Google is rolling out Gemini in Gmail to all Google Workspace work and school accounts for users 18 and older. That means AI Overview thread summaries and Help me write, and both arrive switched on. Users can turn them off, but Google’s documented way to stop the summaries also turns off other tools.
What Gemini in Gmail adds for Workspace accounts
Google announced the expansion on its Workspace Updates blog on November 10, 2026. AI Overview summarizes an email conversation for you. Help me write drafts messages, and Google labels this one as the non-personalized version.
Neither tool is brand new. Google says both were previously available to consumer accounts and to specific Workspace editions. What changes now is reach: every Google Workspace customer and Workspace Individual subscriber gets them. Google’s availability list also names personal accounts aged 18 and over with smart features in Gmail enabled. Those consumer accounts already had the tools.
Google is direct about the default: “These features will be ON by default and can be disabled by the user.”
The rollout is gradual. It started on November 10 for both Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains. Google says the features can take up to 15 days to become visible.
On Android, open a thread and tap Summarize this email at the top to get a summary. To hide an AI Overview on a single thread, tap Minimize.
The catch with turning it off
Google’s help page for AI Overview says you can turn off smart features if you don’t want the summaries. The same page warns that this also disables other tools across Gmail and other Workspace apps. Google names AI-assisted writing and proofreading as examples.
That is a broad switch for someone who only wants the summaries gone. With the feature on by default, the work of opting out falls on each user. Google’s documented exit also takes away more than the one feature they objected to. Google has made similar default-on choices before, as with Gemini’s Notebook connected app.
On work and school accounts, your admin may control these settings. Workspace admins can also disable Gemini features in Gmail for their whole organisation.
How to turn off Gemini summaries in Gmail
The summaries depend on two settings. One covers smart features in Gmail, Chat, and Meet. The other covers smart features in Google Workspace. Here is how to switch both off from Gmail on a computer:
- Open Gmail on a computer, click Settings, then See all settings.
- On the General tab, go to Smart features and uncheck Turn on smart features in Gmail, Chat, and Meet.
- Still on the General tab, find Google Workspace smart features and click Manage Workspace smart feature settings.
- Toggle off Smart features in Google Workspace, then click Save.
Google says these settings can also be changed in the Gmail app for Android, iPhone and iPad. Changes apply across every device and app where you’re signed in, so doing it once on a computer is enough.
Sources: Google Workspace Updates, Gmail Help (AI Overview), Gmail Help (smart features), Android Authority
