Google's Smart Replies are getting an AI-themed, and to me, slightly creepy update. At its Google I/O 2025 keynote, Google announced a new feature called Personalized Smart Replies. This feature uses Gemini AI, alongside the data in your Gmail and Google Drive, to reply to emails in a way that sounds like you. Google promises is can write like you would, using your tone and writing style, as learned by your Gmail history.
With this new update, the Smart Replies option that shows up when you reply to an email will be a lot more powerful and a lot more contextual. On stage, Google CEO Sundar Pichai used planning a trip as an example. Let's say a friend emails you asking for details about a trip you two are going on. To manually collate everything you need to send, like your hotel stays, driving plans, rest stops, and restaurant recommendations would take a lot of time.
Instead, you can use the Personalized Smart Replies feature, which has access to all your emails, your Google Maps location history, and your photos and files in Google Drive, to do the work for you. It can collate hotel bookings from your email, locations from Google Drive history, and present it all in an email that matches your writing style.
According to an interview with The Verge, Google Workspace’s VP of product, Blake Barnes, says that the new Smart Replies feature will be available in English at first, on the web, Android, and iOS. It will roll out in Alpha in Google Labs in July, and will be available for public use in Q3 of this year. Unfortunately, it will be only available for paid subscribers at first. Barnes sees the feature eventually rolling out to all Gmail users, but there's no timeline for that yet.
Of course, like with all AI, there's a risk that what Gemini generates might have elements of hallucination, so I'd recommend checking your replies before sending them. Plus, the feature will definitely need access to a lot of personal data to work. I'll keep an eye out for how to protect your data as the feature comes out, and update accordingly.
