Google · Design Challenge 2026
Gmail Sales Funnel Extension
A Chrome extension that transforms Gmail into a lightweight CRM — helping sales teams track leads, prioritize follow-ups, and close deals without leaving their inbox.
[ Overview ]
Design Process
Since this was a 20-hour design challenge, I divided design steps into structured workflow covering research, insight synthesis, ideation, solution development, prototyping, and final validation.
The Problem
Google Workspace is already the primary place where business conversations, customer communication, and relationship building happen. However, sales managers and business teams still rely on external CRM tools to track deal progress, prioritize opportunities, and manage follow-ups.
[ Research ]
Background & User Research
* White paper research about current funnel management system’s role, strong & weak points.
Research Insights
These numbers reinforce the direction that sales workflows should be integrated directly into communication tools like Gmail, rather than relying on separate CRM platforms. Since most sales communication already happens in email, switching between multiple tools creates friction and wastes time on manual updates. Embedding CRM functions directly into Gmail could streamline workflows and reduce administrative work.
[ User Research ]
Target Users
SMB (Small to Medium) sales managers (25-40) struggling with complex and time-consuming CRMS.
Competitor Analysis
Competitors like HubSpot and Salesforce already provide advanced funnel management capabilities through features such as AI email drafting and automated meeting notes, but they still lack deeper intelligence in areas like smart attachment automation and relationship mapping.
I positioned our service as a high-AI, workflow-native solution that supports both individual productivity and team-level deal visibility.
[ Solutions ]
3 Key Features
AI Deal Intelligence
Gmail uses AI to analyze email engagement and deal activity to surface lead priority, predict deal risk, and recommend next best actions, helping sales managers focus on high-impact opportunities.
Smart Attachment → Funnel Intelligence
Gmail automatically links attachments and shared documents to deals, turning conversations and files into structured funnel data without manual CRM updates.
Communication Automation
Gmail reduces admin work by generating meeting summaries, suggesting follow-ups, and syncing email and calendar actions so sales managers can stay focused on selling.
Sitemap
*The Funnel extension integrates directly into Gmail (similar to Meet, Chat, and Notes) allowing users to manage deals, insights, and communication workflows without leaving their inbox.
[ Outcome ]
Main Pages
Core Flow 1: AI Deal Intelligence
Enable sales managers to make faster, more confident decisions by surfacing priority, risk, and recommended actions directly inside their email workflow.
Core Flow 2: Smart Attachments
Automatically links email attachments and shared Google Docs to the correct deals inside Gmail, turning conversations and files into structured funnel data without manual CRM updates.
[ Reflection ]
If I had more time...
I want to expand Funnel into a workspace-wide experience powered by Gemini, combining communication automation, AI relationship mapping, and deal intelligence to turn emails, meetings, and documents into actionable sales insights.
