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This is an archive article published on May 27, 2023

Google rolls out Magic Compose beta, the AI feature that enables users to fine-tune their conversation tone

But there is one concern: Magic Compose will send up to “20 previous messages” to Google’s servers to generate suggestions.

google magic compose featuredMagic Compose is one of the many AI-powered features Google unveiled at its I/O event earlier this month. (Image: Google)
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Google rolls out Magic Compose beta, the AI feature that enables users to fine-tune their conversation tone
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Google has started rolling out Magic Compose beta, its new Messages feature that helps users write text messages using AI. Powered by Bard, Google’s version of the insanely popular AI chatbot ChatGPT, Magic Compose can rephrase your text in seven styles: Remix, Excited, Chill, Shakespeare, Lyrical, Formal, and Short.

For now, availability is limited to Android phones with RCS-enabled US SIM cards. But after it rolls out for you, you can enable it from the app’s Settings menu. Then you can access Magic Compose from the pencil icon in the text field and rephrase your typed-out text in different tones and styles.

But there is one caveat. Magic Compose will send up to “20 previous messages” to Google’s servers to generate suggestions, even if you are using RCS with end-to-end encryption.

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Google outlines this in its Magic Compose support page, noting that it will send these messages, along with any included emoji, reactions, and URLs, to its servers but “only used to make suggestions relevant to your conversation.” The company adds that it doesn’t store messages or use them to train machine learning models.

However, while Messages with attachments, voice messages, and images aren’t sent to Google servers, image captions and voice transcriptions may be sent.

Magic Compose is one of the many AI-powered features Google unveiled at its I/O event earlier this month. The company is also rolling out its Search Generative Experience features to some users in the US, which will let them see summarised answers at the top of results for searches.

Meanwhile, Microsoft already rolled out a similar feature that lets users adjust conversation tones with its keyboard app, Swiftkey. That one is more universal, though, as it allows users to access conversation tones across a wide range of apps, unlike Magic Compose which is limited to just the Google Messages app for now.

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