Magic Compose pulls a disappearing act in latest Google Messages beta

Google’s Gemini AI features are now a core part of several of the tech giant’s apps and services. AI features within tools like Google Docs, Gmail, Sheets, Meet, Chat, Vids, and more, have now become an integral part of some people’s way of working, and taking them away suddenly can surely affect users’ workflows.

That’s exactly what seems to have happened with a generative AI feature that helps Google Messages users come up with stylized replies.

Google Messages gained Magic Compose support back in May 2023, and although it was initially limited to beta users, the feature has since expanded to more users. It allows users to gain AI-generated, context-aware suggested replies that are based on the ongoing conversation, while also being able to offer stylistic variations of messages typed out by you.

The former, suggested replies, is seemingly broken currently, with its dedicated Magic Compose button going poof with Google Messages beta version 20250119_01_RC00, as highlighted by 9to5Google. Although the latter, Magic Rewrite, is also accessed using the same button, it can still be triggered from within the plus menu, as seen in the second screenshot below.

Déjà vu?

Stable Google Messages users shouldn’t be worried about the AI feature disappearing, while beta users can roll back to a previous app version if Magic Compose is essential to their Google Messages needs. Alternatively, Magic Compose’s toggle still appears within the app’s Settings → Suggestions, indicating that this isn’t an intentional removal of a feature several Google Messages users have come to familiarize themselves with over the last 1.5 years, and it should return with a subsequent update.

For what it’s worth, this isn’t the first time Magic Compose has disappeared, and it might not be the last — which is exactly why app betas are classified as unstable, and you should be expecting features within the app to break from time to time.