Google prioritises Gmail inbox

Google has launched a new beta to help users prioritise their email as it comes in.

Priority Inbox has claimed to go one step further than a spam filter, supposedly being able to identify which emails are "important and unread," "starred" or "everything else" and then arrange them for the user accordingly.

"People tell us all that time that they're getting more and more mail and often feel overwhelmed by it all," wrote Doug Aberdeen, a Google software engineer, in a blog post. "We know what you meanhere at Google we run on email."

"It's time-consuming to figure out what needs to be read and what needs a reply. Today, we're happy to introduce Priority Inbox (in beta)an experimental new way of taking on information overload in Gmail."

It uses information from the account, such as which emails are opened first and replied to or who users emailed regularly, to help categorise the inbox.

Users are also able to help the beta along by adding important conversations to the list or demoting other exchanges.

"Priority Inbox is like your personal assistant, helping you focus on the messages that matter without requiring you to set up complex rules," Aberdeen added.

The beta will be rolled out to all Gmail users over the next two weeks.