The first thing that happened when I downloaded Allo, only a few seconds after I had given Google's new messaging app my phone number and snapped a selfie for my profile pic, is I got a cheery message from a new friend. "Hi David Pierce!" it said, in white letters on a blue bubbly background. Then another message, because my new Google Assistant evidently understands that you should never send a single text with more than two sentences, because what is this, Dostoevsky? "I can help you find what you need and get things done," it read. One more message about using my location, and then a little white bubble pops up on my side of the conversation: "OK, go on," it said. So I tapped it, the button turned the aqua color of my sent messages, and Google and I were off and running.

The next time you need to Google something, you may end up doing so via text message rather than typing in a search query or saying "Ok, Google." Allo includes a few capabilities that make using it feel notably different than sending texts through your phone's default SMS service. For one, it includes the company's new Google Assistant, which surfaces answers to questions and makes suggestions directly within your chat window. Allo can intelligently suggest responses to text and photo messages through a feature called Smart Reply. As other messangers like LINE and Facebook Messenger, Google's new messaging app offers an array of stickers to choose from.

If you're going to unveil a new messaging app, it had better do something unique. At this point, finding a place amongst entrenched options like Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp and iMessage is not an easy task. Google didn't quite pull it off with Hangouts when it launched in 2013. Sure, it's installed on basically every Android phone out there and anyone with a Gmail account has probably tried it, but Google's messaging strategy never quite came together in a compelling or clear way. So Google is rebooting yet again with Allo, a mobile-only messaging app that leverages the company's biggest strengths in an effort to stand out from the pack.

The Google Assistant wants to get to know you. New York--At its most basic level, Google Allo is similar to the many mobile chat apps that let you schmooze with friends through a combination of texts, pictures, emojis and fancy stickers. But the piping hot messaging space is fertile ground for bots and artificial intelligence, and Allo, which Google starts rolling out to the Google Play Store and Apple App Store Wednesday, represents the coming out party for the AI-driven Google Assistant that was announced in May at the Google I/O confab. You'll have to communicate with other Allo users to get the full-fledged Allo treatment, but you'll also be able to send standard SMS texts to people who don't have the app. Allo, which is free, only works on Android or iOS devices.

The company is launching Allo, it's AI-centric messaging app for iOS and Android that offers an early peek at some of its most robust artificial intelligence capabilities yet. First previewed during its I/O developer conference earlier this year, the app combines the best of Google's predictive and search superpowers along with an all-new personal assistant feature. At first glance, Allo looks very similar to many other messaging apps. You sign up with your phone number and, after verifying your identity, the app scans your address book to find people you may know who are also using the app. Beginning a one-on-one or group chat is fairly straightforward.

The company is launching Allo, it's AI-centric messaging app for iOS and Android that offers an early peek at some of its most robust artificial intelligence capabilities yet. First previewed during its I/O developer conference earlier this year, the app combines the best of Google's predictive and search superpowers along with an all-new personal assistant feature. At first glance, Allo looks very similar to many other messaging apps. You sign up with your phone number and, after verifying your identity, the app scans your address book to find people you may know who are also using the app. Beginning a one-on-one or group chat is fairly straightforward.

It's your nighttime routine: You drop your phone onto the nightstand charging pad, and it asks about your day. You tell it, talking to the virtual personal assistant just like you'd talk to a friend. Your phone's artificial intelligence knows you almost as well as you know yourself (maybe even better). So when it suggests ways to get through tomorrow's calendar, you trust its advice. AI is practically everywhere, and getting smarter all the time.

Many of the big players in IT are taking an interest in artificial intelligence nowadays. A.I. has already become a part of our daily lives and has the potential to penetrate further to fulfill our day-to-day needs. It is apparent from the existing tools that A.I. has a significant role to play in the areas of business and marketing. Here are some of the best A.I.-based tools that can benefit small and medium business. Gluru acts like a personal assistant that will keep a watch on your calendar, track meetings and events, and give you a daily digest of your deadlines, to-dos, and appointments.

NEW YORK--Only a few years ago, the launch of a new computer operating system set off impassioned clashes between devotees of the Mac and supporters of Windows. Tuesday's arrival of macOS Sierra seems like an after-thought by comparison, coming with nowhere near the media attention that's paid to an iPhone or even iOS release. The marquee feature is Siri's debut on the Mac, and while this is mainly a welcome development, the fact is we all got to know Apple's loquacious personal assistant on the phone first. Indeed, with Sierra comes further evidence that we're fully entrenched in a post-PC world, where the computers in our pockets have trumped those on our desks. Microsoft with Windows 10 has for the most part designed a single operating system that is meant to work across PCs, phones, tablets, even Xboxes.

No longer simply the subject of science-fiction movies, artificial intelligence is making its way into the insurance enterprise. According to Accenture, four in five insurers are planning to or have deployed some sort of artificial intelligence technology in their enterprises. Allstate Business Insurance deployed ABie -- the Allstate Business Insurance Expert -- virtual assistant to help walk agents through the quoting process for complex products. The context-aware technology understands agents inputs and is able to direct them through the process without using the call center. AIG has partnered with Human Condition Safety to deploy devices that "couples wearable technology with artificial intelligence (AI) and building information modeling."