Notion is coming for Gmail with new email client powered by AI

In context: Because email is so public, many users receive scores of emails daily, making it difficult to focus on what matters. Google attempted to address this with Inbox by Gmail, but that was later discontinued. Other email clients like Spark have continued to innovate in this area. Now, Notion, a growing productivity platform, aims to “reimagine” email with a new client that promises to automate many tasks that typically give users a headache.

The new service, dubbed Notion Email, isn’t available quite yet – the company is operating a waitlist for initial access, which is expected in early 2025. But the team has detailed what to expect when it does arrive.

At its core, Notion Email looks to be centered around customization and personalization powered by AI. The company says that the client is “built for speed” with support for nifty shortcuts (much like Notion’s other apps) and quick replies.

“Instead of wading through a storm surge of messages, email should feel like a trusty rudder that helps you navigate the currents of work – job applications, project updates, upcoming meetings,” notes Notion.

As for features, first up is something called “Views.” This will allow users to slice and dice their inbox into sections tailored for different purposes. The company gave an example that if, say, you’re trying to hire someone, Notion Email would automatically cluster those emails into a “Recruiting” view and reserve another view for project updates and customer support. These views will display in a sidebar to the left, just like the Notion web app for notes and documents.

Of course, new software isn’t complete these days without a dash of generative AI. Another headlining feature with the client is the ability to use textual prompts to organize, archive, and draft emails.

A second AI capability helps you draft emails and responses. Notion showed off a neat use case that could work well for job hunters: the AI can automatically draft emails to nudge unresponsive threads until you get a reply. This could be clutch for anyone ghosted by HR after applying in this brutal job market.

Lastly, a “one-click snippets” feature will let users rapidly spin up templated responses.

At launch in early 2025, the new email service will integrate with existing Gmail and Google accounts. And from what we can tell, it will first arrive as a web app followed by iPhone and Android apps.