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- Google announced that starting today, Gmail users on desktop will begin seeing "dynamic emails" that are actionable and can stay current with the "freshest information."
- That means instead of having to click a link to a different website to answer a poll on a different website, you could just do it straight within a Gmail mesage.
- Google says that its own productivity products, like Google Docs, will start to work with the new format by default, so they can be embedded directly into messages.
- Google said dynamic emails would begin rolling out on the web today and that mobile support is "coming soon."
Emails have long been static and unchanging. But with a new update to Gmail, Google is trying to change that.
On Tuesday, Google announced that starting today, Gmail users on desktop will begin seeing "dynamic emails" that are interactive, and that can stay current with the "freshest information."
In practice, this means that email gets a little more interactive. You can answer polls from servives like Doodle straight from within the email, rather than having to open a link to a separate website. Furthermore, when a service like Pinterest sends an email about trending topics, the email can automatically refresh itself to stay current.
Google announced Doodle, Pinterest, Booking.com, and others as launch partners, abut it did not say anything about how, or if, users themselves can create dynamic emails.
It did mention that its own productivity products, like Google Docs, will start to work with the new format by default. Instead of receiving an email every time a user is mentioned in a document, for instance, Gmail now updates that thread and allows users to respond directly or resolve the comment right from the message.
Read more: How to set up and customize Google Alerts to stay updated on the topics that matter most to you
Google first announced it was working on dynamic emails (also known as Accelerated Mobile Pages, or AMP) early last year. In its blog post on Tuesday, the company said the new format would begin rolling out on the web today and that mobile support is "coming soon." Corporate Gmail accounts using the G Suite product will be able to have administrators turn on the functionality within "the next few days."
AMP emails are also supported by other popular email services including Yahoo Mail, Outlook.com, and Mail.Ru. Any AMP emails that are sent to a service that does not support the format will merely look like a traditional email message.
The move for Google signals its recognition that email communication needs to evolve, as competing productivity and messaging apps have been on the rise. Slack, a leading messaging service that has replaced email for many businesses and individuals, has 10 million daily active users and filed for IPO this February at a $7 billion valuation.
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Source: Business Insider – nbastone@businessinsider.com (Nick Bastone)