The battle arena for messaging apps has become increasingly busy in recent years, with the likes of Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp and countless others all vying for attention. In the workplace, Slack is the current favorite thanks in part to its smart capabilities, programmability, and bot.
Not waiting to miss out on the action, Facebook recently unveiled Facebook M, a virtual assistant bolt on for Messenger. Looking to compete directly with this, Google is working on a new AI-powered messaging service of its own according to a report from the Wall Street Journal.
The WSJ report is somewhat bereft of concrete detail, but those ever-present 'people familiar with the matter say that Google is working on a mobile messaging tool that incorporates artificial intelligence and a chatbot. On the face of it, the tool sounds like an amalgamation of Hangouts and OK Google, neatly combining what the company has learned from both.
Rather than keeping the app to itself, Google is said to be considering allowing third-party developers to create chatbots of their own, opening up the possibility of advanced customization.
Slack has already shown -- particularly with its recent support for apps -- that it is possible for a chat tool to be about much more than just chat, and it seems that this is an idea that Google is keen to build upon.
More details as we get them.
Photo credit: Vdovichenko Denis / Shutterstock
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