Google Allo is now available, but do we need another messaging app?

Google Allo

Google has just released its new messaging app, Google Allo to both iOS and Android (or to be specific, iPhone and Android phones only).

Google Allo promises something that other messaging services and apps could not offer: Artificial Intelligence. That is, in a nutshell, a smarter way to message one another.

For example, Google Allo will offer Smart Replies according to the context of the current chat reply. For example, when your friend sends you a photo of a cute animal, Allo can suggest something like “Awww cute” or an emoticon to go with. According to Google, Allo will get smarter and smarter by analysing how you normally reply to these things and as you chat and use Allo along the weeks.

Google Allo Smart Reply

There is also a Google Assistant integrated in Allo, so you can get the Assistant to help out during a conversation with a friend or in a group. You may ask its help to find the best Italian restaurant in the area to go to, or do other searches without having to leave Allo.

Normally, you’d switch to a browser to do your research and then do a copy paste or type in your findings back in the chat. With Allo, everything is done on the same screen by typing “@google” to invoke the Assistant.

Google Allo supports stickers (like many messaging apps out there) and an Incognito mode where messages are encrypted (WhatsApp has this by default) and can be set to expire.

The same question remains, though. Why would my friends want to install Google Allo? We already have iMessage, WhatsApp, BlackBerry Messenger, Facebook Messenger, LINE, KakaoTalk, Slack, Google Hangouts, Viber, and other popular messaging services.

Will the Smart feature bring people to Google Allo? I doubt it at this stage. Some may give it a try but only time will tell how long will the novelty last.

If you are interested to try it out, however, download Google Allo and give it a go yourself.

Google Allo Video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXEkoXgb4bI

Source: Official Google blog post

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