Google appears to be working on a new feature for Google Chat on Android that uses Gemini-powered artificial intelligence. The feature, called “Smart Summary,” will allow users to request a quick summary of any conversation. This can be useful for getting an overview of the important elements of a long discussion without having to scroll through the entire conversation.
This feature was discovered by PiunikaWeb, a site specializing in hidden feature discovery and application analysis. By examining the code of the Google Chat app for Android, they spotted references to Smart Summary. This feature relies on AI to provide clear, concise summaries of discussions, allowing users to quickly catch up on the thread of events or find key points without spending too much time reading each message.
Although the precise details of this feature have yet to be confirmed, Smart Summary could be a valuable tool for Google Chat users, enabling them to manage complex conversations more effectively and access information more quickly. It is not yet known when Google plans to launch this feature, but it appears to be under development and could be deployed in a future update of Google Chat on Android.
An improved feature
Google Chat already offers automated summaries, but these can sometimes miss key elements of conversations. However, with the new on-demand summary feature, users will soon be able to generate summaries for specific threads whenever they want. This feature will give greater control over the points highlighted and the flexibility to create customized summaries at any time.
The advantage of this feature lies in the ability for users to choose when they wish to obtain a summary, rather than relying solely on automatic summaries, which can sometimes be incomplete or overlook important aspects. By enabling the manual generation of summaries, Google Chat becomes a more adaptable tool, meeting the needs of users who want quick summaries of conversations without having to go through every message.
The Gemini technology used to power this feature has already been integrated into the Gmail application to summarize emails. It’s logical, then, that Google should extend this functionality to Google Chat, bringing similar improvements to the management of group discussions or long threads.
Although the exact roll-out date is not yet known, this feature could be a valuable addition for users who want a more efficient way of managing and understanding long or complex conversations in Google Chat.
AI comes into play once again
According to PiunikaWeb, enabling manual summaries in Google Chat will be straightforward. To generate a summary, you’ll probably have to long-press on a conversation, then select a button to launch the summary.
However, it’s important to note that these summaries are created by an artificial intelligence (AI) model, which means they may have limitations. Google Chat will include disclaimers to remind users that these summaries are not always accurate and do not necessarily reflect Google’s opinion. Such disclaimers are common with AI-powered apps, as they may not always correctly interpret context or miss important details.
The ability to summarize discussions at any time is a useful feature, especially for users who want to quickly catch up on the thread of a conversation without skimming through all the messages. With AI summaries already available for Gmail on the web and soon on Android, it seems likely that this feature will extend to other applications in the Google Workspace suite.
The implementation of this feature allows users to obtain summaries on demand, which can be a significant time-saver for those working with long conversations or group discussions. The success of this feature will depend on the accuracy of the summaries and their ability to identify key points consistently.
