If all of this sounds familiar, it is because Google’s Allo app had a similar feature, but given that Google has confirmed that they will be shutting Allo down, it looks like they are planning on migrating the experience over to Android Messages instead. This means that if you’re already familiar with the smart suggestions in Allo, then this shouldn’t really be that different.
For those unfamiliar with how all of this works, it basically relies on AI to scan your messages for contextual clues. For example if you’re chatting with a friend about an upcoming movie, Google Assistant can pick up on that and will be able to surface additional information about said movie, like playtimes, reviews, a summary, and so on.
Google has reassured users that their messages are not being stored or sent back to the company, so there’s that. Of course all of this will require you to use Android Messages to begin with, but if you don’t then you won’t be able to take advantage of Google Assistant’s smarts.