Google Tests ‘Smart Reply,’ Sends Contextual Replies to All Your Favorite Chat Apps

Replying to common messages received via your Android device will soon be a lot easier. Google is developing an app that will give you a selection of preformatted responses allowing you to reply with just one click of a button.

The new project is aptly named “Reply,” which can be viewed as the mobile version of Google’s Smart Reply feature that is available in Gmail and Allo. The upcoming app, which will be initially available to Android users, will use artificial intelligence to automatically create response suggestions to inbound messages.

The “Reply” app aims to enable users to make faster responses to simple questions instead of typing out the entirety of their replies. For instance, users will be given the reply options “Yes,” “No,” or “I am here” when they receive questions such as “Are you at the restaurant?” or “When can you be home?” The AI-powered app will also take into account your current location when crafting an appropriate response.

[Image via Android Police]

The app is currently in development by Google’s Area 120 team. However, the company does not plan on limiting the useful feature only to its messaging apps. The team announced that the plan is for the upcoming app to work with other mainstream messaging apps.

In fact, it’s not necessary to change apps to enjoy the convenience of the upcoming “Reply” app at all. The Area 120 team is aiming for the app to have support among major messaging apps such as Hangouts, Allo, Whatsapp, Facebook Messenger, Android Messages, Skype, Twitter DMs, and Slack.

Aside from offering reply suggestions, the “Reply” app will also introduce other smart features. It comes with a Do Not Disturb mode which can be particularly useful when you are driving as it will silence your smartphone and automatically send a responses message saying that you can’t chat at the moment.

At the moment, Team 120 is not disclosing any launch date estimate.