Facebook Messenger's Latest Update Shows 'Bots and Businesses'

Facebook's standalone instant messaging app has been rumoured to receive a new chat bot feature which allows users to have conversations with company's automated representatives. A new update to the Messenger shows a new heading added in the app - "Bots and Businesses" - seen when searching or as contacts when creating a new message.

Engadget spotted the feature first and adds that Facebook can announce the arrival of chatbots in the Messenger app at the company's annual developer conference, F8. It adds that prior to the update, the Messenger app listed "Businesses" with list of the companies users can interact for customer support and other inquiries. It's worth noting that new "Bots and Businesses" heading is not visible after the latest update to Messenger for iOS and Android in India tipping that it may be a region specific feature.

As of now, there is no word whether the chatbot feature in Messenger app will be limited to just businesses or will it include publications as well. We can expect to hear more about the feature at Facebook's annual global developer conference will be held at Fort Mason in San Francisco starting Tuesday.

To recall, Facebook had previously allowed third-party integrations into its Messenger app such as allowing Messenger users to hail Uber rides directly from the app, without leaving a conversation or downloading the ride-hailing app.

Recently, Facebook announced Dropbox integration into its Messenger app. Few weeks back, the company had announced a tie up with the KLM Royal Dutch Airlines which allowed the air travellers to receive every piece of information related to their travel on Messenger - including the boarding pass.

Last week, Facebook announced that its Messenger app had over 900 million monthly active users, up from 800 million in January.

Virtual reality set to transform filmmaking

Chris Milk stepped onto a TED Conference stage and took the audience on an awe-inducing trip into the future of movies. While much of the early attention on virtual reality has focused on use of the immersive technology in video games, Milk and his US startup Vrse are using it to transform storytelling and filmgoing. "We have just started to scratch the surface of the true power of virtual reality," Milk said. "It's not a video game peripheral. It connects humans to other humans in a profound way... I think virtual reality has the potential to actually change the world." He had everyone in the Vancouver audience at TED , which ended Friday, hold Google Cardboard viewers to their eyes for what was billed as the world's collective virtual reality experience. Google Cardboard gear is literally that -- cardboard

10 Smartphones with Features that You Won't Find in Any Other Phone

Here’s a list of phones which are first-of-their-kind. From feature phones to smartphones, flat screen to curved, fragile to shatterproof, mobile phones have evolved over the years. Although many industry analysts would like to call the current level of innovation reaching a stagnation point, there still are some manufacturers which have been able to surprise consumers by truly packing something different in their smartphones. We have compiled a list of phones which offer first-of-its-kind features, and they are not merely concepts. 1. Motorola X force - Shatterproof display Display today is the most vulnerable yet the most neglected element in modern smartphones. But Motorola finally paid heed to the fragile screen with the launch of the the Motorola X Force – the world’s first smartphone with a shatterproof display. The phone uses the Moto ShatterShield display technology, which is said to be an integrated system consisting of five layers designed from material...

10 years of Twitter: Key milestones in the micro-blogging site's decade-long history

Over its 10-year history, Twitter has marked numerous world events and created its own unique moments. Here are a few key milestones in Twitter history: just setting up my twttr — Jack (@jack) March 21, 2006 March 2006: Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey (@jack) sent the first tweet, an automated message saying "just setting up my twttr." That same day, he sent the first live tweet, "inviting coworkers." Arrested — James Buck (@jamesbuck) April 10, 2008 April 2008: US university student James Buck (@jamesbuck) got off a one-word tweet "Arrested" after being taken into custody by Egyptian authorities at an anti-government protest in that country. In what is seen as an early demonstration of the power of Twitter to rally people to a cause, the resulting outcry prompted authorities to quickly restore his liberty. He proclaimed his release in a tweet reading "Free." http://twitpic.com/135xa - There's a plane in the Hudson. I'm ...

IntellectBeat

Search This Blog