Gmail Introduces AI-Powered 'Most Relevant' Search Feature

Gmail's new AI search now sorts emails by relevance instead of chronological order | TechCrunch

Google is rolling out a new Gmail update that is designed to help you find the email you're looking for more quickly. The company announced on Thursday that it will now use AI to consider factors like recency, most-clicked emails, and frequent contacts when surfacing emails based on your search query. Up until now, Gmail has simply displayed emails in chronological order based on keywords. "With this update, the emails you're looking for are far more likely to be at the top of your search results -- saving you valuable time and helping you find important information more easily," the company wrote in a blog post. Google is also introducing a new toggle so people can switch between "Most relevant" or "Most recent" emails on a search results page. The toggle is aimed at users who prefer seeing search results displayed in chronological order, rather than the new "Most relevant" default option. The update is rolling out globally for users with personal Google accounts and is available on the web and in the Gmail app for Android and iOS. Google plans to expand the feature to business users in the future. The launch of the new search functionality comes as Google has been building out its email offering to better compete with Apple's Mail app, which got a slew of Gmail-like features with iOS 18 last year. For instance, Gmail recently gained a Gemini-powered feature that lets users add events to a Google Calendar directly from an email. A few months ago, Gmail rolled out "Summary cards" that allow users to take actions in their inbox, like tracking packages, checking in for flights, setting reminders, marking bills as paid, and more.

Gmail is getting AI-powered search results

It's just the latest place where Google is shoehorning AI into its software. If you receive a lot of email, and most people do, then sometimes it can be a challenge to pull up a particular old missive in your inbox. Google has decided that the solution must be more artificial intelligence. Today, the company announced that it is rolling out an update that uses AI to assess inbox search queries to account for recency, frequent contacts and most-clicked emails. The "most relevant" search feature is rolling out globally to personal accounts, while business accounts will get it at an unspecified future date. If the idea of yet more AI in your software icks you out, at least you won't be required to use this feature. Google notes that once a personal account gets the "most relevant" search results option, there will be a toggle to swap back to the "most recent" view that will show hits in reverse chronological order as usual. If you're happily on board the AI train, you're in luck, because there are a lot more places that Google has been putting this technology. This month alone, AI has been popping up in more aspects of Google's and portals.

Google upgrades Gmail search with AI to improve email relevance

In context: Gmail has over 1.8 billion users worldwide, so even small changes affect many people. Google is laser-focused on bringing AI features to all its online services, whether its users like it or not. That's why you will get a new way to search Gmail for emails very soon. Google just announced a new AI upgrade to Gmail's search feature. The change, which is already rolling out globally for personal Gmail accounts, will provide the "most relevant" results thanks to AI algorithms. Mountain View developers claim Gmail's search function can no longer return the most desired outcome when dealing with extensive email archives. The AI-infused search function will go beyond the traditional method, which primarily shows emails in chronological order based on keywords. After implementation, Gmail search results will consider additional elements such as recency, click counts, and frequent contacts when prioritizing results. Therefore, queries are more likely to show the most relevant emails at the top of search results. Google is integrating the new search feature into the web client and the official Android and iOS Gmail apps. For once, Google was kind enough to give users a choice between traditional - most recent - search results or the AI-driven "most relevant" ones. Google has brought many new AI features to Gmail over the last few years. In 2024, the company started integrating Gemini-based capabilities to help users write effective and time-saving emails or replies using the new "Help me write" option. Even before AI blew up, the search giant turned Gmail search into a web-like experience with its "top results" feature. Mountain View developers are now integrating the Gemini model into many online products. Two weeks ago, the company introduced a new feature to automatically detect calendar-related content in emails and provide a button to add the event to the user's calendar. Email services still use tried-and-tested protocols such as SMTP and POP3 to serve users' communication needs. Google and other big technology corporations are rushing to pile often unrequested AI "improvements" over these basic protocols. The only safe haven left for those who just want their email client left alone are third-party email managers like Mozilla Thunderbird.

