On this page
- Switch to labels from folders
- Create rules to filter your email
- Star important email
- Search for messages
- Summarize email with Gemini
- Archive email instead of deleting
- Delete email permanently
Switch to labels from folders
In other email programs, you might have stored email in folders. In Gmail, you use labels to categorize your email. Labels are like folders, but with a twist—you can apply several labels to an email, then later find the email by clicking any of its labels from the left panel. You can also search by label.
Use labels to...
- Track the status of people's tasks. For example, create the labels Laura: In Progress and Laura: Done to indicate email that Laura is working on or has completed.
- Organize email by nesting labels like subfolders. For example, create the label Tasks. Under Tasks, create nested labels by person.
- Identify email that needs follow-up.
- Identify email that can be read later.
Create a label
- On your computer, go to Gmail.
- On the left, scroll down, then click More.
- Click Create new label.
- Name your label.
- Click Create.
Label messages in your inbox
- On your computer, go to Gmail.
- Select the messages.
- At the top, click Labels.
- Select a label, or create a new one.
Create rules to filter your email
You can manage your incoming mail using Gmail’s filters for example, to send email to a label, or automatically archive, delete, or star incoming mail.
- Open Gmail.
- In the search box at the top, click Show search options
.
- Enter your search criteria. If you want to check that your search worked correctly, see what emails show up by clicking Search.
- At the bottom of the search window, click Create filter.
- Choose what you’d like the filter to do.
- Click Create filter.
.Note: When you create a filter to forward messages, only new messages will be affected. Additionally, when someone replies to a message you've filtered, the reply will only be filtered if it meets the same search criteria.
Tip: Try these Gmail filters for work or school.
Learn more at the Gmail Help Center
Star important email
When you star email in Gmail, you mark them as important. This helps you remember to look at them later.
Star an email
- On your computer, open Gmail.
- From your inbox, go to the left of the message, then click Star
. If the message is open, click More
Add Star.
- If you have multiple stars, keep clicking the star icon until you see the one you want to use.
. If the message is open, click More 
Add Star.See your starred messages
- On your computer, open Gmail.
- On the left side of the page, click Starred. You may need to click More first.
Tip: To find starred messages, you can also use search operators in Gmail.
- To find all starred messages, enter
is:starred. - To find messages with a specific star, enter
has:followed by the star's name. The names are based on your current star options in use:has:yellow-starhas:orange-starhas:red-starhas:purple-starhas:blue-starhas:green-starhas:red-banghas:orange-guillemethas:yellow-banghas:green-checkhas:blue-infohas:purple-question
Learn more at the Gmail Help Center
Search for messages
Search your email, chats, or spaces
- Open Gmail.
- At the top, in the search box, enter your search criteria.
- Press Enter.
- (Chat in Gmail enabled only) Choose where to search by clicking Mail, Conversations, or Spaces:
- Mail searches your email.
- Conversations searches existing messages in chats and spaces.
- Spaces searches the names of spaces that you have joined and spaces that you can join.
Narrow your email search
At the top of your inbox, search for one or more keywords that appear anywhere in the email—in the subject, body, or sender name.
If you’re looking for something specific, click Show search options to use advanced search.
Example: Search for:
- Senders—Example: From:([email protected])
- Date ranges—Example: after:2019/3/29 before:2019/4/5
- Keywords—Example: Company confidential
- Message attributes, such as attachments—Example: has:attachment
Learn more at the Gmail Help Center
Summarize email with Gemini
You can use this feature only if your organization supports it. For help, contact your administrator. Gemini for Google Workspace is available when your Google account language is set to an English dialect. Additionally, some features are available in Spanish and Portuguese. Learn more about language availability.
Get started with Gemini in Gmail
- On your iPhone or iPad, open the Gmail app
.
- At the top right, next to the search bar, tap Gemini
.
- At the bottom, in the panel:
- Tap a suggested prompt.
- At the bottom, in the prompt box, enter a prompt.
- Optional: To remove your history, at the top right, tap Clear history
.
.Tip: To avoid the loss of your history, copy a suggestion into your email. When you close and reopen the Gmail app, you lose your conversation history.
Explore Gemini in Gmail
| Action | Description |
|---|---|
|
Ask Gemini |
Open Gemini. |
|
Close |
Close Gemini. |
|
Clear history |
Remove all generated text. |
|
Copy |
Copy a suggestion. |
|
Good suggestion |
Give positive feedback about a response from Gemini. |
|
Bad suggestion |
Report an issue with a response from Gemini. |
Things to ask Gemini in Gmail
Summarize an email thread- At the top of the email, or when Gemini is open, tap Summarize this email.
- You can also enter a prompt. For example:
- “Create a list of action items for me based on this email.”
- “Explain this email to me like I’m 5 years old.”
You can get information on reservations, flights, packages, and other emails sent to your inbox through Gemini. For example:
- “When is my package arriving?”
- “What time is my next flight?”
You can search for unread emails from a specific date range and from specific people with Gemini. It loads the results in a Gmail search. For example:
- “Show my unread emails.”
- “Emails from [person] sent last week.”
- “Show unread emails from this week.”
- “Where can I edit my email filters?”
- "How can I create a label?”
Important: To get answers from the web, make sure to include phrases like “Use Google Search” or “Using web search” in your prompt.
- “Write a paragraph describing the weather today in Mountain View, California using web search.”
- “Help me write a paragraph explaining if lightning can strike the same place twice using only information from the web.”
Learn more at the Gmail Help Center
Archive email instead of deleting
Archived email messages move out of your inbox but stay under All Mail, so that you can find them later.
Archive an email
- On your computer, open Gmail.
- Open the message you want to archive.
- At the top, click Archive
.
Tips:
- To archive multiple messages, click the box next to each message
- To archive a message with keyboard shortcuts, press E. Learn more about keyboard shortcuts.
Find archived messages
Important: When you search in Gmail, your results include archived messages. Learn more about search in Gmail.
- On your computer, open Gmail.
- On the left, click More.
- Click All Mail.
Learn more at the Gmail Help Center
Delete email permanently
When you delete a message, it stays in your trash for 30 days. After 30 days, the message is permanently deleted from your account and can't be recovered.
- On your computer, go to Gmail.
- On the left of each message you want to delete, check the box.
- At the top, click Delete
.
Learn more at the Gmail Help Center
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