• by Jess Nelson , May 26, 2017

AOL has expanded Alto Mail, a mobile email application, to help users organize their calendar and inbox in one communications portal.  

AOL originally launched Alto Mail in 2015 to allow its customers to organize all of their email accounts in one place. Alto Mail is compatible with any email provider, including Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo Mail, Office365, iCloud, and of course, AOL.

Alto Mail was further upgraded last year, when AOL added a Dashboard to the email management application that automatically sorts incoming emails into content-based categories, similar to Gmail Inbox categories or Yahoo’s new CardMail email design.

The Alto Dashboard launches when the mobile app is opened, and incorporates machine-learning algorithms to help consumers find the correct information they need via a series of interactive "cards" highlighting upcoming events. Alto also compiles industry-specific emails in one place, similar to Gmail’s Promotions Tab.

Now, AOL has expanded Alto to track all calendar events as well as emails, so upcoming meetings are highlighted in the Alto Dashboard alongside important email communication. Previously, Alto only tracked appointments made via Google Calendar.

Alto Mail has also strengthened its existing Alexa support. Alexa previously integrated with Google Calendar, but Amazon’s personal assistant could only recognize events that been added to Google’s calendar application. Alto Mail has now extended Alexa support across the entire Alto inbox so users can ask a question to retrieve past communication, without the need to type a single key.

The mobile app also incorporates other well-known email application features, including snooze. The free email application is available on both iOS and Android devices.