Google Is Fixing My Biggest Issue With Gmail

Summary Google is updating Gmail search with AI to provide more relevant results based on user interactions and frequency of contact. The new algorithm prioritizes emails of interest to the user by factoring in more than just recency. Users can switch between the new "Most Relevant" view and the old "Most Recent" view if they prefer. Pretty much everyone has a Gmail account, but if you've used it for years, it can be hard to go back tens or even hundreds of thousands of emails to find a specific email, or a specific file within an email. Now, Google is finally putting some care into Gmail's search feature. Gmail is implementing an updated search feature that leverages artificial intelligence to provide users with more relevant results. Normally, search results within Gmail are mostly shown in chronological order. While that's good for surfacing stuff that was recently sent to you, it's also inefficient if you need to go back a few months or years to get to something. The new system wants to focus, instead, on "relevancy" instead of just recency alone. Recency will still be one factor (there wouldn't be much of a point in surfacing an email from a decade ago if it's not what you're looking for), but the new AI algorithm will also take into account user interaction (most-clicked emails), and the frequency of contact with specific senders. The goal is to prioritize emails that are most likely to be of interest to the user, effectively placing them at the top of the search results. Related 5 Gmail Features on Android That Will Help You Stay Organized and Save Time Because Gmail has more to offer than just sending and receiving emails. Posts This means that instead of sifting through a long list of emails that contain the search term, you might see the emails you are most likely to need much sooner. For instance, if a user frequently communicates with a particular colleague and searches for a project, emails from that colleague regarding the project will likely appear higher in the results. Recent emails related to the search query will be given more weight than older ones, preventing users from having to scroll through outdated information, but it won't be the only factor at play. By factoring in a wider range of signals beyond simple keyword matching, the improved search functionality should better understand user intent and therefore deliver more accurate results. If you prefer the older view for whatever reason (for one, there might be an email that surfaced easily before that's now buried -- it's AI and mistakes can happen, after all), you will still be able to switch back to "Most Recent" from the new "Most Relevant" view. If this works right, it could be a great improvement to my Gmail experience. I tend to treat my email history as an archive containing important files and emails from previous years that I still frequently reference/use. Sometimes, however, it can be hard for me to look up some stuff, because I often find that it's buried among other not relevant emails because it has something in the email's body that barely matches my search term. You might have also needed to use search operators like from:, older:, or newer: every once in a while to get to a specific email. Frequent clicks on the same email/sender should be a factor in this new algorithm, so I expect this part to get at the very least much better. Google has not clarified when this new search experience within Gmail will roll out. I don't see it yet on my end, but we'd guess it'll take a few weeks or months to pop up for everyone. To see if you already have it, make sure to update your app and search for something inside the app once you've done so.

Gmail now uses AI to highlight relevant emails in search results

Why Gmail's switch from SMS authentication to QR codes should be the standard Summary Gmail is rolling out a new 'smarter search' feature powered by AI, designed to prioritize the most relevant emails in search results, rather than just showing them in chronological order. The AI will consider factors like recency, frequently clicked emails, and frequent contacts to surface the emails users are most likely looking for. Users will still have the option to sort emails by 'most recent' if they prefer. Google's Gmail is a cornerstone of digital communication, boasting a 32 percent market share as of 2024. The platform has long maintained its position as one of the most intuitive email clients worldwide with its tight integration with other Google ecosystem apps like Gemini, decent storage, smart email reminders, detailed summary cards, and a lot more. The platform already uses AI to power several tools and features, including Smart Reply, Smart Compose, 'Help me write,' and tabbed inboxes. Now, Gmail's latest AI-enabled feature will make it easier for you to find the exact email you're looking for in your overflowing inbox. Related Inserting Gemini-suggested email replies just got easier in Gmail for Android Tap a button to insert the reply Posts The tech giant announced the new "smarter search" feature in a blog post today (via 9to5Google), indicating that Gmail will start showing users the most relevant results when they search for specific emails via keywords. Normally, when you type in a word in Gmail's search bar, it highlights all emails with the keyword in chronological order -- from newest to the oldest. There's nothing smart about this per se, with the user needing to manually dig in to locate the specific email they're looking for with filters, sender details, or additional keywords. You'll retain the chronological search result option Source: Google With Gmail's new upgrade, the platform will factor in "elements like recency, most-clicked emails, and frequent contacts." This can help surface relevant emails that you might be looking for right at the top of your search results, regardless of when you received said email(s). Google is aptly calling the new Gmail feature "most relevant." Gmail isn't gatekeeping the new upgrade, with 'most relevant' search results now rolling out for users with personal accounts globally on Android, iOS, and web versions of the email client. It's worth noting that users will still have access to sort search results in the order they were received. As seen in the image above, a drop-down at the top-left of the search results will let users toggle between 'most recent' and 'most relevant' emails.

