After the rumored shutdown of Google Hangouts, the company is reportedly planning to overhaul the third-party application. This means that people who have used Google Hangout can continue to use the messaging service.
According to Phone Arena, among the improvements of Google Hangout will include it being split into two separate apps. This will be the Meet and Chat segments with the former offering video meeting capabilities with the latter one focused on group chatting.
The Meet app for Google Hangouts will support up to 30-person video conferences with users not required to sign up or use additional software. All users have to do is click on the shared link, and they can automatically join in the meeting. Aside from links, people can also join in from set meetings done via Calendar since it will be integrated with G Suite.
The Chat app should be something similar to what users enjoy now on Google Hangout. The virtual room will include bots, Google App script support and integration with other third-party apps. The Meet portion of the Google Hangouts is already available. It will be rolled out in stages for G Suite users in the coming weeks. Users who wish to try out the revamped app can do so via the Early Adopter Program.
The recent development tied up with Google Chat follows the announcement of the AI-powered chat platforms Allo and Duo. For those who missed it, Allo is a mobile-only messaging app which was rebooted by Google, Engadget reported. It makes use of the company's biggest strengths which would make it stand out. It shows up in the app via the Google Assistant, a conversational chatbot that provides people contextual info based on chat history.