Google Developing New AI-Powered Messaging App

Google is reportedly developing a new mobile-messaging service that integrates its artificial intelligence (AI) expertise and “chatbot” technology, according to a recent report from The Wall Street Journal.

Before the advent of smartphones, gtalk was one of the popular online messaging services. But now Google is lagging behind Facebook’s Whatsapp and Messenger and Tencent Holdings Ltd.’s WeChat, the most popular messaging app in China.

The new messaging service seems to be the latest effort by the search engine giant to emerge as a leader in the mobile-messaging arena.

The chatbot technology mentioned earlier is a software program that answers questions inside a messaging app, sources told the media house. They explained that users will be able to text friends or a chatbot, which will search the Web and other sources for information to answer a question.

Sources also told the WSJ that Google veteran Nick Fox has been leading a team working on the new service for at least a year. 

The tech giant is deeply involved in AI research. According to the WSJ, Google’s researchers announced in June that they had developed a chatbot that learns how to talk with humans by analyzing dialogues from movies. Moreover, its internet-based search engine is already capable of basic conversations.

There is no word yet on the launch of the new service or what it will be called, the report said.