I tried to like Google Allo; I really did. However, not enough people I know were on it, while everyone was already on Whatsapp. The only thing I LOVED was Google Assistant (and Adarsh Balak stickers). That said, I could get similar functionality with Google Now as well. The only advantage was that the results were provided within the context of a conversation. That got me thinking.
Google should tap into their search strategy of making Google search available everywhere.
What if Google made Assistant available on all bot platforms? Imagine pinging Google Assistant from within Facebook messenger, from withing Skype, from within Slack. THAT would be revolutionary.
The company was willing and continues to pay tons of money to make Google the default search engine in multiple browsers. What if it played the same game with messenger clients? What if Google search was available to users in any messenger app with a mere toggle (disabled by default, because privacy is important right)? How much would Google be willing to pay for such an access? How much would messaging companies be willing to charge for such access?
Messenger companies have very high market valuation with not enough revenue to show for it; barring the Chinese companies of course, because people live and breathe within the chat ecosystem over there. Such a pre-installed bot would not provide a new source of income for messenger companies, while ensuring that Google can continue to be the dominant player in search market.
Food for thought.
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