Playbook
AI email assistant in Gmail with Gemini
Direct answer
Help me write inside Gmail is an email assistant only if the account has it. Google lists it as global on eligible paid plans and US-only on unpaid personal Gmail. On 25 October 2026 the US plans page showed Plus at $4.99 a month and Pro at $19.99. You still send. This has not been live-tested.
- Time to set up
- About 30 minutes, once the button is visible
- Difficulty
- beginner
- Monthly cost, USD
- $4.99 a month for Plus and $19.99 for Pro on the US plans page, if you need a paid plan
- Monthly cost, GBP
- About £4 and £15 at the planning rate, from those US list prices
- Last tested
- Not yet tested
- Updated
- 25 October 2026
On 25 October 2026 the Google AI plans page, headed United States, listed Google AI Plus at $4.99 a month and Google AI Pro at $19.99 a month. An earlier fetch the same day had only a structured-data starting-at figure and no card price in the text. About £4 and £15 use £1 = $1.33, rounded to the nearest pound. Read the card for your country. It is not a quote.
GBP figures are a budgeting conversion at £1 = $1.33 and €1 = £0.86, rounded to the nearest pound, fixed for this edition on 24 October 2026. They are not a live rate and not a quote. Vendor list prices are usually quoted before tax.
Primary tool: Gemini · Also uses Gmail
Who it is for
A sole trader who already lives in Gmail and wants the draft in the message, and who will check the plan before paying for a Google AI subscription.
Labels still come first. A faster draft of the wrong pile is not an assistant. Set up inbox triage if the mailbox is a mix of customers and noise, then use this page only when Help me write is actually on the account.
The email comparison puts the two drafts side by side. It is not a timed test.
What you need
- A Gmail account you already use for the business.
- Labels for real customers, from the triage playbook, before you draft faster.
- A rule that prices, dates, and refunds are typed by you if they are not already in the thread.
Step by step
01
Look for Help me write before you pay
Open a reply in Gmail on the computer. If Help me write is there, you can try this guide without a new subscription. If it is missing, stop. Google's help page says personal Gmail accounts without a paid plan have Help me write in the US only. A UK sole trader on a free personal account should not hunt for a hidden switch.
02
If you are asked to upgrade, read the card
Eligible Google AI Plus, Pro, or Ultra plans, and eligible Workspace plans, are listed as having Help me write globally for several languages, including English. On 25 October 2026 the US plans page showed Plus at $4.99 a month with 400 GB and Pro at $19.99 a month with 5 TB. An earlier fetch the same day did not show those card prices. Pay only the price on the card in front of you.
03
Draft from the thread, not from a wish
Select Help me write and ask for a short reply in your own tone. If the thread does not contain a price, a date, or a refund rule, the prompt must say so. Paste nothing about card numbers, health, children, or a client's confidential file. A consumer plan is a poor place for that material.
04
Read it, then send it yourself
The draft is not the email. Check the name, the day, and any number. Then press send. Do not look for a setting that sends replies while you are on a job. The triage playbook's labels should already have separated newsletters from customers, so you are not drafting a reply to a receipt.
05
Keep a note of what the button refused
If Help me write vanishes, or it will not draft in English, the account's plan or country availability has changed. Fall back to the ChatGPT triage playbook, which copies a draft out of a separate Project. Do not keep paying for a plan whose button you cannot find. Tell us, via the contact form, what the screen showed.
What can go wrong
Assuming free UK Gmail includes it
The help page's own table says otherwise for personal accounts without a paid plan. Check the account. Do not follow a US screenshot.
Paying the US card price from this page
$4.99 and $19.99 were on the United States view on 25 October 2026. Your country may show a different figure. The card in front of you wins.
Letting the draft invent a promise
A tidy sentence that offers Thursday or a discount is still a promise. Delete it if you did not mean it. You send the mail.
UK notes
Costs, including VAT
About £4 is $4.99 at £1 = $1.33, and about £15 is $19.99, rounded to the nearest pound, from the rate fixed on 24 October 2026. Those dollars were the United States cards on 25 October 2026. They are not a UK price and not a quote. Workspace is a different product. VAT treatment depends on the invoice. Read it.
Data flow
The text of a customer email is personal data. Help me write processes it inside Google's service, which you already use for Gmail. That is a smaller jump than pasting the thread into a separate chat, and it is still a processor relationship you should understand. Do not paste special-category data. Google's help page is the availability source. The privacy notice on this site does not cover your customers' mail.
HMRC and Making Tax Digital
A Google AI plan used for the business is usually a cost you can discuss with your accountant. It does not file a return. Making Tax Digital, if you are in scope, still needs compatible record software. A tidier inbox is not a quarterly update.
Practical orientation for a UK reader. Not tax, legal, or accounting advice.
Test log
Status: Pending first test
25 October 2026 · pending
Pending first test. The steps were compiled from Google's Gmail help and the AI plans page and have not been run on a live UK mailbox.
Sources
- Learn about Gemini features in Gmail — accessed 25 October 2026
- Google AI plans — accessed 25 October 2026
- ICO guide to UK GDPR — accessed 25 October 2026
Disclosure
AgentShed is independent and this playbook is not sponsored. There is no affiliate link on this page. If that changes, the link will use rel="sponsored" and a sentence beside it will say so. The verdict is not for sale.
Questions people ask
Why not just use the free ChatGPT playbook?
You can. That guide drafts beside Gmail and you paste the reply. This one is for people who want the draft inside the message and have confirmed the button exists. The comparison page is the short version.
Does proofreading need the same plan?
The help page lists Proofread on Google AI Plus, Pro, or Ultra, and on eligible Workspace. It is a different row from Help me write. Check the row for the button you mean to use.
Will you add the UK price later?
When someone opens the plans page from a UK account and sends the figure, with the date, the cost note can name it. Until then this page refuses to invent one.
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When this page is re-tested
One email when the log changes. No sequence of lessons.