How to turn on Gboard Proofread, and what it won't fix

To use Gboard Proofread, make Gboard your default keyboard, update it, type your text in any app, then tap the writing tools icon in the keyboard's top bar (or open the Menu) and choose Proofread. Tap “Use this” to keep the fix, or “Undo” to go back. It only appears on supported phones and languages: per Google's help page, the Pixel 9 and Pixel 10 series and some recent Honor, Motorola, OnePlus, OPPO, POCO, realme, vivo and Xiaomi models.

Checked on 18 October 2026 against Google's own help pages: Use writing tools with Gboard and About proofread with Gboard. Google adds phones and languages over time, so yours may differ.

Step by step

1. Make Gboard your keyboard. Install or update Gboard from Google Play, then set it as the default keyboard in your phone's settings (usually Settings → System → Keyboard, or search “keyboard” in Settings).
2. Update Gboard to the latest version. Google lists this as a requirement.
3. Open any app where you type, such as Messages, Gmail, Keep or WhatsApp, and write your text.
4. Tap the writing tools icon in the bar above the keys. You can also reach it from the Menu.
5. Choose Proofread. Gboard shows a corrected version.
6. Tap “Use this” to replace your text, or Undo to go back to what you wrote.

The first time, Gboard may need to download what it needs. Google says this “can take a few hours” and needs a stable internet connection, so don't worry if the option doesn't work straight away.

On some phones, Proofread also appears as a Fix it suggestion while you type. Tap Fix it to apply the corrections, More fixes if there are more, or Undo to remove them.

How to turn Proofread off

Open Gboard Settings → Text correction → Spelling and Grammar → Proofread, and turn it off. (This is the path Google gives on its Proofread help page. Menu names can differ slightly between Gboard versions.)

Which phones and languages have it

From Google's writing tools help page, checked 18 October 2026:

Languages listed: English (Australia, Canada, India, UK, US), Chinese (Simplified), French (France, Canada), German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) and Spanish (US, Mexico, Spain).

Google's older Proofread page lists the Pixel 8 and 8 Pro, in US English. Samsung Galaxy phones are not on the list; they have their own Galaxy AI writing tools instead (see Lingently vs Samsung Writing Assist).

If you don't see Proofread: check that Gboard is your default keyboard (not Samsung Keyboard or SwiftKey), update Gboard, set your keyboard language to a supported one, and wait a few hours after the first try.

What Proofread does well

Credit where it's due. Proofread is free, it's already in your keyboard, and it works in almost any app. Google describes it as fixing “typos, grammar, and punctuation”. For a quick message where you just want the obvious errors gone, it's a good first step. The same writing tools menu also has Rephrase, Professional, Friendly, Shorten and a few other styles.

What it won't fix

This is where non-native writers notice the gaps. Based on how Google describes the feature:

• It doesn't tell you why. You get a corrected sentence, not the rule. If you wrote “I am agree”, you see “I agree”, but nothing says agree is a verb, so you don't need am. Next week you'll write it again.
• It doesn't learn your patterns. There's no list of the mistakes you keep making, and no practice built from them.
• It only works if Gboard is your keyboard. If you prefer Samsung Keyboard, SwiftKey or a keyboard for your own language, you lose it.
• It only works on the phones above. If your phone isn't listed, you don't get it.
• Long text gets cut. Google says long text is automatically shortened to a segment, so a long email may be checked in parts. In Gmail, if you select nothing, it checks only the current and previous paragraphs.

None of this makes Proofread bad. It's a keyboard feature, designed for quick fixes. If you want to learn from your mistakes, you need something that explains them.

Gboard Proofread or Lingently?

You don't have to choose. Lingently isn't a keyboard, so it works next to Gboard, on Android 10 or later, whatever the phone brand. You type with your keyboard as usual, tap the floating character, and see each mistake struck through, corrected, with one line on why. Your fixes then become short daily practice. Read the full Lingently vs Gboard comparison, or see how Lingently works as a grammar checker on Android.

If you'd rather build the habit yourself, here's a 10-minute daily routine to improve your English writing.