Gmail's ChatGPT-like writing assistant is rolling out on Android
Google brought out the big guns in the ongoing AI war during last month's I/O conference, showcasing a plethora of new generative AI capabilities for its suite of Workspace apps. As part of the exhibit, the search giant unleashed a ChatGPT-like writing assistant for Gmail that can compose emails for you based on brief text prompts. Gmail's "Help me write" was initially released for the web as part of a limited preview, and it's now showing up on Gmail for Android.
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To gain access to the feature, you must still join Google's Workspace Labs program, though you will most likely be placed on a waitlist first. If you previously signed up for the program, Gmail's AI-powered writer should now be available on your account, as spotted by Android Police founder Artem Russakovskii.
Like Bard or its rival ChatGPT, the feature generates paragraphs of text based on your prompts. Simply start a new email draft, and a new floating action button containing a pencil icon with a star shows up in the bottom-right corner. Tapping on "Help me write" brings up a text box with suggestions for prompts inside it. You can type in your own words to instruct the AI on what you would like it to generate.
When you finish typing your prompt, tap the "Create" button, and the AI will draft an email for you. Once it's ready, the generated draft will appear in a new panel, which may contain sentences or paragraphs depending on your instructions. A disclaimer appears beneath the AI-generated text, stating, "This is a creative writing aid, and is not intended to be factual."
Below the disclaimer are the thumbs-up and thumbs-down buttons for gauging how satisfied you are with the draft. Finally, to the right is the "Insert" button, which allows you to add the text to your actual draft email. After inserting the generated text, you can go ahead and make any changes you want.
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The Help me write FAB remains in the bottom-right corner, and tapping on it opens a menu with options for fine-tuning the draft in various styles: "Formalize," "Elaborate," "Shorten," and "I'm Feeling Lucky." You can choose from any of these options to fit the tone of writing that you want.
Gmail's new AI assistance is appealing whether you're a professional writer or simply someone who despises writing long messages. While it can help you get a head start on your job application or business writing, the generative AI produces sentences with flaws, so the output should still be edited. Regardless, the generated text is reasonably readable.
Source: Android Police
