Alphabet Inc.'s
What Happened: Google has introduced a new feature to speed up email replies in Gmail on Android devices.
The new quick reply feature in the Gmail for Android app allows users to respond to emails in a small box, without opening a new window. This is akin to responding to a text message. Not only does this allow users to quickly respond to emails, it also lets them reference the initial email's contents to construct a better response.
However, users can still choose to expand the text box for a regular window-like experience by tapping on an arrow.
Google says it is rolling out this new Gmail quick reply feature to users in a phased manner.
This enhancement comes in the same year as Google celebrates the 20th anniversary of Gmail. Launched on April 1, 2004, by co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Gmail initially faced skepticism as it was introduced on April Fool's Day, leading many to believe it was a prank.
However, Gmail revolutionized email with its 1 gigabyte of storage per account, a significant leap from the 30 to 60 emails that could be stored by other services at the time.
Additionally, this feature aligns with Google's broader strategy of integrating AI to enhance user experience. At the Google I/O 2024 conference, CEO Sundar Pichai announced several AI-powered features, including the Gemini models and AI fraud protection.
