There are three different styles of chat in Allo: normal messaging, a direct conversation with the virtual assistant, and "incognito chats", which are end-to-end encrypted and feature disappearing messages. When you receive an incognito message the notification won't say who it is from or reveal any of the contents.

As with other messaging apps you can send images, video, voice messages and a custom-designed selection of stickers.

To call on the virtual assistant you will need to start the message with "@google" and type in fairly clear commands. You don't need to do anything to activate suggested responses: they will automatically appear above the keyboard.

The 5 best features of Allo

1. The @google Asistant

Google's virtual assistant can pull information from the internet, embed YouTube videos within a chat and provide up-to-the-minute information.