Gboard now uses AI to suggest the perfect emoji

If all you ever wanted from a mobile keyboard is, well, a mobile keyboard, you’re going to hate Gboard’s latest update.

Google’s keyboard, from today, will now suggest GIFs, emoji and stickers to users during your conversations using AI.

“This makes it faster and easier to share your #feelings and your glowing personality with whoever you’re chatting with,” wrote Angana Ghosh, Gboard’s product lead, on Google’s Keyword blog.

The suggestion feature is triggered when keywords are typed into conversation. This can include overused single words like “awesome” or multiple common phrases like “I’m sleepy”.

The feature uses Google’s AI engine, but it emphasises that no data is uploaded or processed in the cloud.

“To make sure these suggestions are private to you and take place as fast as possible, this feature is processed entirely on your device,” Ghosh added.

Gboard’s AI suggestion is feature is now available on the latest version of the app, but only in English for now.

“Over time, we’ll expand Gboard suggestions to more languages, and more types of content to help you do and say more right from your conversation,” the Ghosh concluded.

This may be overkill if you’re just looking for a simple mobile keyboard app, but it will likely be a boon for anyone who hates trawling through search to find those sassy GIFs.

Feature image: Google