👋 Hi Reader,

In my two decades in tech, I have been called many things.

Dramatic was not one of them.

Until Feb 2026.

I wrote about Gemini taking over your email in LetterStack's Feb issue. The overall response I got was: I was being way too dramatic about losing open rates wholesale.

Fast-forward to May 2026. and Google IO’s announcements made me realize one thing: I wasn’t being dramatic enough.

What Google IO’s announcement means for newsletter creators

By now, you would have caught up to speed on the 100+ product announcements Google made on their keynote (not exaggerating on that number at all - see below)

Between these updates this week and my coverage in Feb, the most prominent change is:

Google’s AI Inbox became more pervasive and multimodal.

In English, it means, you can now talk to your inbox, just like you speak to Claude, and Google will bubble up exactly the info you are looking for, and also making changes and plans for your review.

And that’s being dramatic?

Not yet.

Not until you figure out that in Jan, AI Inbox was curating your emails on priority and just showing the most pertinent information, but you were still looking at your inbox.

But now, you need not look at your inbox in the first place. Gmail Live will look into it on your behalf, and show you exactly what you are looking for.

But but...I made my newsletter to be consumed visually?

I know. That makes two of us.

I would love to make my emails a treat to read visually as well.

But therein lies the rub. With Google making AI mode the default on Search, and Gmail Live on Gmail (someone needs to go easy on these product naming conventions) it is slowly stripping away the need to go through reams of information visually, and just surface the parts of the content that need immediate action.

Newsletters were meant to build a relationship, not drive action.

You are preaching to the choir on this one.

It’s going to be futile to resist this change coming on the world’s largest email platform, so I would recommend leaning in full-tilt into this change in consumer behavior.

Here’s my recommendation that I will reiterate from my Jan issue:

What this could mean, is to give them a means to connect with other creators with shared interests and build a community for them to share ideas in a safe space. If you are able to use your newsletter to also share lived experiences which only you could compile in your niche, then its a bonus.

This also means we revisit how you measure the success of your newsletter. Open rates were never the answer, and bot opens are only driving this point home. Reply rates would become the reckoning, so building content that incites a response in your audience would be the true success indicator.

Need a sounding board in understanding what that means for your newsletter? I would love to talk to you.

Let me know by hitting ‘Reply’ on this email, or send a note to marketing@letterstack.co.

This newsletter is sponsored by The Alien Design

Looking for a partner to bring your digital product ideas to life? Alien specializes in product design, web design, and Webflow development. Alien helps businesses build visually appealing digital experiences that drive results. From concept to launch, Alien focus on delivering solutions that fit your brand and meet your business goals.

Want to get featured as the next sponsor on LetterStack? Reach out to us on marketing@letterstack.co!

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Cheers,

Renga from LetterStack

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