Gmail’s new AI search now sorts emails by relevance instead of chronological order 

Google is rolling out a new Gmail update that is designed to help you find the email you’re looking for more quickly. The company announced on Thursday that it will now use AI to consider factors like recency, most-clicked emails, and frequent contacts when surfacing emails based on your search query.

Up until now, Gmail has simply displayed emails in chronological order based on keywords.

“With this update, the emails you’re looking for are far more likely to be at the top of your search results — saving you valuable time and helping you find important information more easily,” the company wrote in a blog post.

Google is also introducing a new toggle so people can switch between “Most relevant” or “Most recent” emails on a search results page. The toggle is aimed at users who prefer seeing search results displayed in chronological order, rather than the new “Most relevant” default option.

The update is rolling out globally for users with personal Google accounts and is available on the web and in the Gmail app for Android and iOS. Google plans to expand the feature to business users in the future.

The launch of the new search functionality comes as Google has been building out its email offering to better compete with Apple’s Mail app, which got a slew of Gmail-like features with iOS 18 last year. For instance, Gmail recently gained a Gemini-powered feature that lets users add events to a Google Calendar directly from an email.

A few months ago, Gmail rolled out “summary cards” that allow users to take actions in their inbox, like tracking packages, checking in for flights, setting reminders, marking bills as paid, and more.

Gmail also introduced the ability for users to chat with Gemini about their inbox directly within the app on both iOS and Android.