The email app used by over 3 billion people is turning on new artificial intelligence features by default. Here’s how to turn them off.

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — Gmail is officially entering its “Gemini era,” with Google turning on numerous AI tools by default in the app that over 3 billion people use, the company said in a blog post on Thursday.

AI Overviews, which have appeared at the top of Google Search results since May 2024, will be among the new features added to Gmail. Google said the overview will allow users to type questions into Gmail’s search bar to find emails, rather than digging through threads with dozens of replies. The company also announced AI features for email writing and replying, along with an “AI Inbox” that Google said would act as a personalized briefing.

Gmail users who don’t want the features will have to manually opt out of them in the email application’s settings. But turning off the AI features comes at the cost of other tools users may have become accustomed to.


How to turn off AI features in Gmail

The new AI features in Gmail can be turned off by going to Settings (the gear icon in the top-right corner of the Gmail webpage) and scrolling down to the “Smart Features” section under the “General” tab. Users can uncheck the box that says “Turn on smart features in Gmail, Chat, and Meet” and turn off the sliders in “Google Workspace smart features.”

The trade-off is that turning off the Gemini AI features will also turn off some of Gmail’s other embedded legacy features, including autocorrect, spell check, desktop notifications, and package tracking. Turning off the AI features will also disable Gmail’s email categories functions, which split emails into “Primary,” “Promotions,” and “Social” categories to differentiate emails from people and companies.

Gmail Vice President of Product Blake Barnes said the new Gemini AI features rolled out on Thursday in the company’s blog post. 

Editor’s note: The above video originally aired in 2024.