Google I/O 2026: You can talk to your Gmail inbox soon

Soon you'll be able to literally talk to your Gmail inbox. At its I/O developer conference today, Google unveiled a new native AI voice integration feature for Gmail called Gmail Live.

The tool will let users get information from their emails by verbally asking Gmail for it, rather than typing keywords into its search bar. According to a company blog post, you can "Say things like, 'What's my flight's gate number?' or 'What's going on at my kid's school this week?' and Gmail Live will search your inbox to find the answer instantly." Similar conversational features are coming to Google Docs and Keep, too.

Gmail Live will be available to Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers this summer. It will launch in preview to Google Workspace business customers at the same time.

Also at I/O, Google announced the expansion of its AI Inbox tool it originally rolled out to Google AI Ultra subscribers in January. Per the same blog post, it's getting updated with three extra features, and Google AI Pro and Plus subscribers will soon have access to it as well.

As Mashable's Anna Iovine reported previously, AI Inbox is like a personalized briefing. It provides updates on topics you've gotten emails about and suggests next steps.

AI Inbox's brand-new features include personalized draft replies; instant file access to relevant Google Docs, Sheets, or Slides; and streamlined task management. With the latter, you can "Keep your view clutter-free by marking individual tasks as done, dismissing unhelpful suggestions or marking all emails in a given topic as read with a single click," the blog post reads.

Google will begin deploying AI Inbox's new features and broader availability starting today.

In an interview with Mashable, Gmail's VP of product, Blake Barnes, said user privacy is central to both Gmail Live and AI Inbox. "We don't use your data for training, and that remains the case for these features," he said.

Barnes added that Google is working to build trust with those who are hesitant to incorporate more AI in their inboxes by building sourcing into the new Gmail features. "So, what are the specific emails that were used to generate the reply and the response that you just received?" he explained.

"It's just one of the ways amongst many to sort of give you the confidence that the answer we've given you is the right one and the accurate one," Barnes said.