Microsoft is working on a system that animates emojis based on the type of conversations you have

Emojis have become an essential part of our daily virtual interactions with people, but it seems Microsoft wants to take them to the next level with a brand new tech that would change the way emojis are displayed in desktop and mobile apps.

In a recently published paper, the Redmond-based tech giant describes a technology called Recommendations of expressive illustrations based on animation compatibility. This technology not only personalizes emojis based on conversations but also animates them together with the emojis used by the recipient of your messages.

The way it works is also quite easy to understand, meaning this technology has a big chance of being released soon. Here’s how it works.

What you need to know is that this system improves how emojis are suggested in messaging apps. It has a special user interface (UI) that arranges suggested emojis in a particular order based on certain criteria.

It analyzes and examines the emojis you receive, creating a list of emojis you might want to use to respond. It ranks the suggested emojis, placing those that can create animations with the received emoji at the top of the list. For example, if the received emoji is a heart, the system might suggest a sparkle emoji or a smiley face first if they can create a sparkling heart animation together.

The system looks at each emoji’s ability to generate animated effects when combined with the received emoji. Emojis that can create animations are shown before those that can’t. When you reply to a message with an emoji, you’ll first see the most visually exciting and interactive options, making your messages more expressive and engaging.

Microsoft says in the paper that this emoji system would work on desktop platforms, mobile phones, and practically any app that supports emojis for communication.

That means platforms such as Teams, Outlook, Viva Engage, and many more, would support the new emoji format.

The tech would be possible considering Microsoft already introduced a similar technology, although not as complex, earlier this year in Teams: the ability to create custom emojis. Users can gather their own resources and forge their own emojis.

What do you think about this new tech? Would you use the animated emojis in your conversations?

You can read the patent here.