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Google is rolling out AMP for Gmail to let you shop and fill out forms without leaving your inbox

Google is rolling out AMP for Gmail to let you shop and fill out forms without leaving your inbox

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Desktop only for now

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A year after Google announced it would begin supporting AMP in Gmail, the company is now releasing a beta to the general G Suite audience. AMP for Gmail is designed to make emails feel more like an interactive webpage without punting users to a browser. Users can browse image carousels, RSVP to an event, or fill out a form without leaving their inbox. Google calls these “dynamic emails.”

Support will arrive first on the web, but Google says it plans to offer it on mobile as well. However, just like AMP instant articles, you’ll only experience dynamic emails if the company that sent you the email supports the format. Currently, AMP for Gmail’s list of partners is small; Google is citing Booking.com, Despegar, Doodle, Ecwid, Freshworks, Nexxt, OYO Rooms, Pinterest, and redBus as companies that will offer dynamic emails in the next few weeks. It did note that several third-party email products, including SparkPost, Litmus, Twilio Sendgrid, and Amazon SES and Pinpoint, have signed on to add AMP support, so if you’re a marketer and you already use these tools to send emails, you should be able to create dynamic emails soon.

AMP for Gmail has rolled out to G Suite customers, but you won’t necessarily have to use Gmail to see dynamic emails. Third-party providers like Outlook, Yahoo Mail, and Mail.ru will support the feature, but to enable it, an admin will need to opt into the beta.

Today’s news comes as Google prepares to kill off Inbox for good, with the app on its last week before support is permanently shut down. Initial responses to AMP for Gmail seem mixed so far: while some prefer fewer tabs when opening emails with calls to action, others say the new format is too complex and can potentially create privacy headaches, such as additional ways for advertisers to track how you’re interacting with your emails or more elaborate phishing scams.