How to Use Google AI to Draft Emails

Summary

• Google launched Help Me Write for Gmail
• The AI will make writing emails easier
• The new feature will be in the next Google Worksheet update

Google recently launched its latest language model, PaLM 2, which they said was capable of understanding far more complex problems than its predecessors.

The PaLM 2 has formed the basis of Google integrating its AI into its services, and among the services will be Gmail. Now, Google has had generative AI in its Gmail since 2018, with Smart Compose (The autocomplete feature when composing emails) and Smart Reply since 2017. However, this new feature is much more advanced.

Now the feature is not yet available publicly, and there is no set date for its availability, but you can stay ahead of the curve by getting familiar with how it works. Google CEO, Sundar Pichai, said that it would be launched with the next update to Google Workspace.

Help Me Write

Help Me Write is the new AI to be integrated into Gmail that would automatically draft a complete email from a basic prompt. This means that all you have to do is give a basic premise of the email you want to write, and let the AI do the rest.

To do that:

1. On your computer, open your Gmail app.
2. Then click compose.
3. A list of tabs will appear, with the Help Me Write represented by an angled pen with a four-sided star next to it. Click on it.
4. Enter a prompt. For example; ‘A thank you letter to my father/mother for their graduation gifts’ or ‘A letter seeking vacancy at_’
5. For better results, include the recipient, topic and tone you want.
6. Click create and watch it write down for you. You can take a few tries before getting the draft that you like.
7. You also have options to refine the text and can choose from Formalize, which makes the draft more formal; Elaborate, which adds details to build upon the reader; Shorten, which shortens the draft and I’m Feeling Lucky, which adds creative and fun details to the draft.

The new feature will no doubt make drafting mails easier but there are concerns already about how it would impact mail communication.