Google has launched Gmail’s AI Inbox in beta for Google AI Ultra subscribers in the United States, replacing the traditional unread message count with an AI-driven system.
The feature sits as a separate label in Gmail’s sidebar and divides unread emails into two sections, To-dos and Topics, with To-dos surfacing time-sensitive items, including messages from designated VIPs, upcoming bills, appointments, and reminders for emails that have gone unanswered.
Topics groups related email threads together under a single heading, allowing users to scan conversations by subject area rather than sender, reducing the back-and-forth of hunting through an inbox for connected messages spread across different dates.
AI Inbox also tracks whether a user has already engaged with a suggested task through signals like reading, archiving, or deleting the relevant email, with Google planning to add a dedicated Mark as Done option to the feature in the near future.
All processing takes place within Gmail’s own infrastructure, with Google confirming that the AI Inbox handles email content securely without routing data outside the platform, a reassurance aimed at users cautious about AI tools accessing sensitive correspondence.
It’s only available as part of the top-end AI plan
Access is currently limited to Google AI Ultra subscribers, a plan priced at $250 per month that also includes the highest usage limits across Gemini, 30TB of Google Cloud storage, a Google Home Premium Advanced plan, YouTube Premium, and access to Google’s broader suite of AI tools.
AI Inbox was previously available only to a small group of testers, with Google having promised broader availability later in the year, though the expansion to Ultra subscribers stops well short of a general rollout given the plan’s steep monthly cost.
For existing Ultra subscribers, the addition represents meaningful value without any extra charge, while users on lower-tier Google plans will need to wait for confirmation of whether AI Inbox will eventually reach more affordable subscription options.
