Google Introduces Gemini Sidebar For Gmail, Limited To Premium Accounts

During the Google I/O 2024 event, Google announced its plan to introduce Gemini to Gmail and other Google Workspace apps such as Docs, Sheets, and Drive. Now, the tech giant has begun rolling out the Gemini sidebar for Gmail users.

In a recent blog post, Google highlighted the benefits of the Gemini sidebar for Gmail, which include summarizing emails, drafting new emails, suggesting responses to threads, answering questions, and retrieving information from emails or files stored in Google Drive . Users can also ask questions like “What was the PO number for my agency?” or “When is the next team meeting?”. However, features like Contextual Smart Reply and Gmail Q&A, which are exclusive to mobile devices, are still in development.

Google emphasized that these new capabilities will utilize its most advanced models, including the Gemini 1.5 Pro model. The features are initially rolling out to participants in the Google Workspace Rapid Release program. For those on the Standard Release track, the rollout will commence on July 8 and may take up to 15 days to reach all users.

However, free Gmail users and those with a Google One Premium subscription will not have immediate access to these features. The new functionalities are restricted to Google One AI Premium subscribers, as well as those with Gemini Business or Enterprise add-ons, or Gemini Education or Education Premium add-ons.

In addition, last week, Google launched the Gemini app in India for Android users, with support for nine Indian languages, including Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, and Telugu. For iOS users, Gemini is now available through the Google app.