• by Jess Nelson , July 27, 2017

Smart Reply on both iOS and Android devices will soon support the Spanish language, according to a social media post published by Google. 

Spanish compatibility will roll out across Google’s entire product line of email applications, including Gmail and Allo.

Powered by artificial intelligence, Smart Reply helps email users quickly reply to incoming messages. The tool provides three possible responses at the bottom of every email received with the phrases tailored to an email user's writing style. Email users can simply select a response, or edit the suggested phrase, before sending mail.

Smart Reply first appeared in Google’s Inbox email application in 2015, and has since spread to the technology giant’s additional email products. In May 2017, Google released the AI-generated response feature to Gmail and Allo as well.

The tool requires users’ permission for Google to read their email so the technology can suggest appropriate and contextual responses. The more often Smart Reply is used, the better Google’s suggested replies become.  

Facing a privacy backlash, Google announced last month that it would no longer be reading users’ emails for ad targeting. It will continue, however, to scan the content of emails to personalize the Smart Reply feature if the tool is turned on.

In the company’s social media post announcing the news, social media users were quick to point out the company’s misspelling of the Spanish word for restaurant – “restaurante.”