Early last year, Google announced AMP for email to allow for more interactive experiences when messaging. These “dynamic emails” will officially begin appearing today on Gmail for desktop with support from multiple senders and other clients.
“Dynamic emails” are built on the Accelerated Mobile Pages standard so messages can stay up-to-date with “fresh” information. Rather than content remaining static from the time of send, emails could update when opened to load the latest comment threads or job recommendations.
Over the past decade, our web experiences have changed enormously—evolving from static flat content to interactive apps. Yet email has largely stayed the same with static messages that eventually go out of date, or are merely a springboard to accomplish a more complex task. If you want to take action, you usually have to click on a link, open a new tab and visit another website.
It also lets users complete actions — like RSVPs, questionnaires, or browsing a catalogue — directly in an email rather than having to click a link and visit another site. In theory, this allows users to get more done right from Gmail clients. One first-party app supporting dynamic emails is Google Docs:
Instead of receiving individual email notifications when someone mentions you in a comment, now, you’ll see an up-to-date thread in Gmail where you can easily reply or resolve the comment, right from within the message.
Other businesses are supporting dynamic emails in the coming weeks: Booking.com, Despegar, Doodle, Ecwid, Freshworks, Nexxt, OYO Rooms, Pinterest and redBus. On the security and privacy front, Gmail is reviewing what parties can send dynamic emails with a registration program.
For G Suite customers, dynamic email is available as a beta that administrators can enable in settings. It’s rolling out starting today to Gmail on the desktop web and coming soon to Android and iOS.
AMP for emails will also be viewable in Yahoo Mail, Outlook.com, and Mail.Ru, while several mass email services will support creation. Other clients that do no support AMP emails will fallback to static HTML messages.
