Detecting Action ­Items in E­mail

E-mail users have a difficult time managing their inboxes in the face of mounting challenges. These include prioritizing e-mails from a variety of senders, filtering junk e-mail, and quickly taking action on items that demand the user's attention. Automated action-item detection targets the third of these problems by detecting e-mails which require an action or response, and within those e-mails, highlighting the specific text that indicates the request.