Hello Allo! 10 tips to use Google's new chat app in best way

From the basic looking GTalk to the clumsy Hangout, Google has evolved and adapted its messaging service with changing needs and times. And today with its new chat app Allo, the company again attempts to rewrite the way people use chat apps. It will be unfair to call Allo only a chat app. It does so much more than just chats! Along with an AI, which learns fairly fast about the users, it also comes with several features that will help users plan, find information, and be more expressive in chats.

Announced at Google's I/O 2016, the app is now available in the Play Store. As you use it, here are some tips that will help you use it in best possible way.

Share videos quickly: Sharing videos in chats can be a tedious. First long press the link, copy it, then open the chat window where you wish to share it. It seems with the Allo Google hopes to solve this problem.

Just type @google in any chat and the company's inbuilt AI assistant will appear in the text box. Select it and then ask the videos you wish to see. Example: Type @google show me the video of  making Matar Paneer.  The AI will reply with a expanded video link of the recipe.

Fix your text size: Text size can also help convey the message. Allo gives users liberty to change the text size in a chat on the fly. Just slide the send up or down to increase or decrease the text size in a message.

Hola Allo, find me flights: Yes. Allo is lot more than just chat app. It has four types of chats: One to one, group chat, Incognito chat and Chat with Google Assistant.

If you are chatting with Google Assistant, you can ask the AI to show you plane tickets, hotel availability and many other things. It shows the Google search result.

Allo will set reminders: Yes, the AI in the app can also set reminders and alarms for you. Go to Google Assistant in the app and simply ask it to set alarm. Done! That is all.

Play games: You can also play games in Allo. For example, the chat game is one of the interesting ones.  In this game, you can select the game type and AI will play that game with you.

For eg: I played the Emoji Riddle game where AI would give me a quote and I had to type the emoji that expressed it. You can also pass, quit or seek hints from AI.

Search for restaurants: The AI chat assistant uses your location and accordingly suggests restaurants nearby. You can also view the restaurants by clicking on Google map.

Incognito chats: Like WhatsApp, Google Allo also promises safe and encrypted chats. But this is only possible in Incognito Mode. Once toggled, the Incognito Mode will ensure that chats are encrypted.

Also, the chat history will disappear after you have finished the talk when you have set an expiration period. You can set your expiration period for the chats ranging from 5 seconds to maximum one week.

Summon Google Assistant: Not only can you chat directly with the Google Assistant, you can also involve it into chats with others. Simply type @google and the AI will be at your call.

Quick reply but no typing: You can quick reply from the notification window using smart suggestions from AI chat bot.

Group chats: Just like WhatsApp, you can also create groups in the app. Options to delete, add people or  mute group is also given. Read messages have double ticks, similar to how they are there in WhatsApp. Also, you can long press on a message and see details like the exact time it was delivered and read.

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