There was a lot of AI talk at Google I/O 2023, and for good reason. For the first time in a long time, Google was playing catchup, trying to face off against competitors like OpenAI. So to say that there was just a little bit of pressure would be an understatement. So of course, there were plenty of announcements about AI and how it would integrate into Google's existing products. One of these products was a feature called Magic Compose, which utilized generative AI to create responses using different personalities. While the beta was originally scheduled to roll out in the summer, it looks like Google is getting a head start, as it's already started rolling out the beta in limited fashion to those curious.

Now, if interested, there are going to be some requirements that need to be met for the beta. So we suggest you follow the steps below to get started.

  • For one, users that want to gain access to the beta will need to be subscribed to a Google One premium account.
  • If you're a member or once you subscribe, sign up for the beta.

While the sign-up process is easy, you're still going to have to receive a notification from Google, letting you know that you've been accepted to the beta program. With RCS Chats enabled in Messages, users can then start a conversation and should see "Message suggestions" option if everything was done right, which would indicate that Magic Compose is active. If you need more help, you can always head to the Magic Compose support page.

Those in the beta will have the option to try the feature or to turn it off. For now the beta will only be available in English and there will be seven supported styles composed of Remix, Excited, Chill, Shakespeare, Lyrical, Formal, and Short. Each will add a different type of personality behind a message, and users can edit AI generated messages as needed. The feature will be available on Android Phones with US SIM cards, and for the time being won't be available on Android Go phones for now.

As far as how Google will use your data during the beta, it states that it:

"Doesn’t store messages or use them to train machine learning models. Up to 20 previous messages,

including emojis, reactions, and URLs, are sent to Google’s servers and only used to make suggestions

relevant to your conversation. Messages with attachments, voice messages, and images aren’t sent to

Google servers, but image captions and voice transcriptions may be sent."

As far as conversations or messages sent through RCS, these are end-to-end encrypted, which means no one will be able to see them except the participating parties. So if curious, get started with the sign-up process and let us know what you think.