The whole reason Google released Inbox was to make emails as painless and simple as possible by acting almost like a virtual assistant, and now it’s reached the point where the app can literally create replies for you. Before you even reply to someone else’s email, Inbox will suggest three responses for you to use based on the context of the message. This is done using machine learning, something Google is immensely experienced in, but naturally, these synthetic responses are only good for messages that require quick, simple replies.
Sometimes it’s the quick and easy emails that go unanswered. Perhaps a friend is asking if you’re available for dinner, and you forgot to respond even though you were free that night. Google’s latest feature for Inbox, the email app it unveiled last October, attempts to make situations like this easier to handle by suggesting responses to emails. Before even pressing the reply button, Google will suggest three responses based on the content in a received email. The feature, which is called Smart Reply and launches on Nov. 5, uses machine learning to understand the context of a message and compose replies that make sense. Machine learning refers to specific types of computer algorithms that can learn how do do things wtithout being specifically programmed to do so — such as completing a task or making predictions. Google uses machine learning in several of its apps and services, including its Photos app, which can intelligently decipher subjects in photos so that the user can perform really targeted searches. For instance, a search for “dogs” should pull up all of the images in your library that contain dogs.
