Google isn’t done bringing AI to your inbox yet. On Tuesday, at the IO 2026 developer conference, the tech giant announced an expansion of Gmail’s “AI Inbox” feature, adding conversational AI capabilities. That means you can ask Gmail about what’s in your inbox instead of typing a search term.
The company says its Gemini AI-powered Gmail Live feature helps users quickly find information buried in their inboxes.
For example, we might need information like your next flight, the time of your dentist appointment, the door code for your Airbnb rental, or details about your child’s school event.
Previously, you had to type keywords (or someone’s email address or domain) into the search box to narrow your search. However, finding emails isn’t always easy, especially if your search terms are found across multiple messages.
“Gmail Live can answer naturally worded questions, answer follow-up questions, and pivot when you need to interrupt,” Gmail product lead Devanshi Bhandari explained in a briefing ahead of Google’s annual developer conference, Google I/O, where the feature was first made publicly available.
It’s another way Google is trying to showcase how its AI technology can drive real improvements in products used by millions of consumers, at a time when many outside the tech industry are questioning the value of AI as new data centers are built in backyards and electricity costs soar.
Being able to point out something as simple as helping you find something lost in your email inbox is something almost everyone has experienced at some point, but it could be a practical and positive use case for AI…or at least that’s what Google hopes.
Bhandari demonstrated Gmail Live to reporters, asking the tool a series of questions about what was in their inboxes, including hotel and flight information for their kids’ show-and-tell projects and school trips, as well as a trip to Detroit. Similar to using standalone AI chatbots like Gemini or ChatGPT, Gmail users can ask these questions out loud in natural language and the chatbot will respond.
In the demo, Bhandari noted that Gmail Live also understood nuances like “field trip” and “travel” and was able to jump from one topic to another. Additionally, AI can retrieve details such as hotel room numbers from emails, or infer who is asking a question even if no name is explicitly specified.
The company noted that similar voice technology will also appear in its to-do list, Google Keep.
Notably, Gmail Live isn’t a replacement for classic Gmail search, it’s just another option.
Google may have learned that not everyone is ready for an AI-only experience after it received huge backlash for “upgrading” Google Photos with AI-powered search. Google Photos later pulled the feature after numerous complaints and made the use of AI optional.
Gmail also has other new features, including ready-to-send drafts, instant file access, and the ability to manage your to-dos by marking individual tasks as complete.
Additionally, the AI Inbox experience launched earlier this year will expand beyond Google AI Ultra subscribers to Google AI Pro and Plus subscribers. This gives you a one-page overview of all the tasks and things you want to keep up with that are buried in your inbox.
However, voice-enabled Gmail Live functionality is expected to roll out later this summer and will initially be limited to Google AI Ultra subscribers.
Check out the rest of the important news from Google IO 2026
As you know, Google search is dead
Google updates Gemini app to support ChatGPT and Claude
Google launches Gemini Spark, a 24/7 agent assistant integrated with Gmail
How to use Google’s new information agent
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