Google is currently rolling out a new feature – contextual smart replies – to Gmail. This is an advanced feature that suggests personalized, context-aware responses based on the content of the email you’re replying to. Unlike normal Smart Replies, launched in 2017, this feature uses advanced AI to better understand the context and tone of conversations, and provide more relevant and tailored responses. Available for both Android and iOS, it aims to make replies faster and more efficient by adapting suggestions to the specific nuances of your email exchanges.

According to reports, the feature is rolling out to Gmail users this month, but is currently limited to subscribers of Google One AI Premium or certain enterprise and education tiers. Let’s take a look at how this will work.

Contextual Smart Answers: How does it work?

Contextual Smart Reply in Gmail works by using Google’s Gemini AI to analyze the content and context of the entire email thread. It goes beyond basic message recognition by understanding the tone, intent, and specific details of the conversation. For this, as soon as an email arrives in your inbox, this feature uses AI to scan for information like requests, inquiries or sentiments. It processes this context to suggest more meaningful answers.

Based on the analysis, it provides three answer options. Each response has a specific tone or action, such as asking for more details, confirming participation, or rejecting an offer. These responses are more customized than short Smart Replies and include a greeting, body, and closing.

Users can preview these suggestions, each of which summarizes the type of response (for example, “Request more information” or “Confirm sign-up”), and then edit or send them as needed. .

Contextual Smart Answers vs Smart Answers

Finally, it’s worth mentioning how these two features differ. Contextual Smart Replies and Basic Smart Replies both aim to streamline email responses, but they differ in terms of complexity and functionality.

Smart Reply “Thank you!” Provides short, pre-written, one-line suggestions. or “I will investigate and contact you,” depending on the content of the email. This feature doesn’t analyze the entire conversation in depth, but provides general, quick responses to speed up communication. This feature is ideal for short or direct email conversations where only a brief acknowledgment or simple reply is required.

And the new contextual smart replies are designed as an enhanced version of the basic smart replies. Powered by Google’s Gemini AI, this new feature deeply analyzes entire conversations and provides more nuanced and context-aware responses. This generates three fully crafted email responses, each with a different tone or action (for example, asking for more information, confirming details, or declining). These suggestions include greetings, body content, and sign-offs, and users can preview and edit them before sending. Tailored to more involved conversations, this feature helps users save time with more comprehensive replies.

In short, Contextual Smart Reply is a more advanced version, providing deeper context and longer responses, while Smart Reply focuses on brevity and speed.