Google have today announced the launch of priority inbox, a new Gmail feature which automatically prioritises important emails using algorithms. Mashable have reported that inboxes will never be the same again.

During the many months of testing the feature internally, the search giant found that users spent 16% less time reading insignificant e-mail. If you do the math, that’s about a full week’s worth of time saved.

The feature uses algorithms in order to determine emails of high priority, as the Telegraph reports. This is used in a similar way to how Google scan email content to target their email adverts effectively. While users can still access their other emails, the benefit of the priority inbox is that they can quickly see their most important emails.

The priority inbox is currently being rolled out and will be appearing in Gmail inboxes in the next couple of weeks.

What does this mean for your email marketing campaigns? To be clear, all emails will still display in the usual inbox. However, now more than ever interesting content will be crucial. As the algorithms are based upon emails previously read and replied to it’s crucial that you give your subscribers a reason to open your emails. Subject lines, special offers and encouraging subscribers to add you to their contact list are tips that we, at Sign-Up.to, would recommend.

Are you a Gmail user? What do you think of the priority inbox? We believe this is a smart way of email filtering, and will ultimately lead to the best emails being read by the most relevant people. From a business point of view, it’ll ensure the most valuable subscribers will be prioritising your email and what you have to say. Let us know what you think in our comments box below.