Shortwave

Introduction

Most of us spend hours each day wrestling with the inbox: sorting messages, searching for a lost attachment, writing repetitive replies, and trying to remember to follow up on an email sent two weeks ago that hasn’t received a response yet. The Shortwave tool tries to solve this dilemma from the ground up, not by adding new filters to Gmail, but by completely reinventing the email experience around artificial intelligence. In this review, we practically examine what this tool offers, where it excels, and where it stumbles, for those looking for a precise technical review before adopting it in their daily work.

What is Shortwave?

Shortwave is an independent email client developed by a group of former Firebase engineers at Google, and it primarily works over Gmail and Google Workspace accounts (with increasing support for other protocols). The core idea of the tool is not just a prettier interface for the inbox, but an entire AI layer built on top of your email that includes: summarizing long messages and threaded conversations, automatically writing replies in your style, intelligent natural language search instead of dry keywords, and automatically classifying messages into smart categories without the need for manual rule setup.

The tool is accessible via a dedicated desktop application (macOS and Windows), a full web application, as well as mobile applications for iOS and Android. You can visit the official website at https://www.shortwave.com to sign up and start a live trial by linking your Gmail account.

Main Features

1. Built-in AI Assistant (Shortwave AI)

This is the true heart of the tool. You can type a request in natural language like “summarize all the messages from the marketing team this week” or “write a polite reply declining this meeting and suggesting an alternative time,” and the assistant will execute the request directly within the email interface without the need to copy and paste the text into an external tool like ChatGPT.

2. Summarizing Long Messages and Conversations (AI Summarize)

When opening a long email thread containing dozens of replies, an instant summarization button appears that turns the entire thread into bullet points explaining: who said what, what decisions were made, and what is specifically required from you. This feature is especially useful in long group work conversations via email.

3. Intelligent Natural Language Search (AI Search)

Instead of searching with precise keywords, you can write “show me the invoice my accountant sent me last month” or “the last message from the client who was asking about the new pricing,” and the tool understands the context and retrieves the correct message even if it doesn’t contain the words used in the search literally.

4. Divided Inboxes (Bundles)

The tool automatically groups messages into logical bundles such as: newsletters, automated notifications, billing messages, or personal conversations, reducing visual clutter in the main inbox without deleting or permanently hiding any message.

5. Smart Reminders and Follow-up (Follow-up Reminders)

You can activate an automatic reminder on any outgoing message, so the message returns to the top of the inbox if the other party does not reply within a specified time, which is a very practical feature for those following up on sales deals or pending job requests.

6. Shared Threads and Channels (Shared Threads и Channels)

The team-oriented version supports sharing entire email conversations with colleagues, commenting on them internally without needing to forward messages or complicate CC chains, resembling a blend of Slack with email in a single interface.

7. Shortcuts and Command Bar (Command Bar)

A command bar similar to that found in developer tools like VS Code, allowing you to execute any action (archiving, labeling, scheduling send, prioritizing) with just keyboard presses, which speeds up work for those dealing with hundreds of messages daily.

How to Use Shortwave Step by Step

1. Sign Up: Open the official website https://www.shortwave.com and click the sign-up button, then choose to log in with your Google account.
2. Link Email: Grant the tool the necessary permissions to access Gmail (read, archive, send), which is a necessary step for the AI features to work correctly.
3. Import Messages: The tool synchronizes old and current messages, and the process may take a few minutes depending on the inbox size.
4. Customize Bundles: Review the default classifications and modify them to suit your workflow, such as adding a bundle for clients or ongoing projects.
5. Activate the Smart Assistant: Open any message and try the “summarize” or “write a reply” command from the sidebar to ensure the assistant is functioning correctly.
6. Set Reminders: Identify important messages and activate the “remind me if no one replies” option to follow up on deals or pending requests.
7. Install Additional Applications: Download the desktop or mobile application to sync notifications and work from any device.

