Google has acquired Emu, a mobile messaging app whose key feature is its built-in virtual personal assistant. Although Google has yet to confirm the acquisition as of this writing, a post on Emu's website reveals they are indeed joining the Mountain View family.

In order to focus on their next chapter, Emu said they will have to close the last one. As such, the current Emu app will shut down on August 25. The team said they knew it would be an inconvenience and was thankful of the support from friends, advisors and users up to this point.

The aforementioned virtual assistant, not unlike Siri or Google Now, is pretty similar to iMessage in that it automatically picks up on dates and times within text messages and offers to save them to your calendar. It can also offer up relevant information such as movie or restaurant reviews based on your conversation.

For those that rely heavily on their digital calendar, such a feature no doubt adds a level of convenience when making plans.

With messaging apps taking center stage in the mobile battleground, this appears to be a wise move on Google's part. Again, we haven't yet heard anything official from the search giant but with Emu shutting down later this month, it's almost a guarantee that we will see its technology show up in Google Hangouts at some point.