Open your inbox, then click on the gear symbol in the upper right corner and choose settings. From here, click on the inbox tab where you can select from five different layout options: Default: organizes your Gmail by date the email is received. Important First: Google predicts emails that are more important and will place them in a top inbox. Unread First: separates your inbox in two, then places your unread emails in the top inbox. Starred First: separates your inbox in two, then places your starred emails in the top inbox. Priority Inbox: based on past actions, Gmail predicts which emails you will most likely interact with and places them in the top inbox.