Gmail rolling out AI-powered 'Most relevant' search update

Google is introducing "smarter search" to Gmail for Android, iOS, and the web that leverages "AI to show you the most relevant results, faster." Previously, Gmail search would show "emails in chronological order based on keywords," or "Top results" followed by everything else. This new approach takes into account recency, most-clicked emails, frequent contacts, and other factors. Google says "emails you're looking for are far more likely to be at the top of your search results -- saving you valuable time and helping you find important information more easily." Once rolled you, you'll see a new "Most relevant" dropdown underneath the Gmail search bar and carousel of filters, which you might no longer have to use as often. You still have the option to browse by "Most recent." This update is rolling out "globally for users with personal Google accounts" on the web and mobile apps. It will expand to "business users in the future." We're not seeing Most relevant yet on our devices today.

Your Gmail search results are about to get a huge change - and I'm not sure you're going to be happy with it

Gemini AI looks at details such as favorite contacts to determine what is relevant Finding the email you need in a crowded Gmail inbox should finally be a lot easier thanks to another AI-powered new update. The email provider is rolling out a new, smarter search function that will list results in terms of relevance, rather than just in chronological order. Factoring in details such as recency, most-clicked emails, and frequent contacts, the company says this means the emails you're actually looking for should be far more likely to be at the top of your search results. "With this update, the emails you're looking for are far more likely to be at the top of your search results -- saving you valuable time and helping you find important information more easily," the company wrote in a blog post announcing the news. Users will still be able to search for the most recent results, with Gmail adding a toggle to switch between "Most relevant" and "Most recent" results, based on how they like to search. Google says the move can help reduce search time, pinpointing the information people are looking for more quickly and accurately. The feature is rolling out now to personal Google accounts across the world, and will be available on the Gmail app for Android and iOS, with business users also set to receive the feature soon.

Gmail search just got a lot smarter, thanks to AI

Gmail's search function kinda sucks, but it's about to get better. On Thursday, Google announced a "smarter search feature powered by AI" in Gmail, which should display the most relevant results for your queries. Until now, Gmail's search would just show a chronological list of emails that contain the keywords you gave it. If your inbox is anything like mine, this is often completely useless, as nearly any keyword will surface hundreds of emails that have nothing to do with what I really need. Now, however, Gmail's search results will factor in elements such as recency, most-clicked email,s and frequent contacts. Google says that as a result, the emails you're looking for will be "far more likely to be at the top of your search results." What took you so long, guys? The new search is now rolling out globally for users with personal Google accounts, both on the web, and in the official Gmail app on Android and iOS. Once this is live, you'll be able to toggle between "most relevant" and "most recent" options above the search results. Right now, the feature isn't available to business users, but Google says it's coming "in the future."

The search system in Gmail is about to get a lot less frustrating

Finding relevant information on Gmail can be a daunting task, especially if you have a particularly buzzy inbox. Right now, the email client uses a search operator system that acts somewhat like a shortcut, but not many users know about it. Today, Google has announced an update to how search on Gmail works, thanks to some help from AI. When you look up a name or keyword in Gmail, the matching results are shown in chronological order. Recommended Videos Moving ahead, search results will be shown based on their relevance. In Google's words, relevance will take into account three factors viz. frequent contacts, most-clicked emails, and how recently the relevant emails arrived in your inbox. "With this update, the emails you're looking for are far more likely to be at the top of your search results -- saving you valuable time and helping you find important information more easily," the company says in a blog post. The updated search system in Gmail is rolling out to users worldwide, and it will be implemented on the desktop version as well as the mobile app. And just in case you are wondering, this is not an irreversible change to the search function in Gmail. Google says users can switch between "most relevant" and "most recent" search results at their convenience. The overarching idea is to help users find the intended material at a quicker pace. A memory revisit for Gmail shortcut In case you don't trust the new search system in Gmail, but still want tighter control over the whole process to save you time, here are a few operator shortcuts that you can type in the search bar: from:amy@example.com - Search for emails sent by a particular person. to:john@example.com - Find emails sent to a specific person. Is:important / is:starred / is:unread - Look up emails based on their status. cc:john@example.com / bcc:david@example.com - Identify emails that contain specific individuals in the "CC" or "BCC" fields. subject:example - Search for emails that contain a specific word or phrase in their subject line. after:2024/09/16 / before:2025/04/18 - Search for emails that were received within a specific time frame. older_than:1y / newer_than:2d - Search for emails that were sent within a specific time frame. ("d" stands for day and "y" is an identifier for the year) from:amy OR from:david - Look up emails that match one or more of your search criteria. Label:example / category:example - Find emails under one of your labels or specific category. Talking about features, Gmail recently rolled out a package tracking system that relies on summary cards to offer important information at a quick glance. The Gemini AI is now a part of the Gmail experience, as well, helping users write emails, or get work done across Sheets and Docs among other connected apps. In case you're a heavy user of AI tools such as ChatGPT, one of the best email clients I have used recently is Shortwave, which offers a fantastic decluttering system and some neat AI perks such as summarization.

