Shortwave
Shortwave
Freemium
Shortwave is an AI-native email client built on Gmail by ex-Google Inbox engineers. It adds AI thread summaries on every conversation, natural-language search across your full email history, a writing assistant that learns your voice, and Tasklet — an AI agent layer that automates multi-step email workflows without human intervention. Unlike bolt-on AI features in other email tools, Shortwave rebuilt email around AI from the ground up. Related emails get bundled automatically into collapsible groups. Low-priority threads collapse. What needs your attention surfaces first. The limitation is hard: Gmail and Google Workspace only. Outlook, Exchange, and Microsoft 365 users cannot use it. At $8.50–$14/month, it's one of the most cost-efficient AI productivity investments for heavy Gmail users.
Freemium
Keywords
email, gmail, inbox, email assistant, ai email, productivity, writing assistant
- AI thread summaries: Every conversation gets an automatic summary — skip the scroll.
- Natural-language search: Search your entire email history in plain English, not keywords.
- Tasklet agents: Automate multi-step email workflows — follow-ups, routing, categorization — without manual intervention.
- Voice-matched writing: The AI drafts learn your writing style over time.
TMRW VERDICT
What Google Inbox would have been if Google hadn't killed it
by TMRW Team·Sep 14, 2026
Shortwave was built by the people who made Google Inbox. That pedigree shows: the bundling, the smart surfacing, the feeling of email being organized for you rather than at you — it's Inbox's DNA with AI layered on top. The thread summaries alone justify the subscription for anyone processing more than 50 emails a day.
Tasklet, shipped in January 2026, is the feature that moves it from "nice email client" to "productivity tool." Multi-step automation — draft a follow-up, wait three days, escalate if no reply — running in the background without you touching it. That's the value proposition beyond better search.
Best for freelancers, developers, and anyone managing high email volume on Gmail. The Gmail-only limitation is the hard filter: if you're on Outlook or Exchange, Shortwave literally cannot help you. For Gmail users, it's the best way to handle email in 2026 at $8.50–$14/month.