Google's Messaging Integration Strategy - Breaking Down the Barriers with iMessage

Google announced at its 'Google I/O 2023' developer conference that it will be fully deploying 'Google Messages' globally. This announcement positions it as a competitor to iOS's 'iMessage', and it is expected to reshape the messaging market.

'Google Messages' is a service that supports the RCS (Rich Communication Services) standard. RCS has garnered anticipation as an advanced form of text messaging, but due to a lack of global standardization, various countries and carriers have provided their own unique services. In response, Google has been working with major telecommunications companies around the world to expand the RCS ecosystem.

Yan Jendryovych, Google's Director of Android and Business Communications, explained, "Five years ago, there were various RCS versions that weren't interoperable across countries, but now group chats are possible using the same protocol anywhere in the world."

KDDI is scheduled to release Google Messages and pre-install it on Android phones, suggesting that full-fledged use of Google Messages will become possible in Korea. It appears that users will have the option to use it alongside the existing +Message service.

One of the distinctive features of Google Messages is the 'Photo Picker' function. Using this feature, AI can directly recognize objects within a photo and create unique emojis. They also plan to continuously provide new stickers in collaboration with external partners.

Google does not intend to create a sticker store like LINE, but they will consider adding related features if the number of users in Korea increases. They also plan to strengthen the use of AI in messaging, focusing on user protection such as spam message blocking.

It also features the 'Magic Compose' function, which uses Google's AI assistant 'Gemini' to provide sentence examples when composing messages. Gemini can also generate witty captions for photos sent by the other party.

Furthermore, Apple has announced that it will support RCS in iMessage sometime in 2024, which is expected to blur the lines between Android and iOS in the messaging market. Consequently, Google Messages users worldwide are expected to be able to communicate seamlessly with iOS device users in the future.

Through this global deployment of Google Messages, Google plans to accelerate its efforts to gain control of the messaging market by collaborating with telecommunications companies worldwide.