Gmail's upgraded search results help you find the emails you want, faster.

If you've ever struggled with finding information in your overflowing inbox, you're not alone. That's why Gmail is rolling out a smarter search feature powered by AI to show you the most relevant results, faster. Instead of just showing emails in chronological order based on keywords, Gmail search results now factor in elements like recency, most-clicked emails and frequent contacts. With this update, the emails you're looking for are far more likely to be at the top of your search results -- saving you valuable time and helping you find important information more easily. "Most relevant" search results are rolling out globally for users with personal Google accounts, and can be accessed on the web and in the official Gmail app for Android and iOS. Once available in your account, you can toggle between "most relevant" and "most recent" results. We'll expand this to business users in the future.

Gmail Is Now Using AI to Sort 'More Relevant' Results, But You Can Turn It Off

You'll have to manually flip the switch to see your most recent results. You might not think about it, but you're probably pretty used to how Gmail's search function works. You type in your query, wait a moment, then scroll through the results, looking for the email in question. These results are always in chronological order, with the most recent results appearing at the top. After years of searching this way, you're likely subconsciously expecting this order, scrolling backwards in time to find the result you have in mind. I imagine it's going to be a bit confusing the next time you search for something in Gmail, and the results are not sorted by recency. That's because Google is changing the way it returns Gmail results for users: Google announced in a blog post Thursday that the company is rolling out a new AI-powered search feature for Gmail on both mobile and the web. (It's 2025: Of course the new feature is powered by AI.) The idea is to use artificial intelligence to return more relevant search results, rather than show results in chronological order. The AI still takes recency into account when returning results, but also considers emails you've clicked most, as well as contacts with whom you are in frequent communication. In theory, the changes should be helpful: In an ideal world, the email you wanted to see would show up right at the top of the list with every search, so the closer Gmail can get to finding specific emails you want, the better. Of course, with every new change comes friction. There's a muscle memory to search: You're used to seeing your emails arrive chronologically, so it might be a bit off-putting to skip over one result only to find a more recent one appear after it. There's also the "AI" of it all: Will artificial intelligence aid in our search for relevant emails, or will it hallucinate, and turn this into another AI Overviews fiasco? Gmail's new AI search could actually be useful While I'm a generative-AI skeptic, I have to be honest: This change might actually be helpful. In particular, I found the new search experience worked well with queries for messages that were definitely not recent. When searching for "graduation," for example, sorting by "Most recent" delivered a series of results from the past few days, and seeing as my latest graduation was many years ago, these were pretty useless. In fact, I had to scroll through a ridiculous number of newsletters and promotions before I even saw any personal emails -- whether they were relevant to my search or not. On the flip side, switching to the new "Most relevant" showed me mostly personal emails. Perhaps they weren't always about graduations, and instead included results containing variations on the word "graduation" ("graduated," "graduating," etc.) but aside from the odd promoted message or two, virtual all of the immediate returns were direct messages from friends and family. The same was true with a search for "reservation." The traditional sorting method returned a bunch of nonsense from hotel rewards accounts, cooking blogs, restaurant newsletters, even a number of Samsung emails. (Apparently I can reserve a $100 credit to get up to $1,100 in total savings when pre-ordering a Bespoke AI product. No thanks.) While it's a relief that I didn't miss out on that Samsung offer, the new AI-powered search returned personal results that actually made sense from my query: The top result was a recent dinner reservation made through Google, appropriately, while subsequent results included flight reservations and other restaurant bookings. Even the first hotel result to pop up was for a previous stay I had, not a newsletter. How to disable Gmail's new AI search That's not to say this is going to be for everyone. If you have a specific email you're looking for -- especially if it came in recently -- I could see the old ways of doing things working better for you here. Luckily, Google didn't take away the ability to search by recency -- it just made the new search the default, which I can only imagine is going to cause some confusion. It's an easy change to miss, but once you know what to look for, you'll be set. The next time you search on Gmail, take a look just above the top search result, towards the left. You'll see "Most relevant" with a little drop down arrow next to it. Tap this menu, then, on the new "Sort by" pop-up, choose "Most recent."

