Google is putting a different twist on the concept of "automated reply"
with a new tool that aims to write artificially intelligent responses to
your email.
The technology is part of an update to Google's Inbox app
for managing and organizing email. The feature announced Tuesday is the
latest example of Google's effort to teach machines how to take over
some of the tasks typically handled by humans.
The most
conspicuous example so far has been Google's 6-year-old project
developing cars that can drive without a human steering the wheel.
Google also has been using an artificial intelligence program called
"RankBrain" to help determine the pecking order in its influential
Internet search results.
In this instance, Google says it has
created a program that identifies which incoming emails merit quick
responses and then figures out the appropriate wording. Up to three
choices will be offered as a reply before it's sent. The responses that
people select are supposed to help Google's computers learn which ones
work best.
Google expects its new "smart reply" option to be
particularly popular when people are checking emails on smartphones
equipped with smaller, touch-screen keyboards.
The new feature is
available to all consumers who use the free version of Inbox, as well as
the more than 2 million businesses who pay for Google's suite of
applications designed for work.
Google unveiled Inbox a year ago
as a more sophisticated alternative to its popular Gmail service. The
Mountain View, California, company hasn't said how many people have
installed Inbox. Gmail has more than 400 million worldwide users,
according to the research firm comScore.
Google is part of a recently formed parent company, Alphabet Inc.