According to Google, “When your inbox is flooded with emails, some will inevitably slip through the cracks. Luckily, the new Gmail can help. It will now “nudge” users to reply to emails they may have missed and to follow up on emails for which they haven’t received a response. Nudging is on by default for users with the new Gmail enabled, but they can turn it off from their Gmail settings menu if they choose.”
Google is claiming that these nudging features are based on AI, which presumably will be based on the content of the emails to determine if a reply is necessary. For example you might have utility bills sitting in your inbox that you obviously do not have to reply to, and the use of AI will help separate such emails.
It does sound like a pretty nifty feature to have, especially if you’re someone who is bad at replying promptly, so do keep an eye out for these reminders if you are using Gmail. Note that this is only available for the web version of Gmail and it is unclear if there are plans to bring a similar feature to mobile in the future.