Gmail Search Gets Super Relevant

We may earn a commission when you click links to retailers and purchase goods. More info. Gmail wants search results to be better, and to do so, it's incorporating more AI. Right now, when you perform a search on Gmail, let's say for a phrase, Gmail will return results in chronological order as they appear in your inbox. With this change, your results should be more "relevant." Once your search feature is updated, results will now factor in things like recency, your most-clicked emails, as well as frequent contacts. The goal is to deliver results that you're actually looking for in a more timely manner, all thanks to AI. Instead of just showing emails in chronological order based on keywords, Gmail search results now factor in elements like recency, most-clicked emails and frequent contacts. With this update, the emails you're looking for are far more likely to be at the top of your search results -- saving you valuable time and helping you find important information more easily. Google says that "Most relevant" search results are rolling out for users with personal Google accounts and can be accessed via the web and the Gmail app for Android/iOS. Once live for your account, users can toggle between "most relevant" and "most recent" results.

Google announces AI upgrade for Gmail saving users significant time

TL;DR: Google is enhancing Gmail with a new AI-powered "smarter search" feature, improving the relevance and speed of search results. This update considers factors like recency, most-clicked emails, and frequent contacts, helping users find emails more efficiently. The feature is available globally for personal accounts and will expand to business users later. Google is continuing its push into artificial intelligence being injected into as many of its apps and services as possible, and the latest piece of Google software to get a touch of AI is Gmail. The search engine giant has announced via a new blog post that Gmail is being upgraded with a "smarter search feature powered by AI." The blog post explains the new and improved Gmail will show users the "most relevant results faster," through what is called "smarter search." This upgrade is intended to help users find information buried in their inbox much faster, and with the power of AI users will now be presented with emails that aren't just based on keywords. According to the blog post, up until now, Gmail has been showing searched for emails based on keywords and chronological order, but now the search feature will factor in elements such as recency, most-clicked emails and frequent contacts. With the inclusion of these new factors, emails users are looking for are more likely to appear at the top of your search, which will, in turn, save users significant time. "Most relevant" search results are rolling out globally for users with personal Google accounts, and can be accessed on the web and in the official Gmail app for Android and iOS. Once available in your account, you can toggle between "most relevant" and "most recent" results. We'll expand this to business users in the future," writes Google

