I Tried Gmail's Gemini and It's a Complete Failure Right Now

This year's Google I/O focused on Gemini and all the new skills the AI model has picked up in the last 12 months. Additionally, the business added a plethora of new AI integrations, such as Gemini in Gmail, to its main workplace applications and services. What new AI features has Gmail implemented, and how effective are they? Let's examine this.

What New Gmail Gemini Features Are There?

Many new and intriguing features that Google revealed would be coming to Gmail in the next months. Let's quickly review each feature.

Pro Side Panel for Gemini 1.5

With a redesigned side panel, Google is making Gemini easier to use for users. Calling up the AI chatbot whenever you need it is now convenient. Simply click the Gemini symbol in the upper right corner, which is active for me right now.When it appears, you may input your request to obtain results or see some recommended actions. Moreover, it will have a more potent Gemini 1.5 Pro, enabling it to make use of a more extensive data set. As a result, you may ask Gemini to write summaries, get further information about your emails, and write responses.

Gemini Side panel in Gmail — Photo Credit: Google

For customers of Workspace Alpha, this capability is now accessible via Workspace Labs and Gemini. It will begin to roll out on the desktop version of Gmail for users and companies via Google's AI premium plan and the Gemini for Workspace add-ons.

Mobile Email Summaries

Email summaries are also being added by Google to the Gmail mobile app. It is reveals an email summary button at the top. Gemini can scan your email thread and provide you with a summary thanks to this function. If you have registered for Workspace Labs, you may begin testing email summaries this month. Next month, other users will be able to utilize this service.

Q&A with Gemini in Gmail

This feature will function similarly to Gmail's web side panel. You will be able to activate the AI and see recommendations such as "Summarize," "Show next step," or "Suggest a reply." In addition, you may create custom prompts to ask more detailed questions about your emails. Beginning in July, this will also be available on mobile and the web, similar to contextual responses.

Google provided the image.

Contextualized Wise Responses

You may believe that Gmail already has smart responses and that this is nothing new. However, in the near future, Gemini will be able to jot down more pertinent answers depending on the emails' context. At the moment, regardless of the subject matter of the email, they sound rather general. Users of Workspace Labs will be able to use this functionality starting in July.

My First Impressions Using Gemini with Gmail

I discovered that one of my Gmail accounts got access to the Gemini side panel functionality before the Day 1 keynote had started. When I tested it out, its capabilities were rather limited. As of this writing, it is limited to email summaries. Additionally, you get ideas in response to the email, but they are also not very helpful.When I asked Gemini to respond to my own cover letter, I got a very standard answer. Any further in-depth inquiries were received with the response "Something went wrong. To put it mildly, it was annoying. Try again.Every time I posed a question that was even somewhat complicated, this again occurred. I could see it clearly in front of me, but it couldn't even tell me how many emails I still had to read.Gemini still has a long way to go before it's a really helpful addition to my Gmail inbox, I suppose. Hopefully, when the function becomes available to more people in July, we will see more enhancements. However, if you have used Gmail and have gotten the Gemini side panel, please leave your opinions below.