Google is expanding Smart Reply from Gmail to Docs

Google is bringing the same AI-driven Smart Reply that will pop up when you’re replying to messages in Gmail to Google Docs. Google said the feature would reduce the time it takes to respond to comments in Docs, by providing AI-generated responses to choose from.

The company said Tuesday in a blog post that the feature will roll out in Google Docs over the next 15 days and will be switched on by default (although you can change this in settings). Smart Reply options will appear in the box below comments, but you can compose your own response if you’d prefer. It supplements spelling autocorrect and Smart Compose, which helps people write comments. Both of those also rely on AI to speed up the experience of using Docs.

Right now, Google’s Smart Compose and Smart Reply features are suited best for simple communications rather than for discussing more complex tasks. Not everyone appreciates Google butting in with thoughts of its own while they’re trying to communicate with colleagues, but at least the robots are trying to work with us rather than against us… for now.

Clarification at 9:10 a.m. PT: Smart Reply is designed to save you time when responding to comments.