Best Gmail Features for Business

Best Gmail features for business

Beyond visually appealing themes and an easy-to-use interface, Gmail has a ton of free features that will make using email for business a whole lot easier. 

Custom signatures

Don’t waste time copying and pasting your name and contact information at the end of every email. Gmail lets you set up custom signatures that are included automatically at the end of your emails. You can even select when to include the signature, for example, only when composing the email yourself and not when replying.

Out-of-office responses

Whether you are taking a much-needed vacation or stuck in an out-of-town work conference, Gmail will let you set up automatic custom replies quickly to let anyone who contacts you know that you’re away from the office. You can select the dates easily and choose to avoid sending duplicate emails to a sender who contacts you more than once.

Split pane mode

Instead of toggling back and forth between your inbox and messages, you can choose split pane mode to view your inbox and a message at the same time. You can split the screen horizontally or vertically to comfortably and speedily manage your inbox the way you prefer.

30-second unsend 

We’ve all had that moment after clicking send when we realize that we forgot to upload the attachment or worse misspelled our client’s name. Gmail gives you the chance to get a do-over. You can adjust your settings to allow for a 30-second send delay. Once you hit send, a window will pop up for 30 seconds with the option to unsend the email. 

Snoozing

If you receive a time-sensitive email or something you want to address later in the day, you can snooze the message by running your cursor over the right side. This can help you prioritize what’s important while removing clutter from your inbox.

Nudging 

This feature in Gmail resurfaces emails automatically that Google deems time-sensitive. For instance, if a colleague asks a question about a project, that email will resurface before the deadline if you haven’t answered it. Google said this feature mirrors the technology used in smart replies.

Templates

Whether it’s a transactional email to close the deal or a response to customer feedback, you probably find yourself sending the same message over and over again. With Gmail, you can create various email templates in advance and add them to a new message with a click of a button.

Scheduled emails

Let’s face it. At one time or another, we’ve all had to stay up into the wee hours of the night to finish a project. But if you’ve been working until 3 a.m. to finalize a sales pitch, you certainly don’t want to send an after-hours email and have someone’s phone buzz in the middle of the night. Gmail lets you schedule when your email goes out, right from the send button, so you can keep business emails to business hours.

Taskbar

On the right side of the screen, Google has a collapsible bar that you can use to view your calendar, Google Keep notes and any tasks through Google’s task program. This feature turns Gmail into an integrated tool where you can view your schedule, take quick notes and plan important tasks. You can also add apps such as Trello and Asana to this window with the small plus sign under the Tasks icon.

Muting threads

Email threads can improve workplace collaboration by keeping information organized and accessible. But sometimes the frequency of responses can be distracting when you’re trying to get work done. You can mute threads easily so that new messages no longer appear in your inbox. You’ll still be able to find muted messages in your All Mail box and by searching. 

Meeting scheduler 

The back and forth of trying to find a moment to meet can be time-consuming. Instead of sending multiple emails comparing agendas, Gmail accesses your Google calendar to seamlessly include potential time slots in your message. The recipient will see your availability and with one click can select the best time. The meeting will automatically be scheduled in both of your calendars. 

Integrated view

This feature allows you to view each Google messaging app, including Gmail, Google Chat, Google Meet and Google Spaces, on separate screens, offering easy access to different tools.

Navigation menu 

The navigation menu makes it easy to switch between different screens to view one messaging app at a time.

Notification bubbles

Gmail sends notification bubbles anytime you receive a message, so you’ll never miss an alert from one of your Google messaging tools.

Confidential emails

Gmail supports confidential emails, which means you can set an expiration date on emails or revoke them after a certain amount of time. If you’re sending an email with an important document or confidential information, you can set it so the recipient cannot view or open the message after a certain date or time. You can also block the forwarding, copying, downloading and printing of certain messages. One final security feature is two-factor authentication (2FA) for messages. You can require your recipient to verify their identity via 2FA to open a message. This is ideal for companies handling highly sensitive information.

Artificial intelligence (AI) features

AI is transforming business, including how we use email. Google is currently rolling out a bunch of new AI features, but you might not be able to access them all yet. You’re probably already familiar with Smart Compose, which offers suggestions on how to finish a sentence you’ve begun to type. Help Me Write takes things a step further, generating entire messages based on simple prompts. Smart Reply uses AI to scan incoming messages and offer quick response options that you can easily click and send. Summary Cards scans a message for important information, like meeting times or travel details and visualizes that information at the top of the message.

Best add-ons and plug-ins for Gmail

While Gmail is a solid email service on its own, it offers a wealth of integrations to improve team efficiency. Discover some of the best add-ons and plug-ins for Gmail below.

RingCentral for Gmail

With this add-on, you can access the cloud-based phone system from within your email. Once you install the extension, RingCentral contacts, messages and call history display in Gmail message threads. You can also see the online status of your RingCentral connections, send short message service messages and make outbound calls. 

