Facebook to Create `Chatbots’
Recently Facebook Inc. had informed that it has opened up its Messenger app to developers in order to create `chatbots’ anticipating that by feigning one-on-one conversations between users and companies, it would tend to expand towards customer service and enterprise transactions.
Chatbots are considered to be automated programs which tend to help users in communicating with businesses, carrying out jobs like online purchases. Though chatbots had prevailed in some form for years, they have now become an interesting subject in the tech business since progress in artificial intelligence as well as machine learning have made them much more capable and possibly able to adopt an important role in the manner in which customers tend to communicate with businesses.
Facebook had launched chatbots with a handful of partners comprising of Shopify which is an ecommerce site and cable TV news network CNN. The chatbots are said to be part of Facebook’s attempt in building its Messenger instant messaging app as go-to-place for customers in contacting businesses. It is a strategy which tends to threaten the out-dated call centres and could cut personnel cost for some of the businesses.
Controls a Huge Trove of Data
Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook had commented during the annual developer conference of the company in San Francisco that `you will never have to call 1.800 Flowers again’. Facebook is seen having many distinct benefits even though messaging platforms comprising of Kik, slack and Telegram already tend to have chatbots.
Facebook for one tends to control a huge trove of data on the estimated 1.6 billion people who utilise the main service and the 900 million who tend to use Messenger. This enables developers to create chatbots which can personalize jobs like making an airline booking or a reservation in a restaurant. Lauren Kunze, principal at Pandorabots, which has been constructing and organizing chatbots for companies since 2002, had stated that `from the enterprise or developer point of view, access to those 1.6 billion people seems very exciting. People like a personalized experience and when the chatbot can remember personal details as well as follow up’.For instance, CNN’s bot can learn user’s news preferences, and accordingly recommend articles and summaries.
Progressively Adding Features to Messenger
Last month, after an experimental Microsoft Corp bot, named Tay had released a barrage of racist and sexist tweets on being manipulated by Twitter users, tech companies will have to approach chatbots more carefully. The company had instantly pulled Tay from the Internet. Facebook has been progressively adding features to Messenger since it turned off as a separate app in 2014 and last year it had partnered with Uber and Lyft so that individuals could order a car without the need of going through the ride sharing app. Besides this it had also partnered recently with KLM Royal Dutch Airlines in order that customers could receive flight updates as well as booking confirmation through Messenger.
Chatbots could thus automate such interactions eliminating customer service calls. Chris Fohlin, director of client strategy at consulting agency Engine Digital had commented that its `offloading the pain of navigating those phone systems’.Making Messenger the go-to-place for business-to-person interaction, Facebook expects that people would spend more time in using the app and depend on it for day-to-day tasks.
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