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7 Clever Features We Wish Gmail Could Provide

From tracking, templates... to scheduling and professional signatures: discover 7 clever features that are currently missing from Gmail.

First published

10.10.2018

Last edited

07.03.2024

Read time

5 minutes


    By James

    James has seven years' experience as a Content Marketer, bylines on Left Foot Forward, Submittable, and INOMICS, and a Master's in History. In his free time he likes to read, play guitar, and write for his personal blog.

    Gmail is easily one of the best email services with its advanced functionalities and powerful search.

    But it's still far away from being the perfect email organizational system that pushes the concept of an email forward in 2023.

    In this article, we rounded up 7 clever features that are currently missing from Gmail that can instantly boost every Gmail user's daily productivity.

    Find out when someone opens your email

    Tracking is one of the most powerful tools for modern email workflow. It allows busy workers to get deeper insights into their recipients' open status.

    For example, with tracking, you can plan the content of your next follow-up based on whether the recipient has opened your previous email.

    A feature like Email Tracking enables Gmail users to stay informed about when, where, and how often their email has been opened or when a link has been clicked.

    ➡️ Use Gmail Email Tracking to find out what happens after you hit send

    Schedule your emails in Gmail for later

    With a feature such as Email Scheduling, Gmail users can optimize delivery time and date. This means you can be as flexible as you want with what time you want to plan your emails, and decide exactly when they arrive in your recipient's inbox.

    Your Gmail Inbox, Smarter

    Improve your productivity. Get more done out of your inbox.

    Imagine getting off 5 pm in the evening and scheduling all your emails to be sent at 9 am the next morning - how awesome is that?

    Mailbutler's Send Later feature can also schedule your emails to be sent at the time which maximizes your chances of receiving a response with its Recipient Optimized Scheduling functionality.

    Send Later is a must-have for every Gmail user who wants to manage their emails more productively.

    Create professional email signatures

    Nowadays email signatures have become a must-have for any business email user to strengthen their online presence and brand visibility.

    No matter if you're a start-up, a freelancer, or a student looking to land your first job - a well-designed email signature helps you deliver professionalism and could be used as a powerful marketing channel.

    We wish Gmail could provide a feature that lets you easily create professional and beautiful signatures that you can insert directly into your emails.

    Extended reading: Complete guide to create email signatures

    Time-saving Message Templates

    We've all written the same email content over and over again.

    For example, anyone working in customer support and using GSuite to answer inquiries will understand this problem.

    With a feature like Message Templates, Gmail users can breeze into a professional and productive email routine.

    If users can save pre-written messages and simply insert them when composing a message, this could save precious hours of everybody's email time.

    Add sticky notes and tasks to Gmail messages

    Notes and tasks on Mailbutler

    Sometimes an email requires a little memo to mark down important details that we can want to keep to ourselves. Other times, emails should be turned into actionable to-do’s.

    Often we get overwhelmed when checking our emails, because there's no easy way to note things down or to turn messages into next steps.

    This is why we think the following two features in Gmail will greatly improve everyone's productivity: adding memo notes and turning emails into task items.

    ➡️ Imagine post-it notes in your Gmail inbox

    Get reminded to follow-up on forgotten emails

    We've all panicked about losing track of conversations in our inbox because there's simply too much to keep up with.

    While Gmail now offers a handy AI-powered Nudge feature, it is still heavily lacking in flexibility.

    For example, Gmail doesn't remind me that my recipient has not responded to my last email.

    A killer feature in Gmail that would help any professional in sales, customer support, or freelancers to always stay on track with customer and client emails is follow-up tasks.

    ➡️Add handy reminders in your emails

    Increase team productivity in Gmail

    There are plenty of features we think can improve team productivity in Gmail for professionals and groups using GSuite/Gmail as their business email solution.

    Features like synced email signature templates, shared email snippets and shared reminders in Gmail can let everyone harness the power of teamwork effortlessly within their Gmail inbox.

    Thankfully, all of the 7 missing features in Gmail mentioned can be added instantly to your inbox with one powerful plugin:

    Step up your Gmail game with Mailbutler, a feature-packed productivity extension for Chrome

    Mailbutler is a powerful Chrome extension that boosts Gmail productivity to the next level, with features to help you manage your emails in no time.

    All of Mailbutler’s features are seamlessly integrated with Gmail’s beautiful Material Design interface:

    Once you install Mailbutler, the first thing you'll spot is the mint green compose button. This means Mailbutler is now up and running!

    Those were just a few things that Mailbutler can do. Our latest updates come with a list of feature improvements, new integrations and a freshly redesigned Dashboard!

    Are you ready to email more productively? Mailbutler for Gmail is available for free on the Chrome web store - share this post with a Gmail user who needs a little help with their inbox!

    Gmail features FAQs

    What features should be in Gmail?

    Gmail is without a doubt one of the best email clients currently on the market, but that doesn’t mean it’s perfect.

    There are quite a few useful features Gmail lacks, including:

    • Email tracking. Gmail doesn’t allow you to see when and how many times your emails and the links you included in them have been opened. Keeping track of your email messages is extremely important as it helps you determine when and whom you should follow up with.
    • Advanced email scheduling. Although Gmail lets you schedule your emails to be sent later, it doesn’t allow you to optimize your email delivery times based on your recipients’ email behavior.
    • Professional email signatures. Gmail doesn’t come with any features that let you create professional and aesthetically attractive email signatures quickly and easily.
    • Notes and tasks. Gmail doesn’t allow you to add notes to emails or turn messages into to-do items.
    • To be able to do this, you’ll have to install a reliable Gmail extension. Mailbutler is a powerful Gmail productivity tool that comes with all of the previously mentioned features.

    What are Gmail's new features?

    Gmail’s latest feature is the integrated layout that organizes Mail, Chat, Spaces, and Meet in one place. This update allows you to:

    • Access Google apps via the Gmail main menu
    • Receive notifications about new Chat and Space messages through notification bubbles
    • See what’s going on on each app without switching context

    What are the advantages and features of Gmail?

    Some of Gmail’s smartest features are:

    • Schedule and Snooze (send emails later and temporarily remove them from your inbox)
    • Smart Compose and Smart Reply (both save time)
    • Email nudges and high-priority notices (work as reminders)
    • Automatic email filters and categories
    • Travel info based on confirmation emails
    • Show your calendar status in Gmail
    • Use Gmail offlinе

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