A new Gmail update promises to reduce the number of clicks you need to make in a day. On July 2, Google will roll out 'Dynamic Email' to all its users, enabling it by default.
To understand the use of the company's new 'Dynamic Mail' feature, which makes use of Accelerated Mobile Page (AMP) components, you need to picture a common scenario.
You have booked a bus online, using a service like Booking.com, Redbus, MakeMyTrip, Yatra, Goibibo, or the like. A day after your trip, you receive an email while you are at work, asking you to rate the quality of the bus. You see five empty stars and your clicky-finger itches to give a rating. Their presence suggests that you can immediately file a review and get back to your other emails and/or life.
But, the stars are not self-sufficient. When you click on them, you are instead taken to another website — the real review page — where you must submit your full review. There is no way to give your feedback in-email, without having to open a new browser tab.
This is where dynamic email changes the game. You can now sort out your business within your email — no more being redirected to a new tab. Whether it is to reply to a poll, give a review, collaborate on a Google Doc or RSVP for an event, dynamic email elements turn your emails from a static message with links in it to a dynamic experience that can even run apps.
Some companies have already tied up with Gmail to integrate this feature — you can now browse hotels in OyoRooms emails without stepping out of your email. In the Gmail blog post, Google claims that Oyo saw a 60 per cent conversion lift increase after it started integrating AMP features into its emails.
For web developers, website owners and those who run a newsletter, AMP features can increase the interactions available with users. For users, it can mean more ways of getting stuff done from your inbox.
How to tell if an email is dynamic? You will see a lightning bolt next to the mail.
There are caveats to dynamic messages, however. Writing in Tech Crunch, Devin Coldewey has warned that AMP content is yet another step for Google to monopolize the internet and access to it. The argument that emails should remain static is also grounded in the prediction that the companies making the most use of dynamic content will be advertisers.
In addition, the privacy and security risks for dynamic emails are yet to be discerned. As of now, Google promises that dynamic emails will be "safeguarded by best-in-class privacy and security protections".
How appealing dynamic emails will become will depend on how companies craft them. To make sure the feature is not abused, Google requires verification before dynamic emails can be sent. To get verified, click here.
If you want to disable them, here is how you can do so:
- Navigate to your Gmail settings
- Look for 'Dynamic email'
- Turn it off .
- Click Save Changes.
For GSuite admins, there is also an option to disable or enable it for your users (it will be enabled by default). You need to navigate to Apps > G Suite > Settings for Gmail > User settings, where you will see the option to turn Dynamic Emails on or off.
