Inside Google's plan to turn Gmail into a relationship-aware AI agent - and you're at the center

Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google.

ZDNET's key takeaways

• Gmail is being rethought as a proactive assistant system.
• Google is cautious about changing workflows used by billions.
• This vision is exploratory, ambitious, and far from finished.

What is the first thing you do in the morning? For me, before I gaze lovingly at my wife and pup, and before I get coffee, I glance at my Gmail and my Slack feed. It lets me quickly ascertain whether something happened overnight that's going to demand my attention immediately during the day.

Also: 10 ways AI can inflict unprecedented damage in 2026

If there's something hot, that changes my pacing. As soon as I do the most minimal of morning prep, I'll sit myself down at the computer to deal with whatever is breaking. If there's nothing on fire ...