After giving up waging war on Facebook on an impossible terrain like that of social networks (after the failure of Google+), Google has a new market objective, that of messaging apps currently dominated by Whatsapp, Facebook Messenger and other apps in growth like Snapchat and Telegram. So, after launching the Google Duo app for video calls in recent months, Allo now arrives, another messaging application, this time really in competition with Whatsapp.
Google Allo, however, is not only used to send messages to friends, but also to function as an intelligent automatic assistant, which through artificial intelligence can tell us, based on where we are, what we can do.
UPDATE: Allo has been retired and its features have been integrated into Google Messages .
At first glance, Allo looks very similar to Whatsapp and other messaging apps. Registration for the service is based on the phone number and also on the Google account. After verifying its identity, the application scans the address book to find out who is using Allo so that it can write to it via Allo. To start a chat just touch the button at the bottom or the one in the center of the main screen where you can immediately send a message or chat with a group of people. You can also start an incognito chat, with messages that self-destruct, which leaves no trace in the history and which is not saved.
In chats, in addition to text messages, you can also send voice messages, photos and the position on the map.
The application also includes a series of packs of stickers or themed images to be used to make conversations more fun.
You can immediately see how Allo is a little smarter than standard messaging apps through its Smart Replies feature. It is the evolution of quick responses, so in every conversation, the application can suggest the words and phrases to be written.
For example, if asked, " how did the weekend go " the application may suggest " it was nice " or " fun ".
In addition, by combining this feature with Google's photo recognition capabilities, Allo is able to suggest appropriate responses even after receiving a photo. Messages sent within Allo are encrypted by default, although end-to-end encryption is not used for now.
The most important peculiarity of Google Allo, however, is not in the messaging service, but in its super-advanced artificial intelligence, which allows you to interact with the Google Assistant capable of fulfilling our requests at any time.
Google Assistant is the new virtual assistant that responds as if it were a normal person, even if it is all automated.
This time it is not a bot like those found in applications such as Facebook Messenger and Telegram, useful but rather limited in their possibilities. The Google assistant is more similar to Siri, but clearly more advanced and with greater knowledge, derived from the huge database of information that is that of the Google search engine. You can use the Google assistant in Allo in Italian to obtain weather forecasts, immediate translations, news of the day, quick replies and other information.
Fortunately, you can also interact with virtual intelligence by touching buttons and therefore you are not forced to write or speak to try it.
The nice thing is that Google Assistant is not only a virtual contact to chat with, but you can call back in any conversation to get information while chatting with friends.
To recall the assistant, just tag it in a message by writing @google .
READ ALSO: The Google Assistant in Italian is now on every Android smartphone
Basically Allo can be considered a cross between Whatsapp and Siri, a very innovative app, like no other existing today.
Although it will struggle to find popularity, because in the end it is difficult to convince those who are not passionate about technology, to use new applications than the usual ones, it still deserves to be downloaded and tried immediately, especially to play with the intelligent and amazing AI of the Google Assistant.
