Facebook to add new robot-based service to its messenger app: Report
Mumbai: Social media networking giant Facebook is all set to introduce a “host of new robots to its messenger app” to further enhance and optimise its chatting platform.
According to a report in the Independent, the company is planning to announce a “Bot Store” at its upcoming F8 conference for developers around the globe.
The new bots are expected to be only a fraction of the improvement to the messenger app and it will also introduce new options like a discreet secret chat feature. Other than that, the messenger app will also become a retail hub, where users will be able to buy and sell items through the app.
Coming back to the bots, there have been claims that have suggested that the “bot store” could be a revolutionary app store, which could change the present technology outlook.
With the introduction of the bot store, users can just speak or type to communicate with the AI bots to check out specific products from a company. The report claimed that the bots will give users the comfort of ordering products and returning them, by just talking to the robot.
The most exciting feature about the product is that it will be able to send programmed replies and guide a user through the process if obtaining a product, or returning it. While most of the focus will be on customer-oriented services, the robots will also be able to push notifications from various businesses to inform users regarding new products, and also about breaking news stories.
However, not all businesses can optimise the bots without help, thus Facebook is expected to announce a special plan which will allow those firms to borrow its consumer bot service. Besides, they are also expected to launch a platform that will connect companies seeking chatbots with the ones that build them, using Facebook as a medium.
The idea of the chat messenger as a platform for talking to businesses was first envisioned at the company’s F8 developer conference last year. Now social networking site is expected to launch the new bot platform and numerous other tools for developers at this year’s event, which starts on Tuesday.
