New Labs Experiment for Gmail: Smart Labels
Earlier this month we were reporting that two labels-related experiments graduated out of Gmail Labs. If you missed the announcement, the two experiments in question are 'Hide read labels' and 'Hide Labels from Subjects'. Here are a few words about them.
The 'Hide read labels' experiment, which was rolled out in September 2009, allowed users to hide labels in the “More” menu when they did not contain any unread messages. This experiment made it easier to see which labels contained unread messages – because you didn’t see the labels with no unread messages.
The 'Hide Labels from Subjects' experiment which was rolled out in August 2009, automatically hid the labels from messages in the inbox, thus making more room for the message subjects. This sort of functionality came in handy when you had to access your Gmail inbox on a notebook; because notebooks have a small screen, the label can get in the way and make it hard to see the subject of an email.
We now have to report that a new labels-related experiment has been added to Gmail Labs. The experiment I am talking about is called Smart Labels. Software Engineer Stanley Chen announced the release of the Smart Labels experiment:
“Last year, we launched Priority Inbox to automatically sort incoming email and help you focus on the messages that matter most. Today, we're launching a complementary feature in Gmail Labs called Smart Labels, which helps you classify and organize your email. Once you turn it on from the Labs tab in Settings, Smart Labels automatically categorizes incoming Bulk, Notification and Forum messages, and labels them as such.”
Chen explained that mass mails like newsletters and promotional emails will be put under the Bulk label, messages sent directly to you like receipts and account statements will be put under the Notifications label, and emails from group mailing lists will be put under the Forums label.
It will look like this.
The 'Hide read labels' experiment, which was rolled out in September 2009, allowed users to hide labels in the “More” menu when they did not contain any unread messages. This experiment made it easier to see which labels contained unread messages – because you didn’t see the labels with no unread messages.
The 'Hide Labels from Subjects' experiment which was rolled out in August 2009, automatically hid the labels from messages in the inbox, thus making more room for the message subjects. This sort of functionality came in handy when you had to access your Gmail inbox on a notebook; because notebooks have a small screen, the label can get in the way and make it hard to see the subject of an email.
We now have to report that a new labels-related experiment has been added to Gmail Labs. The experiment I am talking about is called Smart Labels. Software Engineer Stanley Chen announced the release of the Smart Labels experiment:
“Last year, we launched Priority Inbox to automatically sort incoming email and help you focus on the messages that matter most. Today, we're launching a complementary feature in Gmail Labs called Smart Labels, which helps you classify and organize your email. Once you turn it on from the Labs tab in Settings, Smart Labels automatically categorizes incoming Bulk, Notification and Forum messages, and labels them as such.”
Chen explained that mass mails like newsletters and promotional emails will be put under the Bulk label, messages sent directly to you like receipts and account statements will be put under the Notifications label, and emails from group mailing lists will be put under the Forums label.
It will look like this.
