Allo may not have been the revolutionary chat client Google promised at I/O 2016, but the company continues to iterate on All to make it more useful to users.
On Thursday, Google issued Allo’s latest client update.
The most notable change is a more visible access to the app’s signature feature, Assistant. Previously, users had to type “@google” to bring Assistant into a conversation. Now there’s now a dedicated button that brings up the AI-powered helper.
Google has also added a GIF search function to Allo. Users can access it by pulling up the GIF suggestion box and then navigating to the end. Last but not least, a select number of emoji have new animated counterparts. Users can see them by enlarging emoji using the app’s ‘Shout’ feature. So far, it’s mostly the commonly-used faces that have gotten the animated treatment.
The update is now available Android devices. Google says it’s coming to iOS “soon.”
Late last month, Google vice-president of engineering Nick Fox tweeted the company was working on an Allo desktop client. Fox did not reveal when Google plans to release the update app.
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