The Google Allo instant messaging (IM) app has been updated with support for polls, a Google official revealed. Amit Fulay, Product Head for Google Allo and Duo, took to Twitter on late Monday to share a screenshot of the new Google Allo functionality that allows users to create in-app polls in group chats. The polling feature automatically shares all of the gathered results with other conversation participants, though it’s currently relatively limited as it only allows users to create simple polls with “yes” and “no” answers. Regardless, users with access to Google Allo’s polling system can take advantage of it by typing “@yesno” in the app’s text input field and follow up on that command with a question. There are no limitations on the types of questions one can ask using this functionality, though your polls obviously won’t be terribly useful if you write something like “apples or oranges” and Google Allo only allows your recipients to answer with a “yes” or “no.”
There’s currently no information on whether the Mountain View-based tech giant will be expanding on this functionality in the future, though that may be a reasonable assumption seeing how the company has recently been hard at work expanding the functionality of its latest IM app. Google Allo’s support for in-app polls still isn’t live for everyone, though many users in the United States can already access it, recent reports indicate. Given that state of affairs and in light of the fact that the app hasn’t received a client-side update since March 20, it seems likely that Google is distributing the new feature through a server-side update that’s gradually rolling out to users, meaning it may be a few days until you can access it.
Regardless, it’s still recommended you’re running the latest build of Google Allo which you can download by following the Google Play Store link below. Refer to the screenshot beneath this writing to see how the app’s polling functionality works in practice. Given the amount of effort the Alphabet-owned company recently put into promoting Google Allo, the app will likely be updated with new useful features in the near future.