Practical Advantages and Benefits

• For Small Business Owners and Freelancers: Reducing the time spent replying to repetitive customer inquiries through automatically suggested smart replies.
• For Sales Managers: Utilizing smart reminders to ensure that no potential client who hasn’t replied to a quote is overlooked.
• For Work Teams: Sharing email conversations internally and commenting on them without distraction in long and confusing CC chains.
• For Busy Professionals: Summarizing long conversations before meetings to save precious minutes of reading.
• For Efficiency Seekers: Searching in natural language reduces the time to find an old message from minutes to seconds.

Drawbacks and Challenges

• Near-total reliance on Gmail: Support for other email providers (like Outlook or general IMAP) is limited compared to the full integration with Gmail, making it less appealing for Microsoft 365 users.
• Granting broad permissions: Linking the account requires deep access permissions to the email, which may raise concerns for privacy-sensitive users.
• Variable AI accuracy: In very long or technically complex conversations, automatic summarization may omit important details or oversimplify a complex context misleadingly.
• Noticeable but simple learning curve: The interface of bundles and shortcuts is different from the traditional Gmail experience and may take a few days to fully adapt to.
• Relatively high pricing for small teams: Paid plans may seem expensive if the basic use is individual and straightforward.

Comparison with Competing Tools

Shortwave vs. Superhuman

Superhuman is the closest competitor in terms of philosophy: both aim to speed up email handling through keyboard shortcuts and AI. However, Superhuman has a much higher price without a real free plan, while Shortwave offers a more generous free plan and deeper integration with team features such as conversation sharing.

Shortwave vs. Original Gmail with Gemini

Google is now integrating Gemini directly within Gmail itself to summarize messages and write replies, making it a direct and strong competitor because it doesn’t require an external application or granting additional permissions. Shortwave’s advantage here is a more specialized and organized experience (bundles, reminders, command bar) but it lacks the benefit of “staying within the native system” that Gmail offers directly.

Shortwave vs. Spark Mail

Spark also offers AI features and good organization for teams, with broader support for multiple email providers compared to Shortwave. However, the depth of summarization and intelligent search features in Shortwave seems more mature in practical experiences so far.

Practical Examples of Using the Tool

• Digital Marketer tracking an email campaign with several partners: uses intelligent search to pull all messages related to a specific campaign budget with one sentence instead of remembering precise keywords.
• Project Manager returning from a two-week vacation to find 400 unread messages: uses the automatic summarization feature of bundles to get a comprehensive summary of each category before diving into details.
• Freelancer working with multiple clients: activates follow-up reminders on every sent quote, so the quote automatically returns to the top if the client doesn’t reply within three days.
• Small Technical Support Team: shares a complex client conversation with a technical colleague to get their opinion without forwarding the original message or complicating the reply chain.

Pricing and Available Plans

Shortwave offers several subscription levels:

• Free Plan: Includes basic email and organization functions with a limited number of AI requests per month, sufficient for light personal use.
• Standard Plan (Individual Paid): With a monthly fee that opens up a larger number of AI requests, advanced search, and complete reminder features.
• Business/Team Plan: Aimed at teams, adding features for internal conversation sharing, channels, and administrative control, with a monthly fee per team user.

Exact pricing and updates are published directly on the pricing page of the official website https://www.shortwave.com, and are subject to periodic changes, so it’s recommended to check before final subscription.

Assessment and Tips to Get Started

Shortwave is particularly suitable for users who deal with Gmail on a daily basis, especially small business owners, teams relying on email as a primary communication channel with clients, and professionals managing a large number of concurrent conversations. Conversely, it is not ideally suited for Outlook users or those looking for a solution that supports various email providers with equal deep integration.

To get started effectively, it is advisable to try the free plan first for at least two weeks, customize the default bundles to fit the nature of incoming messages, and test the summarization command on the longest conversation available in the inbox to assess the AI accuracy before deciding to upgrade to a paid plan.

Conclusion

Shortwave succeeds in providing a fundamentally different email experience from traditional tools, thanks to the integration of AI at the core of organization, search, and response, not as a superficial addition. Its true strengths lie in smart summarization, natural language search, and message follow-up features, while its primary reliance on Gmail and relatively high costs for small teams are its main points of concern. For those seeking a practical AI tool that makes a significant difference in managing daily email without technical complications, Shortwave deserves serious consideration, keeping in mind that the best benefit comes to users who are actively utilizing Gmail in their work.

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