Google is expanding Gmail summary cardsAI-driven contextual snippets of the service are extracted for things like incoming packets. From today, they will include cards for purchases, events, invoices and travel. Additionally, a new Coming Soon section will live at the top of your inbox, showing future time-sensitive cards. The company said it made the changes “because email habits continue to evolve.”
The What’s New section will present “just in time” summary cards at the top of your inbox. For example, when you open Gmail, you may see a card saying that an order you placed last week has not been delivered today. Google says all of its summary cards are dynamic and update in real time.
Where appropriate, summary cards will also contain action buttons. Google describes the appeal of action buttons as “digging for more buried links.”
Purchase summary cards will allow you to track packages, view order details and track online orders. Event cards will let you view your upcoming events, invite friends, or get directions to a venue. Bill summaries will let you see or pay them (or set reminders to pay them Google Tasks). Finally, Travel summary cards will allow you to manage reservations, check-in for flights, and view details such as hotel check-in and check-out times.
Google’s release schedule for new features is a bit complicated. Purchase summary cards for individual emails are rolling out “gradually” to Android and iOS starting today (although some users reported seeing them earlier this week). Cards for individual emails and other categories for the Coming Soon section are coming “in the coming months.” And the four ubiquitous card categories (personal emails, Gmail search, and Coming Soon) are coming “in the future.” So, you should hold firm before trying Google’s full summary card experience.
