The feature that allows users to dictate the messages that they are looking to send through emails, text messages and Hangouts messages has been expanded to include messaging apps.
With dozens of messages being sent a day, some people find it time-consuming and unmanageable to type out their messages on the keyboards of their smartphones.
Google is looking to make sending messages more convenient for users by now allowing people to use Google Now to dictate messages that they send through messaging apps that include WhatsApp, WeChat, Viber, Telegram and NextPlus.
Google made the announcement through the official Google Search blog, where the feature was discussed by product manager Sunil Vemuri.
With the Google app for Android devices, users can simply say "Ok Google, send a text to..." followed by the person that they want to send a text message to, and then the message that the user wants to send. This can now also be done with the aforementioned messaging apps, by the user saying "Ok Google, send a WhatsApp message to..." followed by the contact that the message is for, followed by the actual message to be sent.
It is recommended that users should update the Google app and the messaging apps of their choice to the latest versions to ensure that the feature works correctly.
The feature allows users to send messages in English, but not only in the United States. Vemuri added that there will be more languages and apps that will be supported by the Google Now dictation feature in the future, as the development team continues to work on the additional services.
The new feature is the latest move of Google to transform Google Now into an all-around personal assistant for its users. The company is making improvements and adding new features to the product consistently, as it competes with Apple's Siri and Microsoft's Cortana in the space.
Among the features that the Google Now team has been working on are the Now cards for the product, which delivers information to users through third-party apps. Initially launched with 40 apps, the service provided context-sensitive information to users on Google Now as opposed to the notification system of the third-party apps. A few months ago, Google added an additional 70 apps supported by the Google Now cards.
