Gmail gets a big emoji boost; New categories, recently used tab, and more

Google has been testing a lot of new features for Gmail lately. Just a few days ago, a blog post by @AssembleDebug revealed that Google is reportedly in the process of adding the option to react to emails using emojis directly within the Gmail platform. New emoji replies would appear alongside the traditional reply button. Expanding its emojis, Google has announced the rollout of an updated and more inclusive emoji picker in Gmail. Here’s all you need to know about it.

Gmail’s new emoji picker

In a blog post, Google announced that “Starting today, you can access a more complete emoji selection and set emoji skin tone and gender preferences with the modernized emoji picker in the web version of Gmail.”

But what does it mean for users? The emoji selection will now have 9 categories instead of 5. Moreover, it will also bring a new “Recently used” tab where users can pick from recently used emojis instead of having to search them again. With this updated emoji picker, Gmail users can also set emoji skin tone and gender preferences. To do this, simply click on the small arrow on the downright of the emoji and different emoji preferences will appear. Selecting one preference will apply to all the relevant emojis.

There is no Admin control for this feature and it cannot be turned off by the end users.

Google announced that the individual emoji selections will be saved until the settings are updated by the user. These updated features are rolling out starting today and will be available to use over the next few weeks for all Google Workspace customers and users with personal Google Accounts.

More about emoji reactions in Gmail

In this new setup, an emoji reaction button appears within emails right alongside the traditional reply button. Initially, it provides you with a selection of popular emojis like hearts, party hats, thumbs up, laughter, prayer hands, and smiley faces. However, there's also a convenient "+'' button at the end that lets you pick from a vast array of emojis to react to the email. Once you've chosen your emoji, it will be displayed at the bottom of the email.

While there is no official timeline for the release of this feature, it is already functional behind the scenes within the Android app. This could mean it could arrive sooner rather than later.