Gmail Now Summarizes Some Emails Before Prospects Read Them. Write for That.
Some of your client's prospects no longer see the first line of their email in the inbox. On eligible accounts, Gmail's mobile app can replace the message preview with a two-line Gemini summary. Others get a summary card at the top of longer threads.
That changes who writes the first impression. It is partly the AI now. This post covers what Google has actually shipped, who sees it, and how to write cold email that survives being summarized.
What Google shipped
Google announced Gemini summary cards for the Gmail app on Android and iOS on May 29, 2025. Before that, users had to tap "Summarize this email." Now summaries appear "at the top of the email content for messages where a summary is helpful, such as longer email threads or messages with several replies," and they update as new replies arrive.
Google's help page for inbox summaries adds more detail. Where available, Gemini can generate summaries that:
- are up to two lines long,
- appear in the inbox below the subject line,
- replace the message preview, and
- update when new information arrives in the thread.
Some messages get summaries and others do not, and both can appear in the same inbox.
Who sees it
This matters for B2B outbound because of who is eligible. The summary cards rolled out to Google Workspace Business and Enterprise plans, plus some Google AI and education plans, starting with English-language email on mobile. Plenty of B2B prospects read work email on a Workspace account.
There are limits:
- Users need Workspace smart features turned on. Google says these are off by default in the EEA, Japan, Switzerland, and the UK.
- Admins can control the default setting for their organization.
- Users can turn summaries off, though that also turns off other smart features.
So you cannot assume any one prospect sees a summary. You can assume some do, and because of those regional defaults, US prospects are more likely to than prospects in Europe or the UK.
What this means for cold email
Most cold-email advice about first lines was written for the preview text. If the preview is replaced, a clever opener that only makes sense in full context may never be seen. The summary will describe what the email is about, whether or not you wanted it described that way.
That favors emails that are clear rather than coy:
- Say the point plainly in the body. A summary model will look for the ask. If the email's real purpose is buried under three sentences of rapport, the summary may describe the rapport and miss the ask, or state the ask more bluntly than you would.
- One email, one ask. Two questions and a link give the summary three things to choose from. One clear question gives it one.
- Lead with the reason you are writing to this person. The specific evidence (a hiring post, a product launch, a public comment) is what separates a relevant email from a mass one. Put it where a summarizer will pick it up.
- Do not write for the robot. Hidden text, keyword stuffing, or instructions aimed at the AI are a bad idea. Google's sender guidelines already say not to use HTML and CSS to hide content, and that hidden content can get messages marked as spam.
- Keep follow-ups short. Summaries are more likely on longer threads. A four-step sequence with long quoted history gives the summary plenty to compress, and your newest point may get lost in it. Make each follow-up stand on its own in a few lines.
A useful test: paste a draft into any AI assistant and ask for a two-line summary. If the result does not include who you are, why you wrote to this person, and what you are asking, rewrite the email.
Do not panic about it either
Summaries do not change deliverability, authentication, or sending limits. They change how a delivered email is read on some phones. Emails that were already short, specific, and honest about their purpose read fine summarized. The ones that suffer were relying on curiosity gaps.
Where GTM fits
GTM writes each email from the prospect's profile and signals in the client's voice, and sequences stop on reply. Writing from evidence, not from templates built around a hook, is the kind of email that holds up when a summary sits in front of it.
If you run outbound for several clients and want writing that states its point, join the waitlist.
Sources
- Google Workspace Updates, "New Gemini summary cards now available in the Gmail app on Android and iOS devices" (May 29, 2025): https://workspaceupdates.googleblog.com/2025/05/gemini-summary-cards-gmail-app.html
- Gmail Help, "Get short summaries of messages with Gemini in Gmail": https://support.google.com/mail/answer/16296468
- Google Workspace Blog, May 2025 feature drop: https://workspace.google.com/blog/product-announcements/may-workspace-feature-drop-new-ai-features
- Google, "Email sender guidelines": https://support.google.com/mail/answer/81126