AI writer for Gmail — draft replies in seconds
Most people spend 30-90 minutes a day on Gmail. This guide cuts that in half using AI drafts that actually understand the email you're replying to. Setup takes 60 seconds. Uses WriterPi's Chrome sidebar.
Why AI in Gmail is different from other extensions
Gmail already has "Smart Reply" — the three tiny suggested phrases at the bottom of a thread. Those are useless for anything longer than "thanks" or "sounds good". They're not writing your reply, they're guessing at three-word acknowledgements.
A real AI writer reads the whole thread, understands what the sender is asking, and drafts a full reply in the tone you pick. That's what WriterPi does. No switching tabs, no copy-pasting into ChatGPT, no losing context.
Setup — 60 seconds
- Install WriterPi from the Chrome Web Store.
- Pin the icon (click the puzzle piece in your Chrome toolbar → pin WriterPi).
- Open Gmail. Open any email thread.
- Click the WriterPi icon. Sidebar opens on the right.
- At the bottom of the sidebar, turn on the "Page" toggle. That tells WriterPi to read your Gmail thread.
Done. Now type any of the prompts below.
Prompts that work well in Gmail
For accepting / agreeing
- "Reply saying yes to the meeting on Wednesday, keep it short"
- "Confirm I'll send the report by Friday, professional tone"
- "Accept the invite politely, mention I might be 5 minutes late"
For declining
- "Politely decline this pitch, don't burn the bridge"
- "Say no to the meeting, offer email as alternative"
- "Decline the freelance offer but keep them in the loop for future"
For asking questions
- "Ask them to clarify what deliverable they mean by 'the deck'"
- "Reply with three questions I still need answered before starting"
- "Ask for the specific budget range before I write a proposal"
For chasing / follow-ups
- "Follow up on this invoice they haven't paid, firm but not aggressive"
- "Ping them about last week's message, keep it light"
- "Follow up on my proposal, casual tone, mention the timeline"
Picking the right tone for Gmail
WriterPi has 8 tones. In Gmail specifically:
- Professional — default for anything external. Clients, vendors, partners.
- Friendly — internal teammates you know well but still work with formally.
- Casual — actual friends, or teammates on Slack-style channels.
- Concise — busy execs who want three sentences max.
- Detailed — technical or specifications-heavy replies where clarity matters.
For most work emails, start with Professional or Friendly. You can always regenerate in a different tone if the first draft is off.
Getting the draft into Gmail
Two ways:
- Copy button under the AI reply → click Gmail's reply box → Ctrl+V (or Cmd+V). Fast and reliable everywhere.
- Insert action — sometimes WriterPi shows a "Insert into reply" action card. Click your Gmail reply box first so WriterPi knows the target, then click Apply.
Copy-paste is more reliable. Use that if the insert action ever misfires.
The one habit that changes everything
Before you use AI to reply, spend 30 seconds giving it constraints. "Reply to this" produces generic drafts. "Reply saying yes to Wednesday, push back on the price, mention my daughter's recital" produces the actual email you needed. Specifics make a bigger difference than model quality.
Common questions
Does WriterPi read my whole inbox?
No. It only reads the single email thread you have open, and only when you turn on the "Page" toggle. Never scans in the background.
Are my emails stored anywhere?
No. The content passes through our backend just long enough to get an AI answer, then is discarded. Nothing kept, nothing trained on. See the privacy page for the full detail.
Will Gmail block this?
No. WriterPi does not interact with the Gmail server or Google account — it only reads what's visible on screen and helps you draft in the sidebar. Same permissions any Chrome extension needs.