My most recent self-reflection is that if something can be gamified, I am much more likely to interact with it. Deadlines, invoices, educational tools and, now, my email inbox. 

I’ve recently been looking for a way to streamline my inbox interface in a way that feels personal and customizable, yet efficient. So after receiving an invite to a tech event from a friend signed “Sent with Shortwave,” I couldn’t help but click the button — read: impulsivity — and found myself on the modern email client’s website, an all-black setup built to transform Gmail into a faster, more focused productivity tool. “Can it transform me, too?” I chuckled to myself. 

What is Shortwave, and how does it use AI?

Shortwave at its core aims to turn all forms of communications — personal inbox and for your team — into a fast, organized and AI-powered workspace.

Founded in 2020 by Andrew Lee, Jonny Dimond, Jacob Wenger and founding designer Ali Berlin Johnson, all ex-Google employees, The company launched its AI features in 2022, which include features like AI summaries and smart replies, and the ability to plan your day for you.

To access Shortwave, you can download its free version, and paid plans start at $7/month for a personal account ($14/month for business). For any paid account, Superwave’s also contains features that feel eerily similar to Slack: think read receipts, mentions and collaboration across threads, without toggling away from your inbox.

How to use Shortwave for productivity 

The setup for Shortwave is thankfully pretty simple — but keep in mind that it’s only compatible with Gmail accounts. 

1. Head to Shortwave’s website and click Get Started to log in with your Google or Google Workspace account. You can also download the software to your desktop, iPhone or Android device, or add it as a Google Chrome extension. You’ll then need to grant permissions for Shortwave to access your email account.
2. There’s four main areas of Shortwave: Inbox, Pins, Thread View and Command Bar. They act like they read: Inbox is grouped and categorized with AI across different focuses; Pins are at the top for quick access; Thread View creates a chat-style view that feels like messaging; and the Command Bar allows you to access settings, your calendar, activity feed and contacts.



3. To use its AI features, click on the sparkle-looking button in the upper left hand of the screen. AI can help you organize your inbox, find urgent emails and plan your day. 
4. As you can see in the image to the right, any emails can be filtered through Shortwave, including morning coffee orders. You can also open a long email thread and the sparkle icon will generate a summary of the conversation. It uses AI to conduct smart compose and reply, too.
5. For organization, Shortwave will automatically group similar emails and give you the option to mute a bundle (like promotions or social). You can always unbundle a grouping for a chronological view. If teammates are on a paid plan, you can invite them to the platform to share threads, leave internal comments on emails or assign messages (like tasks) with due dates.
6. Lastly, customize your setup by toggling to the profile icon and access Settings. You can adjust bundles, notifications, keyboard shortcuts and a dark/light theme.

Once you’re set up, head back to the homepage and access Learn. I was both overwhelmed and amazed by how much information lives here, including an abundance of guides, plus more on Shortwave’s back story and specific method and approach.

Should you use Shortwave?

The short and sweet answer is if you aren’t a Gmail or Google Workspace user, Shortwave literally cannot work for you. If you’re looking for a solution to your current Google inbox, this is my take:

With competitors like Superhuman, Spark Mail, and Missive, I see Shortwave as what I call  “throughline AI”: an AI platform built by people who come from a specific industry — in this case Google — and create something to specifically affect an audience tied to their background. I liken it to the same business model as seen across industries. (On our radar, Sudowrite, Flora and Feno come to mind.)

Simply, Shortwave’s founders are the builders and the target audience — and, arguably, more connected to the product itself since they’re all ex-Google workers. They’ve experienced the problem, and its complexities firsthand on an in-depth level, and are trying to solve it at scale.   

Pricewise, Shortwave holds up with its free personal version, and its $14/month subscription for business adds a custom AI prompt feature, which makes it a strong competitor compared to other platforms that boast similar capability. I personally believe any company offering a free version of its product sees individual choice as a necessary step to product conversion — which earns my respect when speaking to which platform I’d swap my current setup with.

Now, if you’re seeking more of an AI-powered “smart assistant,” I would steer you away from Shortwave, since it was primarily created for productivity. It focuses more on a Slack- or chat-style setup, which makes it great for teams or AI enthusiasts who rely on it for faster sorting and summarizing for productivity and collaboration.

Shortwave isn’t the most traditional-looking inbox layout, nor is it the most privacy-forward. (It only caters to Gmail encryption and cloud-based email access.) But I believe it does exactly what it was built to do: act as an AI-powered email client for Gmail users in a sleek, minimalist format. 

While it can be odd to consider that a future may exist where the person you’re communicating with is actually artificial intelligence, I can’t deny that having support to simplify your reply is a nice gesture — as long as you don’t take the lack of personalization, personally. 

In short: Use Shortwave if you have Gmail or Google Workspace and want a simplistic, chat-like interface with organization and productive grouping, this option may work for you.