Google has introduced a new feature in Gmail Labs called Smart Labels, which are aimed at helping users classify and organize email.
Users can turn on the new feature on the Labs tab in Settings, Smart Labels then organize incoming Bulk, Notification and Forum messages. Bulk mail includes newsletters and promotional email, which are filtered out of the inbox by default and can be read later.
Notifications are messages sent to users from their account statements and receipts, and email from group mailing lists are labeled as Forums.
The Gmail Blog provides more details. “If you already use filters and labels to organize your mail, you may find that you can replace your existing filters with Smart Labels. Smart Labels play nice with other labels and filters too. On the Filters tab under Settings, you’ll find that these filters can be edited just like any others.”
“From there, you can also edit your existing filters to avoid having them Smart Labeled or change whether mail in a Smart Label skips your inbox (which you can also do by just clicking on the label, then selecting or unselecting the checkbox in the top right corner).”