The Best Gmail Add-Ons You Can Install Right Now
Nobody is happy with how email works.
In 2017, Google added the ability to customize Gmail using ” add-ons ” that work in the same vein as the browser extensions found in Chrome and Firefox, but target the web versions of Gmail and Android versions of Gmail. Situated in that thin sidebar on the right side of your inbox, add-ons allow you to customize and use interesting new ways, especially if you already use a variety of supported third-party services.
Most of these add-ons provide you with tools that make it easier to respond to email messages that require action from you. However, Google doubled in size last week and allowed developers to integrate add-ons directly into Gmail’s compose window, opening up the ability for developers to build more comprehensive tools.
When launching add-ons, Google itself described email as the “mission management” of your work life, and the best add-ons make Gmail feel more like a command center than a simple (but towering) to-do list. There aren’t many things you can do yet, but we’ve compiled a list of the best add-ons and explained how they can help you.
Dropbox and Box
If you’re using Dropbox or Box as your cloud storage, these add-ons are some of the first to work with your Gmail compose window. For example, if you have a Dropbox add-on, there will be a Dropbox button in the same toolbar as the attachment paperclip.
You can easily add Dropbox files to new emails you compose, and if you receive an email with attachments, it only takes two clicks to drop them into your Dropbox. If for some reason you need access to Dropbox, there is a quick-open option to get there quickly. All this makes it much faster to attach files stored in any of these services from Gmail.
None of the add-ons are powerful enough for us to recommend switching storage services, but if you use Dropbox or Box and Gmail, the add-on is easy to install.
Trello and Asana
In case you’re not familiar, Trello and Asana are both web-based project management apps. They allow you to visualize and manage factories and large-scale projects with many moving parts. If you use any of these services, the interaction between your email and your control boards is virtually the same as between your email and your calendar — you get important email information that should land on the board. as a new task or as part of an existing one.
These Gmail add-ons make this process very easy. By clicking the Trello or Asana logos in the sidebar, you can import the content of any email into the service, or as a new task to an existing one. You can edit the text of the email before importing, so you don’t have to overload the task with tons of text if your colleagues only need a small snippet.
As with Dropbox and Box, there is nothing here to encourage you to use a particular service. However, if your team uses any of these services, they make them a little easier to use.
DocuSign
DocuSign, a service that allows you to securely use digital signatures on legally binding documents, has a Gmail add-on that lets you send an attached document in an email to DocuSign with just two clicks. It then opens the document in DocuSign too, so you can get to work right away. And this is how convenient service becomes even more convenient.
Increase
Using the Gmail add-on, Zoom’s corporate communications service allows its users to set up calls or video chats directly through Gmail, using contact information in an email or saved in Google. It also allows you to schedule appointments at a later time and check out any scheduled calls you have without opening Zoom or your calendar.
While this was useful, coordinating calls with Zoom has always meant having to manually send invitations or call numbers via email. This add-on seems to provide several potential solutions to one of the service’s larger logistical problems by linking more closely to a utility you are already using.
Hiver
As you may have noticed, these add-ons are becoming more and more niche. Hiver, a third-party Gmail for business service, adds an extra layer of logistics functionality to help colleagues manage and respond to managed email accounts created for groups rather than individuals, such as “support” or “career” addresses.
Hiver adds a “notes” feature that allows you to schedule emails or discuss how to reply to a message, highlights when a colleague has started replying, and allows you to save and share message examples or templates. Basically, it lets you do all the work on your group accounts directly in Gmail, rather than distributing it across apps like Slack or Dropbox.
It’s worth noting that Hiver recommends using its browser extension, which has more features, instead of the Gmail add-on. However, the Gmail add-on is still a boon for Android users and might even be preferred on the web if you switch machines or browsers frequently.
Gfycat
The most important addition had to be left for last.
Gfycat has a Gmail add-on that allows you to quickly search your library for a GIF with a perfect response and send a quick response to it, because sometimes a GIF is all you really want (or have) to say.
Compared to some of the other add-ons, Gfycat seems somewhat … limited. The add-on only lets you send GIFs as a reply to an existing thread of emails, so you can’t use it to randomly send GIF emails. In addition, you have to send the specified response via the add-on, so you will not be able to write an email and select the corresponding GIF afterwards.
Despite its limited effective use, I keep a place in my heart for Gfycat. Of all the add-ons you can get for Gmail, this is by far the most interesting.