Google has just announced two huge changes to Gmail.
Though one might be expected to some, the other comes out of left field, and as a result, more than 2 billion users of the world’s most popular email platform will find themselves at a crossroads and must make a major decision.
The changes come as one of the largest shifts in Gmail in more than two decades since it launched.
The company spoke about the new upgrades in its recent announcement, revealing that the AI upgrades that had been restricted to paid accounts will now be free.
So AI Overviews, Help Me Write and Suggested Replies will be available to all.
“Today we’re bringing @Gmail into the Gemini era,” the company shared , “making it a personal, proactive inbox assistant to help you manage your life, not just your messages. Explore the new features launching today, many of which are made possible by Gemini 3.”
Google added, “as always, you’re in control, and can choose to turn these new @Gmail features on or off.”
With that comes the first decision, where AI processing your emails means sharing the content and metadata of those emails with Google’s Gemini.
This means you woudl have to share all the contents of your inbox.
It’s all meant to organize messages and suggest actions, while the new tools will make Gmail act more like a personal assistant, which aims towards helping users better manage their inbox.
Users are able to turn the new features on or off, as it gives people a way to choose how they’d want their email to run. Some might choose the AI assistants while others might want to keep it the traditional way, as is.
Here’s the other upgrade, which seemingly comes as a surprise.
Google now gives users the option to change their primary Gmail address without changing to a new account.
Even if you choose to change your primary Gmail address, users are able to keep all their data while the old email address still works.
Think of this as a way to start over, especially if you’re still using your old email address from high school or college, or if you have an embarrassing email address you wished never existed and wanted to change.
For users who choose this path, it’s best to think of this as a fresh start.
But before jumping to make the change in a haste, keep in mind that there are a few things to consider.
You can only undergo a limited number of changes over a limited period of time.
So, with these new options comes a decision users must make.
For users, deciding whether to go the AI route involves heavy consideration of privacy and security since it requires the tools to read your messages.
This is important because Google has often warned that accounts are under attack from hackers attempting all sorts of trickery to steal passwords and other compromising information, breaking into accounts.
All in all, it’s a lot to think about.