Following is a list of frequently asked questions we've heard from email marketers and developers.
Is there any cost associated with these new features?
No, email messages in bundles and rich previews are for organic email and therefore it is free. The only paid way to have visibility in consumer (free) version of Gmail continues to be Gmail Ads. Google Workspace Gmail is ad-free.
Does adding the annotation cause my email to go into a different tab?
The annotation has no effect on the Gmail tab classifier.
What if I annotate an email that lands in a tab other than the Promotions tab?
The feature only displays in the Promotions tab.
Does an email need to contain all these features?
No. All features are optional. We recommend using at least logo and single image features for increased visibility of your email.
Can I change the color of the Deal Badge?
No, the Deal Badge is green and the color cannot be changed. To create the best user experience for all, colors, sizes, and shapes of the Deal badge are not customizable; only the feature’s content (see Best Practices).
My marketing email is not deal or discount based, is this feature only for discounts?
No, all marketing email can be annotated, and you can freely mix and match features. For example, if your email is not about a deal or a discount, but rather a product promotion, you can still use your logo and image to annotate your email.
Why do I see my email in a bundle and I have not added the annotation?
Your email can still appear in a bundle without the annotation. Gmail will recommend emails based on previous user engagement, regardless of whether annotations are present.
What is the scope of work? Must I manually add this to each of my email?
The annotation was created in a scalable fashion—add it to your email templates/html and populate the fields the same as the body of the email, such as using CRM merges.
Can I use dynamic script to populate the features?
Yes, the features/fields are designed to be populated the same way as the body of the email.
Do I put tracking code on the URLs?
The current annotation only displays images for an enriched preview that when clicked on opens your email. Therefore, there are no trackable links to your landing page, however you can place tracking pixels on the image.
If my email is not in a bundle do my metrics decline because no one sees my email?
No. Unbundled emails aren't going to have degraded metrics compared to before the bundling feature was introduced. Users generally scroll down to a specific date or last read email.
Does Google block sensitive topics?
It’s important to consider how displaying enriched previews, including images, to users with certain content categories impacts their overall experience.
An email classified as a sensitive interest category may not end up bundled; it might not show the single image preview in the enriched display. Examples of sensitive categories are adult content and debt collection.