Google adds AI-powered 'Help me write' shortcut to Gmail on web: Details

The Help me write feature is Google's artificial intelligence-powered tool that allows users to formalise, elaborate, and shorten their emails

Google has announced the expansion of its artificial intelligence-powered “Help me write” feature to Gmail on the web for Workspace customers. Additionally, Google is introducing a new “Polish” shortcut on the web, alongside the Gmail mobile app, which will help users refine their email drafts more efficiently.

 

Announced at last year’s Google I/O conference, the Help me write feature allows users to formalise, elaborate, and shorten their emails. In August this year, the shortcut for Help me write became available to Google One AI Premium subscribers, along with the “Refine my draft” shortcut on the Gmail mobile app. The feature is now being extended to Gmail on the web.

In a new blog post, Google stated that the Help me write shortcut will appear in the body of the email when an email draft is empty. The Polish shortcut will be visible for drafts containing 12 or more words. In the web version of Gmail, users can activate the shortcut by clicking the text or pressing the Ctrl+H keys to automatically polish the draft. On mobile, users can view the polished email preview by swiping on the shortcut text. From this preview, users can select additional options such as Formalize, Elaborate, and Shorten to edit the draft.

 

Google mentioned that both shortcuts are gradually rolling out on the web, while the new Polish shortcut for the Gmail mobile app is now available on both Android and iOS. It is important to note that these features are exclusively available for Google Workspace customers with a Google One AI Premium subscription, as well as those with the Gemini Business and Enterprise add-ons or the Gemini Education and Education Premium add-ons.

 

Google also clarified that these AI-powered tools will be enabled by default and cannot be disabled, neither by end users nor by administrators.