You can say goodbye to cringe-inducing spelling mistakes in professional emails because artificial intelligence is coming to the rescue.
A new update to Gmail will use AI to make smarter spell check suggestions whilst also detecting potential grammar issues. When you make a grammar mistake, a squiggly blue line will appear under the phrase, similar to the way it does in Microsoft Word. By clicking on it, Google will offer up a suggestion which you can choose to accept.
Not only that, but the AI will even autocorrect as you type for improved accuracy. Ever used the Gmail autocomplete function? It’s like that, except for typos, so you barely even know they happen.
It sounds a lot more seamless than the Outlook way of doing things, which asks you to approve all grammar changes before you send off an email.
In a blog post about the new feature, Google says: “If you’re working against deadlines to write a lot of emails daily, correct spelling and grammar probably isn’t top of your mind. These capabilities can also help you write and edit with more confidence if you’re a non-native speaker. With our AI-first approach, you can communicate smarter and faster, without sweating the small stuff.”
The catch is that this feature will only be available for G-Suite customers at first, so if you’re a casual user of Gmail then it might be a while until you get to access the AI help. Until then you can always use Grammarly, the online grammar and spell-checking platform. You can add it as a Google Chrome extension and it is extremely helpful for spotting any errors in your copy.
Alternatively, there’s an app version which integrates with your Android or iPhone keyboard to improve texts and messages. A recent update will suggest even synonyms – helpful for when “sorry” doesn’t cut it in a message or when you want to feel extremely smart in a Twitter smackdown.
