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For those familiar with the SMS clients by Google; Messages (previously ‘Android Messages’), Hangouts – that faced its demise and Google Allo, will be pleased to hear that Google Assistant will be coming to you very soon. This announcement was made at the MWC as many other brands showcased their latest innovations.
The Assistant service will be added to their SMS client, Messages, for a bit of improvement to users’ experience. This will then be followed by Google yanking its unpopular Allo app. The app will be switched off in a couple of weeks, just as they did with the infamous Hangouts. This will then be making Messages their only default messaging application.
Google Assistant integration into messages will come in form of AI-generated chips that pop up as suggestions in recognition to questions, suggestions or any other interactions in a conversation. The information generated by Google Assistant can then be shared between the two parties. The integration also allows for emojis, smart replies and other Assistant queries.
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One will be able to see suggestions about movies, restaurants and the weather. The success of this will, however, depend on the standards of the messages passed on; whether they are SMS, MMS or RCS. Google had initially started integrating their AI-generated service with apps like Google Maps in January but was not available in all countries. Maybe they will spread it as they start rolling out the Messages upgrade too. For its privacy policy, Google has reported that none of the messages will be stored in their servers and that Assistant will only run on-device. The only thing likely to be stored is their chip queries.
The Assistant multilingual support on both Google Maps and Messages will also be expanded from the current English, German, French, Japanese, Spanish and Italian, it will also support Korean, Hindi, Swedish, Dutch, Norwegian and Danish. This will bring more efficiency to motorists globally as they enquire for directions, make calls and text through voice commands in their own language. Likely to make this a lasting feature, Google also announced that more Android phones will get a Google Assistant button as well as the service getting voice typing on phones with KaiOS feature.
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