Facebook Bot For the Messenger Platform — Every month, over 900 million people around the world communicate with friends, families and over 50 million businesses on Messenger. It’s the second most popular app on iOS, and was the fastest growing app in the US in 2015.
Bots can provide anything from automated subscription content like weather and traffic updates, to customized communications like receipts, shipping notifications, and live automated messages all by interacting directly with the people who want to get them.
Zuckerberg demonstrated a CNN bot on stage at F8. With the news bot, people can get daily news delivered directly to Messenger, with the ability to choose to read a news summary, or tell the bot whether or not they find specific information interesting. The bot will learn users’ preferences and only send news that each user is interested in.
Zuckerberg also demoed an online order for 1800 Flowers, directly through Messenger. Other bots include a personal shopping assistant through Spring that lets users shop from within Messenger, and weather app Poncho that sends weather updates when you want them.
“I find it ironic, now to order from 1800 Flowers, you never have to call 1-800-flowers again,” Zuckerberg said.
The easiest way to find bots on Facebook is by searching from within the Messenger app. Simply type a business into the search bar at the top of Messenger. But you can also access bots by scanning a business’ Messenger Code by clicking on a Messenger Link — custom URLs that deep link back to message threads within Messenger.
The push for companies to introduce bots in the messaging services we use every day is a move to make people spend more time on these platforms. With customer service, flight booking, ticket purchases, and other experiences built right in Messenger, you’ll never have to leave Facebook.
‘Theoretically, if users began to train the bot on offensive behavior, it would get booted off the platform.’
Facebook is taking the app beyond chatting with friends, instead trying to make it a crucial part of how we get news, shop, book plane tickets, and even figure out what the weather will be. One app enables you to interact with the people, places, apps, and businesses that would otherwise take up real estate on your device.
Facebook also introduced Messenger Platform, a tool for developers to build bots into their applications. Like Microsoft’s bot-building framework, Facebook’s, too, is democratizing bot making. Now any app can engage with people in Messenger through bots.
