Google is making it even easier to share emoji and stickers on its messaging app Allo.
The app is now applying its AI-powered text prediction skills to emoji and stickers to make chatting even smoother. Called "Smart Smiley," the feature works just like Allo's Smart Replies, which suggest words and phrases based on your conversations. As you type, the app will now suggest emoji and stickers based on what you're saying.
"So if you’re planning dinner with a friend, you may see 🍔, 🍕, or 🍤. Or if you type “see you later” we’ll offer to complete that thought with 🐊.," Google explains in a blog post.
The app is now applying its AI-powered text prediction skills to emoji and stickers to make chatting even smoother. Called "Smart Smiley," the feature works just like Allo's Smart Replies, which suggest words and phrases based on your conversations. As you type, the app will now suggest emoji and stickers based on what you're saying.
"So if you’re planning dinner with a friend, you may see 🍔, 🍕, or 🍤. Or if you type “see you later” we’ll offer to complete that thought with 🐊.," Google explains in a blog post.
While other apps — like iMessage — include keyword-based emoji suggestions, Google says its version of the feature is a little smarter than most. Google takes into account both keywords and the sentiment of what you're saying when predicting emoji. In other words, the app should be able to differentiate between when it should suggest happy or sad emoji based on the tone of your conversation, even if you aren't using words like "sad" or "upset."
The company also notes that their early testing of the feature helped people share a wider variety of stickers and emoji so if you feel like you've been in an emoji rut lately, Smart Smiley may be able to help out.