At Google I/O, Google plays social catch-up (again) with Allo, Duo, revamped digital assistant

Google outlined a new instant messaging app called Allo, a revamped Google Assistant and a video calling service dubbed Duo. Add it up and Google looks like it's revving up to make a social play again by taking on helpful bots, Apple's Facetime, Skype, Facebook's WhatsApp and Messenger as well as others. What's unclear is whether any of these efforts will do better than Google's Google, which didn't turn out to be the Facebook killer the search giant wanted. Google's bet is that "assistive," "ambient" and "conversational" experiences with its artificial intelligence will put a unique spin on the latest social efforts. The hub of social today is messaging.