Gemini's 'Help Me Write' can now polish your Gmail drafts

If you have an email sitting in your drafts because you can’t quite fine-tune it to sound like you want, a new Gemini feature might help.

In a recent blog post, Google detailed two new additions to Gemini: an option for ‘Help me write’ that lets you polish Gmail drafts on web devices and ‘Refine my draft’ shortcuts on Android and iOS devices. 

Also: Gemini Live is finally available. Here’s how you can access it (and why you’ll want to)

Here’s how the technology works. When refining a draft message, Google explains you can choose from three options: formalize, elaborate, and shorten. Choose one of these options and AI will give your words a more official tone (formalize), go into more detail (elaborate), or tighten things up (shorten). If you like the suggestion, tap ‘Replace’ to accept the new version.

Your message doesn’t have to be complete, either. Google explains that you can even type rough notes into a draft of at least 12 words and let Gemini turn that text into an email ready to send.

Also: Google tops the Index with Gemini Live and Pixel’s AI features

If you’re using Gmail on mobile, you’ll now see a ‘Help me write’ shortcut in the body of the email. Select that option and you’ll see the full experience. If you begin composing a few sentences, the process turns into ‘Refine my draft’. If you’d like, ‘Help me write‘ can also compose a message for you from scratch. 

Gemini in Gmail is available to Google Workspace customers with a Google One AI Premium plan, the Gemini Education and Education Premium add-on, or the Gemini Business and Enterprise add-on. 

This version of Gemini is 1.5 Pro, which brings significant improvements from its predecessor, including better understanding and faster performance.

Also: How to try Google’s new Gemini Live AI assistant for free

Google says the additions are live now for all versions of Gmail.