Google Messages is adding an AI helper and bringing back a popular YouTube feature

Two exciting updates are on the horizon for Google Messages, the primary texting app for Android phones, which will make communicating much simpler and more enjoyable. These new features, which include a video player and an AI-powered assistant, are beginning to appear for app testers and should soon be accessible to all users.

First up is Insights, a clever new tool. This feature saves you time by utilizing Google’s potent AI, Gemini. You won’t have to click and read the entire page at once when a friend sends you a link to a recipe, news article, or anything else. Gemini will swiftly read the link and provide you with a brief synopsis if you choose to tap the Insights button instead.

Three extremely succinct bullet points will be used to summarize this AI. It will even let you know if it used information from the link alone or if it conducted a brief web search to find more information.

Typically, it will conclude with a final reminder to exercise caution, such as a safety warning or a recommendation to consult official sources. In this manner, you can read an article’s main idea without ever leaving your chat window.

The return of a well-liked video feature—the tiny pop-up YouTube player—is the second significant enhancement. This helpful tool vanished from Google Messages earlier this year. But it’s returning now!

Picture-in-Picture (PiP) is the name of this feature. You can now tap a YouTube video link that someone texts you to start the video playing in a small window within the Messages app. This eliminates the need to switch between apps so you can continue talking while watching the clip.

The best part is that you don’t even need to have the YouTube app installed because it functions directly within Messages. These two significant updates demonstrate Google’s efforts to improve Messages for all online communication activities, not just texting.

The app is getting some minor, practical adjustments in addition to the major ones. The app will now make it much more obvious which phone line you are using to send a message if you are a dual-SIM user or someone who uses two phone numbers.

To prevent you from inadvertently sending a text from the incorrect number, the name of your phone company will appear directly in the message box in place of a tiny icon. Additionally, the chat settings page is becoming cleaner and easier to read.