine button can shorten or elaborate the text, or make the email more formal. You can then edit the email manually or send it as is.
In his demonstration at Google I/O, Pichai used “help me write” to craft an email requesting a full refund from an airline for a canceled flight. Help me write Create an email from scratch using information from the airline’s emailed voucher offer.
When will Help Me Write be available to all Gmail users?
Help Me Write has been used by Google Docs and Gmail testers since March, and a similar group of Google testers will start using AI assistants for Google Sheets and Google Slides in June.
Pichai said Help Me Write will officially launch for Google users with the Google Workspace update, but there’s no firm timeline yet.
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