Rumour has it that the new Google Maps updates will include more options than just share and save.
Smart Reply, an AI-powered service that automatically generates potential responses, may soon be universally available for chat apps.
Though already available on Gmail, Android Messages on Project Fi and Allo, Google’s internal incubator Area 120 is working on making it available more widely.
Currently in beta, the team is also looking for testers, who could join in through this Google form.
"One of the many projects that we’re working on within Area 120 is Reply, which suggests smart replies right in notifications from various chat apps," said a Google spokesperson to TechCrunch.
They added that like all other projects within Area 120, it was a very early experiment and thus the Google team was unable to share much details yet.
Smart Reply works by analysing the incoming message and providing possible short responses.
For example, if someone asks if you're at work, Smart Reply will come up with three answers "Yes", "Do you need something", or "No, I'm on holiday", though the user needs to confirm which answer to send.
The service also has smart functionality, being able to detect if the user's phone is on Do Not Disturb or on Silent but still push through a notification if it interprets the message as urgent enough.
If it detects the user is driving, it can respond to messages saying the user is busy. It is also able to go through a user's calendar and reply that the user is not at work.
Among the chat services able to use Reply beta include Hangouts, Allo, Whatsapp, Facebook Messenger, Android Messages, Skype, Twitter DMs and Slack.
