Google is making some massive modifications to Google Chat, its reply to Slack and Microsoft Groups. The messaging app — aka the product previously often called hangouts — is getting a brand new design, some options that can really feel distinctly acquainted to Slack and Groups customers, and plenty of Google’s new Duet AI collaboration instruments. From a report: A lot of the new options are rolling out later this 12 months and early subsequent, however they add as much as a way more helpful and aggressive Chat platform. Duet is the flagship new function and doubtlessly a motive for lots of Workspace customers to begin utilizing Chat. You should use Duet to look and ask questions on all of your stuff in Drive and Gmail and summarize each paperwork and conversations. You may additionally be capable to use AI-powered autocorrect in Chat, and due to Sensible Reply, you may by no means must manually discuss to your co-workers once more. You’ll discuss to Duet in a one-on-one chat or invoke it in a bunch chat or an area to assist get stuff executed. “You primarily have a co-worker who has infinite reminiscence and superb recall at your fingertips,” says Vamsee Jasti, Google’s product lead for Chat.
Outdoors of the AI integrations, Chat can be getting a facelift. The app has, till now, appeared like a reasonably barebones messaging app, with an inventory of conversations on the left and the lively chat on the fitting; now, it’ll have much more occurring. (And, sure, it would look much more like Slack and Groups.) There will probably be a brand new residence view with all of your latest conversations, plus devoted methods to see all of your starred conversations and mentions. For now, all the pieces will probably be reverse-chronological, however Google says it plans to begin extra intelligently organizing and ordering issues subsequent 12 months. The interface as an entire is getting a little bit of cleanup, too, with bigger buttons and aesthetics borrowed from Google’s Materials You design language.
