We’ve already been pretty impressed by Google’s artificially intelligent assistant, housed in the Allo messaging app, and now the tool is giving us more reason still to sing its praises.
On Monday, Google announced that both the Google Assistant and Smart Reply in Google Allo are now available in Hindi — for new and existing users. That means that more users than ever, particularly those in fast-growing market India, can take advantage of Allo’s intelligence. “Whether it’s exchanging comments on the ongoing cricket match or making weekend plans with your friends, messaging apps have become central to our lives,” Google said in its announcement. “With Google Allo, which launched globally earlier this year, we created a smart messaging app designed to keep you in the conversation and serve you the information you need right within the chat window.”
India has proven itself to be a worthy area of focus for tech companies around the world, as its enormous population continues to adopt emerging technology and especially mobile technology at a rapid clip. In fact, Google notes, Allo has received a particularly large volume of feedback from India, “which has one of the highest number of Google Allo users.” So of course, it only makes sense to have the assistant speak the same language as one of its largest demographics.
“With today’s launch, the Google Assistant in Allo will now understand and respond in Hindi. You just need to type @google to bring your Assistant into any group chat,” Google announced. “To start using the Assistant in Hindi,just say “Talk to me in Hindi” or adjust the language setting on your device.”
The “Smart Reply” feature is also now available in Hindi, allowing users to reply quickly and coherently. “Powered by Machine Learning, Google Allo not just understands text, but can also help with suggested responses to images sent by friends and family — all in Hindi,” the tech giant noted. And even if you’re bilingual, Allo will work with you by recognizing the language you’re using, and showing relevant responses in that language.
Already, Google Assistant and Smart Reply are available in English, German, and Brazilian Portuguese, and Hindi will begin rolling out to everyone in the next few days. So keep being a woman or man of the world — Allo will keep up.