Gmail smart labels enable automatic message sorting

INTERNET GIANT Google has revealed that a Gmail Labs feature called 'smart labels' is available, which sorts out messages automatically into three different types.

Gmail already has filters and labels, but these have to be created by the user. So to make sorting your email a little easier, smart labels automatically categorise email messages with three labels.

The first label is 'bulk', which includes any type of mass mailing such as newsletters and promotional emails. These are filtered out of your inbox by default. The second is 'notifications', which are messages sent to you directly, like account statements. The third labels email from group mailing lists, under 'forums'.

If you haven't sorted your email at all yet, you can turn on this feature under the Gmail Labs tab in settings. You can replace the settings you already have, but if you like the way things are you can edit existing folders to prevent them from being smart labelled.

It's still under testing, which is why it is optional. Google boffins often introduce new features like this, and this is one of the reasons that Gmail has become massively popular.

Users can provide feedback about the features, allowing engineers to improve them and decide whether they should escape the lab and become something for everybody. µ