Gmail is getting quick action buttons that let you RSVP to events, rate restaurants, view flights, and more
Google on Wednesday announced the addition of a new Gmail feature called quick actions. These new buttons will be rolling out “over the next few weeks,” so don't fret if you don't see them yet.
Context & Ripple Effects
Google had already started turning message text into workflow: its May 3 update let users add Calendar events from dates and times in Gmail. Quick actions extend that approach from identifying event details to carrying out selected tasks from the inbox.
The rollout makes Gmail less a destination for reading messages and more an interface for handling the transactions those messages describe.
First-order effects
- Gmail users receiving supported event, restaurant and flight messages gain in-inbox controls for RSVPs, ratings and flight details as the feature reaches their accounts.
Second-order effects
- Google's earlier Calendar integration becomes part of a broader Gmail workflow, in which message content can trigger a completed action rather than merely expose information.
Third-order effects
- If Gmail keeps adding supported actions, email-client competition shifts toward owning the decision and transaction layer around messages, not just message storage and search.
The trend: Email is evolving from a passive communications archive into an action-oriented interface built around the structured information inside messages.