Now Even Gmail Will Push AI-Powered Search on You

I Work Entirely From My Phone, and I'm More Productive Than Ever Searching for a particular message in a sea of emails can be a real needle-in-haystack situation. As Gmail's search performance hasn't always been the best, Google is now calling upon the power of AI to better refine your results. Google Is Adding an AI-Powered Search Feature to Gmail Knock-knock. Who's there? More AI. On the heels of adding a new Gemini feature to Gmail for more efficient scheduling, Google is now rolling out an AI-powered search tool for the email app. As Google's The Keyword reports, you'll soon be able to toggle between Most relevant and Most recent results, giving you more control over how you find and filter emails. Previously, when searching for a message on Gmail, the platform would display a chronological list of emails matching your keywords. Now, thanks to AI analysis, you can also get search results that prioritize contacts you frequently interact with. Here's how Google puts it: Instead of just showing emails in chronological order based on keywords, Gmail search results now factor in elements like recency, most-clicked emails and frequent contacts. With this update, the emails you're looking for are far more likely to be at the top of your search results -- saving you valuable time and helping you find important information more easily. For example, I was recently looking for the next delivery date for my cat's food. When I searched using the keyword "chicken," the first six emails that showed up were either promotional (Whole Foods, I'm looking at you) or newsletters that I rarely interact with. Midway down the page was the auto-ship notice from my pet food provider, Chewy. While I don't yet see the Most relevant search option in Gmail, I assume the AI tool would have deduced that I interact with emails from Chewy far more than I do with those from Whole Foods. Hence, the feature would have prioritized the email I was truly looking for closer to the top. When to Expect Gmail's "Most Relevant" Search Setting If you have a personal account, you should expect to see Google's new Most relevant search filter very soon, as the company is rolling the update out globally. The setting will be available on a browser or in the Gmail app, for both Android and iOS devices. Google says it will roll out the feature to business accounts next. More AI: Brought to You by Google While I would consider this feature to be helpful, I'm still a bit hesitant to introduce more AI into my day-to-day life. At least, I want AI features to be optional tools that I can disable at my discretion. In this case, it appears that Gmail's AI search tool will be optional. You will have the freedom to select the classic Most recent search filter, and sift through messages yourself. That being said, I'm not sure what the default will be for Gmail. For instance, will there be an easy-to-locate button to select which search mode you'd like to use, before you carry out a search? Will the setting be hidden in the advance search options, or will it be solely adjustable after the fact? If it's the latter, then AI will be analyzing our mail, at least once, whether we like it or not. I want to believe that Google will give users advance control over this new AI feature that will analyze their emails. If we look at other companies' AI tool debuts as examples, this reality seems promising. When Microsoft integrated Copilot with its Microsoft 365 apps, there was a way to opt out of the update. That said, Google isn't always the first to respect user privacy.

Gmail Will Now Use AI to Show You the 'Most Relevant' Search Results

Google began rolling out a new improvement for Gmail on Thursday that will help users find relevant emails easier than before. Dubbed 'Most Relevant', this new search result sorting feature uses artificial intelligence (AI) to bring those emails that might be more important than others to the top, ditching the traditional chronological order. This new feature will be available alongside the existing options for filters that let users fine-tune the search results. Notably, Gmail recently received a new Gemini feature that can automatically create calendar events based on information in emails. In a blog post, the Mountain View-based tech giant announced the rolling out of the new feature. This will be available to all personal Gmail account users on the web as well as on the Android and iOS apps. The company plans to release the feature to Business accounts in the future. Google says the tool is aimed at making searching for a particular email easier, especially in an overflowing inbox. So far, searching for emails requires users to type keywords related to the email, and the mail client returns results based on chronological order or with a top result followed by others. Now, after searching with keywords, users will see a new dropdown menu on the search results page. It can be set to either 'Most Recent' or 'Most Relevant'. Most recent will continue to show chronological results, but if users select the latter option, AI will take over to show results a bit differently. As per the company, this new mode considers factors such as recency, most-clicked emails and frequent contacts. This means those emails and senders a user has interacted with more will show up higher than those that they've not. Google claims that this mode is likelier to show the emails the user is looking for at the top of the search results, saving the time and hassle of scrolling through hundreds of items. Notably, while the feature is powered by AI, it does not use generative AI models like the Gemini-based features in Gmail. This is more of a machine learning-powered ranking system that uses a mix of AI-driven search algorithms, NLP models, and behaviour analysis techniques to surface relevant emails.

Google introduces AI-powered search feature to Gmail for faster, relevant results By Investing.com

Investing.com -- Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL) has unveiled an upgrade to the search feature in Gmail, aiming to assist users in finding their desired emails more rapidly. The new search feature, powered by artificial intelligence (AI), is designed to display the most pertinent results swiftly. Previously, Gmail's search function displayed emails based on chronology and keywords. The recent upgrade, however, takes into account factors such as the recency of emails, the most clicked emails, and frequent contacts. This enhancement aims to position the emails users are searching for at the top of the search results, saving time and making the retrieval of important information more straightforward. The "most relevant" search results are currently being rolled out globally for users with personal Google accounts. This feature can be accessed both on the web and via the official Gmail app for Android and iOS devices. Once activated in a user's account, they have the option to switch between "most relevant" and "most recent" results. Google plans to extend this feature to business users in the future.