Google Allo is out and rolling to the public on both Android and iOS devices. As usual, the app is not available in all parts of the world, but it will be in no time.
In case you didn’t know, Google Allo is a free messaging app that was launched back in May. It comes in to add to the likes of WhatsApp, iMessage, Facebook Messenger and Viber, among dozens of others, but it boasts one feature that none of the current players has to offer. The Google Assistant, which was also launched in May, is buried deep in the app and as you know, this digital assistant is now smarter than ever. But there is more to Google Allo than you probably know. Here’s a look at the 4 best features of the app.
Google Assistant
One way you can interact with Google Allo is through the Assistant. This is a virtual assistant that is capable of pulling any sought of information from the web as well as bring out embedded videos from within a chat as long as you want it. You will be promised of up-to-date information from this assistant and you can even go as far as asking personal questions and you won’t be disappointed.
When within messages, it is possible to summon the digital assistant for any help, be it locating the best restaurant that you and your friends can dine or even playing a favorite video for your chat mates to listen and watch. To make it get better, Google built its own machine learning into the assistant, meaning that the more you use it, the more it gets better at serving you.
To call upon the assistant from within Google Allo, simply enter the phrase “@google” before the commands.
Smart replies
Google Allo has a smart replies’ feature that is helped by the presence of artificial intelligence. The app has the ability to suggest the best possible answers you can give to a friend when not in the mood to think of something better. It can be a handy feature when on the move and the fact that it learns from your everyday phrases and way of communication with different people makes it even cooler.
According to Google, this Smart Reply feature will improve with time as you use it as well as adjust better to your way of communication.
Image recognition
Google Allo also comes with support for image recognition technology. This means that the chat app can spot the difference between a cat and a dog. In fact, the Smart Reply feature above also works hand-in-hand with this image recognition software so as to give out the best suggestions when called upon.
Enhanced messaging
Messaging apps are more of the same, especially when it comes to features. You will get the likes of emojis, stickers, and others on many chat apps, but Google Allo adds things like the ability to send smaller and larger versions of text messages, scribble on images as well as share customized stickers.
There is also the option to go into incognito messaging where end-to-end encryption is enabled by default and the messages are disappearing.