Google already has two messaging services available on Android — Hangouts and Messenger — but a new report says that the company has a new one cooking in its kitchen.
Google is said to be building a new messaging app that’ll not only let you chat with friends, but also provide you with information when you need it. The app will reportedly use chatbots to answer questions that you ask, allowing you to get answers to your questions from within the chat app rather than going to Google’s search engine. Google is expected to allow third-parties to build chatbots that can be used with its new app, expanding its capabilities.
The new messaging app has been in the works for “at least a year,” reports the Wall Street Journal, but it’s unclear when the app might launch to the public.
People spend a lot of time in messaging services like WhatsApp, WeChat, and Facebook Messenger, which let them stay in contact with their loved ones across platforms. Many of those apps are now gaining other features to keep the user inside of the app. For example, Facebook Messenger is testing an assistant called M that can recommend restaurants for you to check out and make you reservations. Google knows that these types of features are taking away from its search engine, and so it makes sense that El Goog would want to build its own messaging app with chatbots that can tap into its knowledge base and keep them in the Google ecosystem.
