Google Allo Messaging App Gets 'Yes or No' Polling Feature

Google has been trying to attract users to its Allo messaging app by pushing out new features such as animated emojis, faster GIF search, among other things. The latest update to Allo now adds a polling feature, which allows users to create a poll in private or group chats.

The new update was revealed via a tweet from Amit Fulay, Head of Product for Google Allo and Duo. To begin, you will need to type "@yesno" in the chat box followed by your question. For example, if you want to decide on Pizza, you can type "@yesno Anyone for Pizza?", and a poll will be created by the bot, which will let anyone, including yourself, vote in. Notably, the feature only allows for Yes or No answers and doesn't let you set custom options.

The tick option next to the poll lets you close the poll at any time. The polling feature is already available in India and you can try it out right now on the latest version of Allo. Google in December also introduced Hindi Assistant to win over its Indian user base. Fulay claimed at the time that the app had received tremendous response, especially in India.

Google's latest messaging app has not been able attract users as it would have liked, according to its recent performance on Google Play charts. The company has been trying to simplify its confusing array of messaging apps that include Hangouts and Android Messages. Notably, Hangouts is now being revamped to serve enterprise users leaving Allo and Duo to serve for general users. We'll just have to wait and see if Google's latest attempts have done enough to get people onto Allo.