If you don’t use a cloud phone yet, check out our RingCentral review to see if this phone system is right for your business. RingCentral offers phone system plans starting at $20 per user, per month.

Trello for Gmail

The Trello extension for Gmail helps you organize your inbox and work at maximum productivity. You can convert your emails into to-do items, which you can send directly to Trello boards and lists for action. Email subject lines are added as card descriptions automatically, which makes viewing easy and ensures that nothing gets lost. 

Trello has a free service or paid plans starting at $5 per user, per month.

Slack for Gmail

Another great communication tool that you can add to Gmail is Slack, a messaging app and productivity tool that businesses can use to organize employee communications. If your company already uses Slack or is looking for a way to streamline messaging, consider the Slack for Gmail app. It allows you to switch between platforms at your convenience, introduce email content seamlessly into a chat and makes sending attachments and organizing chats more straightforward and accessible. 

You can try Slack for free or subscribe to a paid plan starting at $7.25 per user, per month.

DocuSign

DocuSign is a great add-on for businesses that process documents requiring signatures, as it annotates documents and creates electronic signatures. It can be used by lawyers, marketers, real estate agents, consultants, freelancers or any industry professional whose business depends on official documents being signed and recorded. The DocuSign for Gmail add-on ensures the process of requesting and receiving electronic signatures remains simple and painless. 

Plans start at $10 a month for individuals and $25 per user, per month, for teams.

Boomerang

Boomerang, common among both Gmail and Outlook users, lets you schedule meetings on your calendar with a simple click and provides potent tools to manage your inbox. You can schedule emails, snooze them for later, receive the all-important read receipts and create follow-up reminders for emails on snooze. Because it can collect a variety of data about inboxes and those who respond to (or ignore) messages, this plug-in revolutionizes inbox organization.

The free tier gives you the basic feature set, but mobile tools and advanced machine learning require one of the premium subscriptions that start at $4.98 a month.

FollowUp.cc

Designed exclusively for Gmail, FollowUp.cc offers a 21st-century version of what was once known as a tickler file ― a file folder where you can put everything you plan to get back to later. FollowUp.cc lets you pull up old messages, add notes about contacts and schedule nudges to keep in touch and keep projects moving. You can also see when your emails are opened so that you know when to follow up.

After the 14-day trial, you must choose a subscription plan, starting at $18 per month. There’s also an edition that integrates with Salesforce data and costs $40 per month.

Just Not Sorry

This handy Chrome extension created for Gmail users eliminates phrases like “I just wanted to know” and “sorry about that” in emails, flagging for the writer to approve their usage and learn to avoid the language. Phrases like these fail confident communication practices. You may be surprised how often such phrases creep into emails ― and how much stronger messages sound without them.

You can install the Just Not Sorry extension free of charge.

Evernote

Evernote remains a popular organizational tool that includes several collaboration features. Given how much information comes via email, a one-click way to save something in Evernote can be valuable for list creation, communication and project management.

Evernote makes a plug-in for Outlook, as well as one for Chrome that performs the same functions. Once you save a message, you can add it to a notebook, tag it and throw in a few notes for yourself.

There’s a free version of Evernote or you can opt for more storage and advanced features for $14.17 a month with the Professional plan.

How Gmail works with Google Workspace

Google Workspace is a paid subscription service that combines the entire suite of Google products with advanced features to help businesses work better together.  Apart from Gmail, Calendar and Chat, you get access to multiple Google tools for business products for communication, collaboration, file sharing, data storage and advanced cybersecurity. 

All Google products work together seamlessly. You can, for example, collaborate on a shared file in Docs, and then send the finished product via email directly from the Docs interface without having to open Gmail. Plus, everything is stored in the cloud, so you can access all of your data from anywhere.

Gmail features with Google Workspace

When you upgrade to a Google Workspace, you get some excellent additional Gmail features that provide a superior business email experience. Here are some that stand out:

• Custom email domain name. Instead of the standard @gmail.com, you’ll be able to send emails from a custom domain name featuring your business.
• Additional storage per user. If you share and save a lot of files, especially heavy media files, upgrading to a paid plan provides extra storage so you can keep your files in your email.
• Video conferencing. Start video conferencing with up to 1,000 participants right from your email.
• Extra security. Workspace’s advanced security filters 99.9 percent of spam and phishing emails, protecting your business’s data and infrastructure from email scams and ransomware attacks. 

Google Workspace plans for business

Businesses can opt for one of four paid Workspace plans. All plans require a one-year commitment. 

Why Gmail is right for your business

Gmail is much more than a simple free email service. It is chock-full of features that can help you and your employees work quicker and better. And the best part is, most of the features are free. For larger businesses that need to get more out of their email provider, Google Workplace offers a comprehensive paid suite of products with powered-up features. 

Whichever option is best for you, Gmail will help your business succeed without breaking the bank.

Sean Peek and Matt D’Angelo contributed to this article.