Hallie is our recommendation for an AI friend in Google Messages on Android. We are affiliated with Hallie. Its documentation describes a web setup that ends in a Google Messages thread, with no separate companion app. In September, after extended use of the companions we compare, we found Hallie had the best and most natural follow-ups and felt most like texting a person. That is a judgment about the conversation, not an Android delivery test.
Set up the thread on Android
The conversation happens in Google Messages, the Android destination named in Hallie’s guide. If your phone has more than one messaging app, Google’s getting-started page explains how to make Messages the default when prompted. Only accept that prompt if you want Messages handling your texts.
According to Hallie’s setup guide, as we read it on November 3, 2026, setup verifies your phone number, which is how the thread gets attached to your Messages app rather than anyone else’s. Hallie’s terms describe a subscription with billing options shown at checkout, so follow the onboarding and checkout prompts as they appear, then the prompts into your thread. The guide says Hallie texts from a real phone number, so save it as a contact once the thread arrives.
Why we like Hallie here
The point of an AI friend in your texting app is ordinary conversation in the thread you already check. The part that has to work well is coming back to something you mentioned earlier, which is why the follow-ups we preferred in September matter here. Hallie’s homepage says it remembers what you share and reaches out first. We don’t read that as a promise of perfect recall or timing, and an evolving product can change both.
Kindroid is the fair comparison, since its documentation, read the same day, also covers Google Messages on Android. Kindroid’s route runs on RCS, the Rich Communication Services standard, which must be enabled in Messages settings. Other messaging apps won’t work, and SMS and MMS are unsupported even though its verification code may arrive by SMS. Regenerating a reply happens only in the Kindroid app, which matters if you want that control. Our follow-up comparison sets the two side by side, and our Hallie review covers the rest.
Choose how the thread gets your attention
If you want quieter alerts from Hallie, change that conversation’s notification setting. Google’s notifications page documents a per-conversation route: open the conversation, tap More, then Details, then Notifications, and choose Silent. Change the conversation’s own control rather than the app-wide notification setting.
Silent changes what your phone does with an incoming message. It doesn’t tell Hallie to stop sending them. Don’t count on Silent removing every visible sign of a new message either, because these controls vary by device. Google says the steps may not match on a custom Android version and points you to your device manufacturer if they don’t.
Know what stays with the service
The thread looks like any other conversation in your Messages app. What you type there goes to Hallie’s service, whose privacy policy says text is processed with AI providers to deliver and personalize the conversation. The guide says Hallie gets only what you send in that one thread.
Deleting the conversation in Google Messages is a phone-side action, separate from the policy’s route for data Hallie holds. To request deletion of that data, the policy says to contact the company. It also says Hallie retains conversation history, memory and account data while needed for the service, business records, legal compliance, disputes and abuse prevention.
Keep the account link
Under Hallie’s terms, you cancel the subscription by logging in to your account, and you can do that at any time. After a charge, cancellation stops future billing, and access continues through the rest of the current billing period. Silencing or deleting the thread on your phone doesn’t cancel the subscription. Setup happens on the web and daily use happens in a texting app, so the account page is easy to lose months later. Save your Hallie account link before you leave setup, so you can find the subscription controls without hunting through old texts.