Gmail Labs has been a staple in the Gmail experience for over ten years. But what will happen to it? This article explores Gmail Labs, how to enable and use it, and what future changes may come.
Gmail Labs is a collection of experimental features that are available in Gmail. Google engineers often develop these features during their “20% time” – the time allotted to them to work on the projects outside their normal job duties. As such, Gmail Labs features are usually in flux, with some added and others removed regularly.
Since Gmail Labs has existed for over ten years, many features are now being rolled into Gmail’s main experience. For example, the Undo Send feature is now available for all users, regardless of whether they have enabled Gmail Labs.
If you’re a fan of Gmail Labs, be sure to check out the available settings and features. And if you’re worried about Gmail Labs being discontinued, don’t worry. There are still a lot of great experimental features to enjoy.
Gmail Labs Discontinued: What You Need to Know
Gmail Labs has been discontinued; some features were retired in 2017 and will no longer be available as of 2022. Gmail has a lab-like feature that allows users to customize their email experience. However, some of the labs have been retired, and others have been moved to different areas of the platform. Most are now under the Advanced header.
It’s hard to tell what’s changed without spending time poking around in the new interface. If you’re looking for something that used to be under ” Labs,” you may want to check out the new Gmail settings page to see what changes are coming.
Generally, many more experimental features have been moved to the “Advanced” section. You can enable and disable different features like Smart Compose, Nudges, and more.
Gmail Labs Features: How to Setup and Use It
If you’re unsure how to enable Gmail Labs, it’s easy – click settings and scroll down. Now it is the “Advanced” section. From there, you can browse the available features and enable the ones that interest you. Remember that these features are experimental and may not always work as intended.
Notable features of Gmail labs.
Gmail Labs was a great way to customize your email experience. Some of the more prominent features include:
Undo Send:
One of the most popular Gmail Labs features is the ability to enable Undo Send. It allows you to cancel an email within 5 – 30 seconds (as per Undo send settings) of hitting the send button.
How to unsend Gmail?
If you want to unsend an email in Gmail, use the Undo Send option. It lets you cancel an email within seconds of hitting the send button. To enable this feature, head to the “General” section of your Gmail settings, scroll down to “Undo Send,” and set the Send cancellation period.
What is the default time to unsend?
The default unsend cancellation period is five, but you can also set it to 10,20 or 30 seconds in Settings > General tab >> Undo Send >> Send cancellation period to drop-down list.
Can you unsend an email in Gmail after an hour or a day?
No, you cannot unsend an email in Gmail after an hour or a day. You have to cancel the sent email within 5 to 30 seconds, as in settings, after hitting the send button.
Gmail Offline
Gmail Offline feature allows you to use Gmail even when you’re not connected to the internet. Gmail Offline is a great way to stay connected to your email when you’re not connected to the internet.
With Gmail Offline, you can read, reply to, and archive emails without an internet connection. To set up Gmail Offline, head to the “Offline” section of your Gmail settings and enable the feature.
See All Settings> Offline (Tab) > Offline: and tick to Select Enable offline mail.
Once enabled, you can choose how many days of email you want to keep offline and whether or not you wish to sync attachments. Remember that Gmail Offline will only work if you’re using the Chrome browser.
Smart Compose
Gmail Smart Compose is a feature of Gmail that helps users quickly compose emails by suggesting words and phrases as they type.
It uses machine learning to analyze the context of the email and offer words and phrases that are most likely to be used in the email.
Smart Compose also helps users save time by automatically filling in common phrases and words, such as greetings, addresses, and dates. Smart Compose is a great tool for quickly composing emails without typing out every word.
If you’re looking for a way to speed up your email writing process, you’ll love Smart Compose. This Gmail Labs feature suggests phrases when composing an email so that you can write your emails faster.
To enable Smart Compose, head to the “General” section of your Gmail settings and enable the feature.
Go to All Settings >> General >> Smart Compose and select between
Writing suggestions on or Writing suggestions off
Remember that Smart Compose is only available in English, Spanish, French, Italian, and Portuguese at this time.
Gmail Chat
It allows you to chat with your contacts right from Gmail.
Gmail Chat is a great way to stay connected with your contacts. With this Gmail Labs feature, you can chat with your contacts from Gmail.
To enable Gmail Chat, head to the “Chat” section of your Gmail settings and enable the feature. Once allowed, you’ll see a list of your contacts in the sidebar, and you can chat with them immediately.
Nudges
Nudges remind you to follow up on emails that still need a response. If you’re looking for a way to ensure you don’t forget to follow up on important emails, you’ll love Nudges.
This Gmail Labs feature reminds you to follow up on emails that still need a response. To enable Nudges, head to the “Nudges” section of your Gmail settings and enable
Go to All Settings >> General >> Nudges >> 2 options available
- Suggest emails to reply to – Emails that have been forgotten to respond at a time will appear at the top of your inbox
- Suggest emails to follow up on – Suggested emails that need to be followed up on will appear at the top of your inbox.
Current Advanced Features
There are some more features available under the Advanced section.
Auto-advance
Show the next conversation in the thread instead of inbox once you delete, archive, or mute any conversation thread. You can select to advance to the next or previous conversation from the “General” Settings page.
Templates
Turn frequent messages into templates to save time. Templates can be created and inserted in the compose toolbar’s “More options” menu. You can also create auto-replies using templates and filters together.
Custom keyboard shortcuts
You can customize keyboard shortcuts via the settings tab to remap desired keys.
This article provided a comprehensive exploration of Gmail Labs, its notable features, and the subsequent changes it underwent when the feature was discontinued.
Gmail Labs was a valuable addition to the experience, offering users many experimental features such as Undo Send, Gmail Offline, Smart Compose, Gmail Chat, and Nudges.
However, following its discontinuation, many of these unique features have been rolled into Gmail’s main interface, predominantly under the “Advanced” section, thereby still providing users with customization opportunities for their email experience.
Even though Gmail Labs’ discontinuation might initially seem disruptive, the transition is smooth and carefully thought through.
The features that once resided under Labs are still accessible, albeit under different headers.
Users can continue to experiment with the settings and tailor their Gmail experience to their liking.
Notably, all these features remain experimental and may not always function as expected, adding to the adventurous spirit of exploration and customization.
Finally, it’s noteworthy that Gmail’s approach to experimentation and constant evolution echoes the continual improvement and innovation ethos. This commitment helps maintain Gmail’s status as one of the leading email providers. As Google continues to test, refine, and improve its offering, users can expect to see more changes and advancements in the future.