Google Will Now Answer Your Emails For You

On Tuesday, Inbox by Gmail introduced a new way to make your email more manageable. The new Gmail Inbox feature is called Smart Reply, and it will basically answer emails for you. Seriously. Using "machine learning" technology, Smart Reply is able to find emails that can be answered with a simple, quick response, and offers three reply options for the user to select from.

The idea behind the update is that even quick responses can turn into a hassle when you have many of them in your inbox at once. Smart Reply aims to save time and reduce email-induced headaches by doing the "thinking" part of responding for you. Frankly, I could use an extra handful of minutes every day where my brain can stay in low-gear, so I'm pretty excited to give this feature a whirl. I can think of several instances in which it would come in quite handy to be able to move through emails on the double, and now Smart Reply will give us the opportunity to do just that.

Since there isn't really a way to entirely shirk our email responsibilities (I'm hopelessly dependent on mine, especially for work purposes), we can at least take advantage of some shortcuts so that email doesn't take over our lives (especially with the holidays coming up!). Here are some occasions where we'll be grateful for the existence of Smart Reply.

When Your Boss Needs You, But You're On The Run

Maybe there's a big report due at the office this Friday, and your boss has been all over you the entire week. You finally get a moment to snarf down some lunch, when you get a frantic email from your boss wondering "Where the numbers are?!?!" Options from Smart Reply will allow you to quickly allay their concerns and give you time to truly enjoy your Chipotle.

When Your Parents Will Start Thinking You're Hurt If You Don't Respond Right Away

My primary method of communication with my mom is email. Luckily, she learned to stop worrying about my whereabouts years ago, but I know that some parents aren't quite so chill about extended periods of radio silence. If you're out and about or bogged down with work, it would be nice to have a quick and peppy response for mom or dad so that they know you're a-okay.

When Your Ex Emails To Reminisce About Old Times, But You Can't Even

In this situation, "Nope, sorry!" is the only appropriate response, but you probably won't even be in the mood to type that up.

When "That Friend" Won't Stop Emailing With Party Updates

We all have a friend who means well, but can get a little overly enthusiastic about group plans. (I am often this friend ...) When they/I won't leave you alone and have a bunch of questions about upcoming events, Smart Reply will make it so you don't even have to be annoyed with your buddy / party planner.

When You Don't Know How To Start A Longer Email

Another cool feature of Smart Reply is that it can get you started with an opener to an email that will require a longer reply. Usually, whatever opening line I come up with makes me sound like a complete goober, so I think Smart Reply will come to the rescue a lot for me on this front.

When You're That Person Who Waits Until Their Inbox Has 100 Messages Before You Begin To Reply

Now your mountain of emails doesn't have to be so intimidating, and you can actually get back to people who have been waiting forever for you to just email back!

Images: Google; Giphy (6)