PCMag editors select and review products independently. If you buy through affiliate links, we may earn commissions, which help support our testing.

Gmail for iOS Gets AI-Powered Alerts for Important Emails

The artificial intelligence-powered feature notifies you about 'high-priority' emails only. At this point, it's only available on iOS, but Google said it plans to expand it to Android soon.

 & Angela Moscaritolo Managing Editor, Consumer Electronics

Our team tests, rates, and reviews more than 1,500 products each year to help you make better buying decisions and get more from technology.

Our Expert
LOOK INSIDE PC LABS HOW WE TEST
65 EXPERTS
43 YEARS
41,500+ REVIEWS

Good news for those of you who use the Gmail app on your iOS device. A new feature can help ensure you see important emails in a timely manner without receiving tons of notifications you don't care about.

Introduced Thursday, the artificial intelligence-powered feature notifies you about "high-priority" emails only. At this point, it's only available on iOS, but Google plans to expand it to Android soon.

gmail high-priority alerts"Notifications are only useful if you have time to read them—and if you're being notified hundreds of times a day, chances are, you don't," Google wrote in a blog post. These new notifications "leverage Gmail's machine learning and artificial intelligence capabilities to identify messages you may want to read first."

To enable this new feature, just open the Gmail app on your iPhone or iPad, tap the Menu button in the top-left corner, tap settings, and select your account. From there, tap Notifications and select "High-priority only." Doing so will limit your notifications to just emails automatically marked as "important."

"We hope this feature makes your Gmail notifications relevant—not just noise," Google wrote.

The app also lets you receive notifications for all new mail or just the messages in your Primary label. You can also completely disable notifications, if you so choose.

Also on the Gmail front, Google recently announced that the platform's big redesign will arrive for everyone next month. At this point the new Gmail, which Google first unveiled in April, is an Early Adopter Program.

About Our Expert

Angela Moscaritolo

Angela Moscaritolo

Managing Editor, Consumer Electronics

My Experience

I'm PCMag's managing editor for consumer electronics, overseeing an experienced team of analysts covering smart home, home entertainment, wearables, fitness and health tech, and various other product categories. I have been with PCMag for more than 10 years, and in that time have written more than 6,000 articles and reviews for the site. I previously served as an analyst focused on smart home and wearable devices, and before that I was a reporter covering consumer tech news. I'm also a yoga instructor, and have been actively teaching group and private classes for nearly a decade. 

Prior to joining PCMag, I was a reporter for SC Magazine, focusing on hackers and computer security. I earned a BS in journalism from West Virginia University, and started my career writing for newspapers in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.

The Technology I Use

My little Florida beach bungalow is brimming with smart home tech. I have a smart speaker or display in every room, allowing me to control other connected devices by voice. The Nest Hub on my bedside table lets me set wake-up alarms, control my smart light bulbs, and set the temperature on my smart thermostat. I use the Amazon Echo Show 8 on my kitchen counter to browse recipes, reorder protein powder, check the weather, and watch the news while I do dishes. 

Because I suffer from allergies, air purifiers are essential. My favorite model is the Dyson Purifier Cool TP07, which doubles as a fan and continuously sends indoor pollution data to its companion mobile app. 

My pitbull Bradley sheds, so a good robot vacuum is a must. I currently use a premium Ecovacs Deebot that can both vacuum and mop, empty its own dustbin, and wash its own mop cloth. 

For fitness, I like to mix up my routine with cycling, indoor rowing, running, and strength training in addition to yoga. I take classes on the Tonal 2 smart strength training machine, I row indoors on an Aviron machine, and track my beach runs with an Apple Watch while listening to music on my Apple AirPods Pro. On the weekends, I love riding e-bikes like the rugged, beach-friendly Aventon Aventure for fun and fitness.

My job involves a lot of virtual meetings, so a quality webcam, microphone, and ring light are important. I use the Jabra PanaCast 20 webcam, the Elgato Wave: 3 microphone, and a Yesker tripod ring light. 

As for my preferred phone platform, I'm an iPhone person, but I've also extensively used Android for product testing.

Read full bio