There's no shortage of great keyboard apps on Android, but we're pretty partial to Gboard. Not only is it totally customizable, but its emoji support is second to none. Emoji Kitchen allows you to mix and match different emoticons together, creating everything from loving animals to confused cowboys and everything in between. With contextual suggestions, Gboard's about to make it even easier to use your custom emoji in everyday conversation.

The folks at 9to5Google spotted these suggestions in the app's current version, allowing users to quickly select an appropriate option based on what they're typing to someone. In my experience, these suggestions appear alongside the text stickers Google rolled out earlier this year, specifically after typing an emoji in a message. Typing "sounds good" with a thumbs-up emoji on my Pixel 6 gave me all sorts of smiling emoji to pick from, including an adorable little turtle.

Screenshot_20220630-180519-cropped

9to5Google was able to get these custom emoji showing up alongside standard Unicode suggestions in place of text stickers, though I could not get the same experience up and running on my phone. That said, on older versions of the app, these suggestions didn't appear at all. Even if they're hidden for some users, getting immediate access to some of the best and most creative emoji you can make using Google's Emoji Kitchen tools is a real boon top communication.

It's the latest method added to Gboard that makes it easier to send non-written texts and other emotions to your friends, family, and various group chats, no matter what app they're using. And considering how fast Google continues to add creations to the Emoji Kitchen, it will only get better from here.