Machine learning and artificial intelligence are slowly working their way into every corner of Google's ecosystem. In Gboard, Google has been using AI to improve slide typing and word prediction for a while now. The latest feature of the keyboard to get infused with AI and machine learning is GIF and emoji suggestions.
GIFs and emoji have become a big part of text-based conversations, and therefore, keyboard apps as well. Gboard has all the emoji, GIFs, and stickers you'd expect to find on a modern keyboard, but with so many options it can be hard to find the perfect one. Google is now using on-device machine learning to suggest GIFs and emoji based on what you are typing.
As you type, a GIF icon will appear in the top bar of Gboard. Tapping the icon will bring up suggestions based on your conversation. Google is using fancy talk to explain the feature, but it's basically scanning your text for keywords. We've seen other keyboard apps use similar techniques, though we expect Google's implementation to be a bit smarter.
Google says this feature will be available globally for Gboard in English only at first. They plan to roll it out to more languages in the future.