Google says Gemini in Gmail doesn’t use your email content to train Gemini or other generative AI models, and doesn’t store your prompts or the text it generates without your permission. That’s the short answer. The longer one is that Gmail’s “smart features” do process your email to power things like Smart Compose, package-tracking cards and automatic sorting, and Google says that data “may be used to improve these features.” If you connect Gmail to the separate Gemini app, different rules apply.
Here’s what each setting does, what Google’s own help pages say about training, and how to decide what to switch off.
What are Gmail’s smart features? #
Gmail has three separate smart feature settings, according to Google’s help page. Each can be turned on or off independently:
| Setting | What it powers |
|---|---|
| Smart features in Gmail, Chat and Meet | Smart Compose (suggested text), Smart Reply, automatic inbox categories, summary cards above emails for things like travel and package tracking |
| Smart features in Google Workspace | Using Gmail data in other Workspace apps, such as flight itineraries showing up in Calendar, and Gemini features like summarizing and drafting |
| Smart features in other Google products | Using Gmail data outside Workspace, such as restaurant reservations in Maps and suggested items in Wallet (personal accounts) |
All three work by letting Google’s systems read the content of your email. That’s how Gmail knows a message is a flight confirmation and adds it to your calendar.
Does Gemini in Gmail train on your emails? #
On its page about how Gemini in Gmail protects your data, Google says Gemini in Gmail “doesn’t use your content to train or improve Gemini or other generative AI models” and “doesn’t store your prompt or the generated output without your permission.”
So when you ask Gemini inside Gmail to summarize a thread or draft a reply, Google’s stated position is that your emails aren’t feeding the next version of Gemini.
Two qualifications matter:
- Smart features improve themselves with your data. Google’s smart features page says that when smart features are on, “your data may be used to improve these features,” and that “the learnings developed from this improvement process may persist even after you turn off a smart feature setting.” That’s improving features like Smart Compose, which is different from training Gemini, but it’s still your email being used.
- The Gemini app is a separate product. If you use a personal account and connect Gmail to the Gemini app, Google says that data is processed under the Gemini app’s terms and policies, where it “may be used for model training and improvement.”
What happens when you connect Gmail to the Gemini app? #
The Gemini app (on your phone or at gemini.google.com) can pull in information from Gmail when you allow it. Once it does, your conversation, including what it read from your email, is handled under the Gemini Apps privacy rules. According to Google’s Gemini Apps privacy hub:
- with Keep Activity on (the default), chats are auto-deleted after 18 months unless you choose 3 or 36 months or no auto-delete
- with Keep Activity off, chats are still kept for 72 hours
- a subset of chats is reviewed by human reviewers, and reviewed chats are kept for up to three years, even if you delete your activity
That’s a meaningful difference from Gemini inside Gmail. If you’re cautious, keep sensitive email out of the Gemini app, or turn off Keep Activity. We compare the major chatbots’ review and retention rules in do humans read your AI chats?
How to turn off Gmail smart features #
- Open Gmail’s settings. On the web, click the gear icon, then See all settings. In the mobile app, open the menu, tap Settings, then your account.
- Find the smart features options.
- Uncheck the ones you want off. Google may ask you to confirm, since turning them off disables features.
- Check each of the three settings separately; turning off one doesn’t turn off the others.
Menus change over time. If you can’t find the option, search Google’s Gmail help for “smart features.”
What do you lose if you turn them off? #
Google is clear that turning a setting off also turns off the features it powers:
| If you turn off | You lose |
|---|---|
| Smart features in Gmail, Chat and Meet | Automatic Primary/Promotions/Social tabs, Smart Compose, Smart Reply, summary cards |
| Smart features in Google Workspace | Flights and events added to Calendar automatically, Gemini features in Workspace apps |
| Smart features in other Google products | Reservations in Maps, items in Wallet |
For many people, the inbox tabs are the feature they miss most. If you mainly want to keep your email away from the Gemini app, you can leave Gmail’s own smart features on and simply not connect Gmail to Gemini.
Should you turn Gmail smart features off? #
It depends on what’s in your inbox and how you feel about automated processing.
- Leave them on if you like package tracking, calendar auto-add and Smart Compose, and your email is mostly routine. Google’s stated policy is that Gemini in Gmail doesn’t train on it.
- Turn off the cross-product settings if you don’t want Gmail data flowing into Maps, Wallet and other Workspace apps, while keeping Gmail’s own features.
- Turn them all off if your inbox holds medical, legal or financial correspondence you’d rather no automated system process for feature improvement.
These settings sit alongside your phone’s own AI features. Our guide to phone AI privacy settings covers the iPhone, Pixel and Galaxy side.
What about pasting emails into other chatbots? #
Copying an email into ChatGPT, Claude or another chatbot to get help replying is a different question: it depends on that company’s policies, not Google’s. We cover what happens to pasted email, and how to strip out personal details first, in is it safe to paste emails into ChatGPT?
Drafting email replies without sending them anywhere #
If you want AI help with a sensitive email, such as a reply to a doctor’s office, a lawyer or an HR department, the most private option is an AI that runs on your own phone.
Personal LLM runs open AI models like Qwen 3.5 and Gemma 4 directly on iPhone and Android. You paste the email, ask for a summary or a reply draft, then copy the result back into Gmail. There’s no account and no server, and after the one-time model download it works in airplane mode, so the email text never leaves the phone. It doesn’t connect to Gmail and can’t read your inbox, which is the point: it only sees what you paste in. A phone-sized model writes shorter, simpler drafts than Gemini, so it’s best for replies where privacy matters more than polish.
Frequently asked questions #
Does Google read my Gmail to train AI? #
Google says Gemini in Gmail doesn’t use your content to train Gemini or other generative AI models. Gmail’s smart features do process your email to power features, and Google says that data may be used to improve those features.
Is it safe to use Gemini in Gmail? #
For routine email, Google’s stated protections are that your content isn’t used to train its generative models and your prompts and outputs aren’t stored without permission. If you connect Gmail to the separate Gemini app on a personal account, Gemini Apps’ own retention and review rules apply.
What happens if I turn off smart features in Gmail? #
You lose features that depend on reading your email: inbox categories, Smart Compose, Smart Reply, summary cards, and automatic calendar and Maps entries, depending on which of the three settings you turn off.
Can I stop Gemini from reading my emails? #
Don’t connect Gmail to the Gemini app, and turn off the smart features in Google Workspace setting, which covers Gemini features in Workspace apps. Check each of the three smart feature settings, since they’re controlled separately.