Apple's Mail App to Get AI-Powered Email Summary and Prioritization
Apple is poised to revolutionize its email application, Mail, by introducing AI-powered email summary and prioritization systems on iPads and Macs. This move follows the successful integration of these features on iPhones, although not all iPhone users have adopted them.
What's Coming?
The upcoming update will bring a new user interface in Mail and utilize artificial intelligence to prioritize incoming email communications with smart categorization. This feature has already been available on iPhones, but with some differences in how it's implemented. The system uses AI to assign categories to incoming emails, making it easier for users to manage their inbox.
- All Mail: All your emails in order of receipt.
- Primary: Emails that Apple Intelligence thinks are important to you.
- Transactions: Invoices, shopping receipts, and key messages from services and organizations.
- Updates: Subscriptions and newsletters.
- Promotions: Marketing emails with special offers and deals.
Time-sensitive messages will automatically appear in the Primary category, ensuring that important deliveries don't get missed. The AI system will also prioritize emails it believes are more important, placing them at the top of the Primary mailbox.
How to Manage Categories
While the AI system can make educated guesses about categorizing incoming emails, users have some control over how these categories work. On an iPhone, you can intervene by opening a message and tapping the three dots at the top right of the page.
A menu will appear with an option to Categorize Sender, allowing you to assign specific senders to more relevant categories or leave automatic categorization on if preferred. Currently, users cannot create custom groupings like projects or workgroups, but most observers believe this feature will be introduced eventually.
Had You Noticed?
The new tools will also come with a report that shows how many messages are seen as being important, along with statistics on receipts, orders, and delivery-related emails received in the last seven days. The frequency and magnitude of promotional email received will also be tracked.
- How many messages are deemed to matter the most.
- The number of receipts, orders, and delivery-related emails received in the last seven days.
- The frequency and magnitude of promotional email received.
What Else Is Coming?
The new tools will likely appear as Apple introduces new contextual awareness to its devices. Siri will be able to answer questions related to what's on your screen or in your apps, making it easier to engage in tasks like adding address data to contact cards or checking dinner dates.
What People Think
When Apple first introduced these features, some users were critical of the icons used and didn't understand how to manage the new features or layout within Mail. However, control remained in their hands as disabling categories is simple on an iPhone.
To disable categories on an iPhone, open Mail, tap the three dots at the top right of the app, and then tap List View. This returns Mail to its traditional time-based list view of incoming messages.
Which Devices Can Use the Feature?
The new Mail tools will be available on most Apple devices capable of running the latest version of Apple's operating systems, meaning recent device requirements are not necessary for using these tools.
When Will These Tools Reach iPads and Macs?
We anticipate the new Mail features to arrive on iPads and Macs starting with the next major update in April after extensive beta testing. This means you can expect the new Mail tools to arrive with iPad OS 18.4 and macOS 15.4, which should appear in spring.