Google's new Inbox addresses clutter

The new service, called Inbox, promises to conquer the problem of overflowing email accounts — a task that a number of apps have attempted but few have accomplished.

Google's effort to restore inbox sanity relies on a few features. For one, the service will automatically bundle conversations into categories, using a similar technology it introduced to Gmail inboxes last year that categorizes emails from retailers or mailing lists. (Those changes, it should be noted, were not universally welcomed.)

With Inbox, the grouped emails will be organized by more precise categories, such as receipts or bank statements. According to a company blog post, users also can teach Inbox to adapt the way it groups messages.

Inbox also will give you highlights from emails to pull out the most important bits, such as real-time package tracking, phone numbers and flight times. Users can set reminders and choose to have messages redelivered at a later time, a featured already offered in apps such as Mailbox and Tipbit. Google also will infuse Inbox with a little of its own secret search sauce called "Assists," which provides information so you can accomplish your to-dos, such as noting the number for the restaurant you have to call for a reservation.

Just to be clear, you can still use your existing Gmail address and receive messages through Inbox. Or you can just skip the whole experiment and keep everything the same. What Google is attempting here is a rethink of how you interact with email.

Inbox seems to expand on existing Google projects. The company has worked harder to keep people on its own websites rather than sending them off into the Internet at large. Since 2012, for instance, a Google search leads to both results and a summary entry that attempts to directly answer a user's question. That feature saves time and keeps folks on Google's sites.

Another project, called Google Now, pulls together both personal and public information when you search. For example, if you tell Google your favorite sports team, Google Now will show you scores and schedules of that team.

Inbox's interface echoes both of these approaches, but where it fits in Google's product lineup remains to be seen. Google stressed that this is not part of a nefarious plot to kill Gmail, which boasts more than 500 million users.

"Gmail's still there for you, but Inbox is something new," Sundar Pichai, Google's senior vice president of Android, Chrome and apps, said in a company blog post. Pichai did not say when Inbox will be available for everyone.

Google started sending out invitations to Inbox on Wednesday.

Those interested in getting one can send a message to [email protected]. The service will work on Android and iOS devices as well as the Web.