

Gmail Rolls Out AI-Powered Search (x.com) 23
Google is introducing an AI-powered update to Gmail search that prioritizes "most relevant" results based on recency, frequent contacts, and most-clicked emails. The feature aims to help users more efficiently locate specific messages in crowded inboxes. The update is rolling out globally to personal Google accounts, with business accounts to follow at an unspecified date. Users will have the option to toggle between the new AI-powered "most relevant" search and the traditional reverse chronological "most recent" view.
I don't get it. (Score:3)
that prioritizes "most relevant" results based on recency, frequent contacts, and most-clicked emails.
Why can't you do that without AI? Why do you need "AI" to do that?
Pretty soon they're going to push an AI cash register that uses AI for plus and minus to figure out the total.
Re: (Score:3)
Reason number whatever we're at now of how the AI people themselves are it's own worst enemy. This could actually be a cool feature, a plain language context aware search for email? Sounds possibly useful, if you had called it that instead of AI. Now I just associate it with trash imagery from usually awful people.
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Here's why.
Some kinds of searches are really difficult, with legacy search technology. Sometimes, the words you are looking for are too common, leading to thousands of irrelevant results. For example, search for "meeting with Doug about trip planning" might return all kinds of irrelevant meetings where Doug was one of the participants. Or "what hotel did we stay in in Miami" might not find anything because the address of the hotel was a suburb of Miami. AI is pretty good at finding what you're looking for,
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Actually, yes, I am an AI, how did you know!
You can nit-pick the examples, I came up with them on short order. Most people aren't as good at composing search terms as you are, or coming up with a logical search strategy. Picture your great aunt who can barely use a remote control. For these kinds of people, AI search is a godsend.
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I can do complex search terms, but I use them so rarely in Gmail that I tend to forget what they are. I don't really need AI, just some reminders and hints, but if the AI works I'll take it.
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Why can't you do that without AI? Why do you need "AI" to do that?
Because current/potential shareholders like seeing AI... in the quarterly prospectus?
do not want (Score:2)
Thanks, reverse chronological is not just adequate, it's the most relevant.
The 3rd AI Winter can't arrive soon enough.
Wait, I've Seen This Before!! (Score:1)
Let's all just hope that the "search" engine is better at returning relevant results better than I run into looking for things on the Amazon marketplace.
Re:Wait, I've Seen This Before!! (Score:4, Insightful)
Assuming there is one, of course.
Crowded Inboxes (Score:2)
Use AI to stop spam and automatically unsubscribe people from predatory and pointless marketing emails and the problem of crowded inboxes will go away. 95% of peoples inboxes is spam. The other 5% is purchase receipts.
Re:Crowded Inboxes (Score:5, Interesting)
Trust me, you don't want to send unsubscribe notices to all those spammers. What you really did by sending the unsubscribe notices, was confirm to the spammer that your email address is actually in use. They'll just send you more, they already don't care that you don't want their spam.
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Of course. What you're saying is common knowledge these days. But if everyone was sending unsubscribe requests automatically, en-masse, from the built-in automatic filter in your inbox, their "unsibscribe cliked" ping would become a useless piece of information.
Corrected headline (Score:2)
Gmail search sucks. I'm sure it will get worse. (Score:2)
Right now, when I search in Gmail, it returns synonyms and different spellings. The phone search is especially useless. I have to quote words half the time to find what I'm seeking. Enshitification.
Can it handle | characters? (Score:4, Interesting)
Gmail search fails to display any emails when one searches for subject:("something with | a pipe") even when right-clicking an existing message and selecting 'find messages with this subject'.
It's baffling how a company whose name is synonymous with the verb "to search" can fall so hard at searching through email.
Yay!!! (Score:2)
Just what nobody asked for!
The only way google can get you to use their AI (Score:3)
Accident.
The trend (Score:1)
- AI access your files
- AI accesses your search history
- AI accesses your email
- AI accesses your contacts?
- AI accesses your calendar?
Pretty soon:
Google: Find all _insert reason that violates policy here_ and suspend their accounts.
FBI: Read the federal law and find me all criminal activity, flagging their accounts. Include anything suspicious that you are uncertain about. Sort by their ability to pay for an attorney. (Since CiSA/CISPA made them able to access the
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Digital version of the Stasi?
google will tell you what it relevant (Score:2)
Implicit in using this feature is that you trust Google to provide you unadulterated results.
Don't use Gmail.