Google is making Gmail summaries more useful and adding a ‘Happening Soon’ tab

Google is expanding Gmail’s summary cards, the service’s AI-driven contextual snippets extracted for things like incoming packages. Starting today, they’ll include cards for purchases, events, bills and travel. In addition, a new Happening Soon section will live at the top of your inbox, showing upcoming time-sensitive cards. The company says it’s making the changes because “email habits have continued to evolve.”

The new Happening Soon section will deliver “timely” summary cards at the top of your inbox. For example, when you open Gmail, you might see a card showing that an order you placed last week is out for delivery today. Google says all its summary cards are dynamic and updated in real time.

Where appropriate, summary cards will also include action buttons. Google describes action buttons’ appeal as “no more digging for buried links.”

Purchase summary cards will let you track packages, view order details and keep tabs on online orders. Event cards will let you view your upcoming events, invite friends or get directions to the venue. Bill summaries will let you see or pay them (or set reminders to pay them in Google Tasks). Finally, Travel summary cards will let you manage reservations, check in for flights and see details like hotel check-in and check-out times.

Google’s release schedule for the new features is a bit complicated. Purchase summary cards for individual emails start rolling out “gradually” beginning today (although some users already reported seeing them earlier this week) on Android and iOS. Cards for the other categories for individual emails and the Happening Soon section will arrive “in the coming months.” And the four card categories showing everywhere (individual emails, Gmail search and Happening Soon) will come “in the future.” So, you’ll need to hang tight before you can try Google’s full summary card experience.