How to automatically label emails in Gmail

Labels are an essential part of email inboxes. They provide a flexible and customizable setup for your messages. They allow users to categorize their emails, group related messages together, and quickly find past threads by their theme.

If you learn how to automatically label emails in Gmail and add shared tags, your inbox will be less cluttered. And having a tidy inbox helps streamline work and collaboration.

This article runs you through everything you need to know about optimizing and automating labels in Gmail.

The benefits of using labels in Gmail

There are a few reasons why all Gmail users should use labels to increase their productivity:

Keeping an organized inbox with no extra effort

One of the main benefits of using Gmail labels is that they provide a way to organize Gmail messages as they come. Instead of having a single location to store important conversations, labels allow messages to be tagged with multiple categories, making it easier to find them when needed. 

Simultaneous Gmail labels for priorities

For example, if you label all incoming messages from team members as “Work”, you can filter and deal with them accordingly. But work emails have their own specifics as well. So you could create a label for a specific project and add it to all emails around this theme. Then, if your team members email you, both labels will be used. This makes it easier to visualize quickly what the message is about. 

Multiple inboxes in one with Gmail labels

Adding labels in Gmail is that they allow users to customize their email inbox. Then, they use it to suit their own needs. Through the search function, users can sort messages by their own labels.

With this, they will be able to see a part of their inbox. For instance, messages labeled as pertaining to a specific project. This tunnel view allows users to adapt their inbox to their own workflow and priorities. 

It also optimizes productivity. If someone decides to dedicate an hour to a certain task, all they need to do is search for the incoming messages by the Gmail label. This would allow them to quickly find all emails related to that task, even if they come from multiple senders.

Label emails in Gmail for a quick glance

Labels also provide a visual cue for messages that require attention. For example, a user could create a label called “TBD” and apply it to all emails that require their time. This would allow them to quickly see which messages are more urgent without having to click through each one.

How to add labels in Gmail

Gmail labels are easy to create. The first step is to access your Gmail inbox. On the left sidebar, click on “Create new label”. Click on it, and a pop-up to create the new label will appear.

If you want to add already existing emails to this label, you can select them from your inbox. The menu that appears on the top has a label icon. Click on it, then a drop-down menu will appear, with all existing labels for your account. You can label emails in Gmail by adding them to an existing one or creating a new label directly from your inbox.

How to add automatic Gmail labels

Now, the key for maximum inbox productivity is having your Gmail labels for you. Not the other way around. Luckily, setting up automations is just as easy. Say you want to add all incoming messages from your manager to an “Urgent” label.

Search for “from:[[email protected]]” . A pop-up will show up confirming your search options. You can pick based on time, attachment size or messages containing certain words. Then, click “Create filter”. 

On the next screen, you can choose what to do with the filter. To label emails in Gmail automatically, pick “Add label” and select from the ones you’ve created (or create a new one).

Now, all incoming messages that fit the criteria will automatically have the Gmail label you set up.

How to label emails in Gmail Shared Inboxes

One of the issues with traditional Gmail accounts is that they don’t foster collaboration. Gmail labels are an excellent resource to organize your Gmail inbox, however they cannot be shared. To work alongside team members, you need to duplicated labels on your own inbox and keep forwarding messages to keep others updated.

The solution to this is using a shared inbox, such as Drag. Drag allows you to view, manage and edit the same inbox as your collaborators, all while being logged into your own Gmail account. Instead of sharing passwords or dealing with back-and-forth threads, you can all work together. Along with sharing the same email tags. 

How to create shared tags in a shared inbox

Now, with this view, you still benefit from labels. They work alongside task cards to keep your inbox tidier and easier to view. These are shared tags, a feature on Drag that allows users of a shared inbox to add labels to their projects. To create them, here’s what you need to do:

1. First, open the board (inbox) that you want to add tags to. Drag allows users to add different tags to each board, to preserve the individual workspaces. 
2. Click on the “New Tag” red button on the right.
3. Choose a name and a color to the tag.
4. Select the board(s) where you want the new tag to be applied for.
5. Click on “Create”.

Now, to add shared tags to existing cards and boards, just follow the steps:

• Select the card(s) you want to apply shared tags to. A top bar will load, like it happens with Gmail labels
• Click on the red “tag” button
• Select the tag(s) you want from the drop-down menu

As it happens with regular inboxes, adding a label in Gmail shared inboxes is a quick process that has a lot kof impact on your workflow. After you set them up, the entire board is easier to view and organize according to your needs.

How to automatically tag emails in a Shared Inbox in Gmail

As it happens with a traditional Gmail inbox, a shared inbox works better with a few automation steps. If you filter and add labels in Gmail shared spaces accordingly, you avoid clutter and miscommunication. First, you need to access your Drag board.

Then, here is how to use shared tags to automate your workflow:

1. Click on the menu button and select “automations”.
2. Click the “Create an automation” button on the top right. This takes you to a page where you set up the triggers for this automation.
3. Give the automation a name and description.
4. Next to When…, select the first trigger you want to create from the drop-down menu. You can choose a trigger such as “When: Card is created”, to automate right when you get a new message on the shared inbox, for example.
5. On If…, select the conditions you would like to be applied. You can add the condition of messages containing specific words or being sent from specific addresses, just like on Gmail labels, for example.
6. On Then..., select the actions that you want to automate. If you want to add a shared tag, select “Apply tag” and which one. (Tip: you can add multiple automations, such as adding a shared tag and moving the card to another column, or tagging another team member).
7. Click on “Create” on the bottom right. Now the automation is working.

Wrapping Up

Gmail labels and shared tags play a crucial role in organizing and managing email messages. They offer users a custom inbox without the hassle. Adding labels in Gmail enables users to classify their messages, cluster related topics, and locate specific conversations. By utilizing labels, users can turn their own or a shared inbox into the ideal workspace for overall productivity.