Google Messages Rolls Out AI-Powered Magic Compose Feature
Google is once again proving its dedication to artificial intelligence (AI) integration with its latest update – the Magic Compose feature in Google Messages. Initially announced in 2023, the feature was scheduled for a summer release in the U.S. but has already started rolling out for testing.
Magic Compose uses AI to write out Rich Communication Services (RCS) messages on your behalf, allowing users to choose from various styles such as Remix, Excited, Chill, Shakespeare, Lyrical, Formal, and Short.
The feature works by sending up to 20 of your previous messages to Google’s servers to learn about your writing style and the context of the conversation. Google assures users that these messages are discarded once AI responses have been generated1. However, it remains unclear how this feature interacts with the end-to-end encryption that protects RCS messages from being read by anyone else.
This development follows the opening of the waitlist for another AI feature announced at 2023, the Search Generative Experience (SGE). It appears that Google is eager to get as many users as possible to test these new tools.
While several Google products, including Gmail and Google Messages for Android, already offer smart reply options, Magic Compose seems to take it a step further by crafting entire conversations. This raises the question of whether users would want their friends and family interacting with an AI bot rather than themselves.
As AI text generation becomes more advanced, the quality of the output is still a topic of discussion, particularly when it involves creativity and personal communication. Magic Compose could be seen as a fun feature, especially with options like Lyrical and Shakespeare. It might also save time for users with a large number of contacts. the integration of AI text generation into personal messaging could be seen as an odd fit.
As of now, to test the Magic Compose feature, users need to switch to the beta version of the Google Messages app, be a Google One subscriber, and use the English language on a phone with a U.S. SIM.
