Google is developing a Messages feature aimed at saving your time
A couple of months ago, Google Messages underwent a Material 3 Expressive design makeover to stay consistent with Android 16. While no major new features have been introduced to Messages since then, we have seen evidence in recent weeks that Google is working on several new features for the app.
There is no clarity on when those features will roll out to users, but the latest evidence clearly suggests that the Mountain View tech giant started working on another feature for its Messages app. The new feature isn’t anything groundbreaking; instead, it’ll be a small yet important addition to an existing feature.
Google Messages may use Gemini to save you time
In an APK teardown by Android Authority, Google was found to be working on a new feature for Messages called “Insights.” This is more than code hinting at the new feature, as folks over at Android Authority managed to activate the feature on their phones, giving us some idea about how “Insights” might work on Google Messages.
Based on the screenshots of the feature shared by Android Authority, it’s clear that “Insights” is an addition to the link preview capability. The “Insights” button appears towards the bottom of each link preview. We can also see a Gemini logo on the button, which is a good enough hint that this will be powered by Gemini.
What does it do, you ask? Well, tapping the “Insights” button doesn’t do anything for now, which is justifiable since this is still in the development phase. However, the feature leaves some hint about what it’s meant to do by behaving differently in certain scenarios.
For example, the “Insights” option appears only on the recipient’s screen, and the sender won’t see it when they share an article with the person. Also, the feature doesn’t work if you don’t enable the “Show only web link previews” from the Messages’ Settings.
Based on these functionalities, Android Authority speculates that the “Insights” feature might let the recipient get the summary of the article without clicking the link, helping you quickly digest the topic. There is no evidence that explicitly says it’ll summarize the article. But the fact that it appears only on the recipient’s screen, assuming that the sender has already read the content, is a strong indicator.
We’ll get more details on this when the feature starts working as intended, and it might take days or weeks, or even months, for Google to take it to a working state. Hopefully, we’ll see it in action soon.
