Users of Google's email service may notice something different about Gmail over the next few days. That's because the company is rolling out the new Gmail Priority Inbox feature. Conceptually, think of it like Gmail's spam filter, just in reverse.
In fact, just like the spam section in Gmail, priority messages will now be filtered into their own area. It's unclear whether or not they'll show up in your regular list as well — though we imagine they will.
So, how does Google's service decide? It's based on a surprising number of things, actually, including how often you read an email from a sender, how often and quickly you reply, the kind of keywords that Gmail determines interests you, and even if it's plainly deemed important, such as a flight reservation. If you find that Gmail is missing the mark, you can help out the system by manually marking a message as more or less important.
So, does this sound like the kind of thing that will revolutionize your email experience? Honestly, I open every email I get and regularly clear out my spam. For me, personally, this sounds like a section of Gmail that I'll never bother with, but I guess I'll have to wait and see.
Google Blog, via PC World
