Back in July, we reported that Facebook announced that its Messenger platform would be getting chat bots. In case you’re unfamiliar with the concept, basically chat bots are meant to imitate an actual human in terms of customer service support, meaning that you could ask it all kinds of questions and get queries instantly.You also would not have to wait in a queue like in the past where human customer service support staff would need to tend to one person at a time. It looks like Facebook is getting more serious about its bots because they have announced an update that they are releasing for its Messenger platform which essentially makes its bots more interactive.
For starters one of the features is quick reply. According to Facebook, “Quick replies offer a more guided experience for people as they interact with your bot, which helps set expectations on what the bot can do. They include up to ten dynamic buttons that directly align with the most recent message sent by the business – making it easier to have an automated conversation with people.”
There is also a persistent menu feature that makes it easier for users who won’t always have to remember the text commands. “The navigation for your bot with support for up to five actions. This eliminates the need for people to remember text commands and provides a great way to restart the flow or invoke settings. This will help with bot re-engagement and consistency.” These changes should already be implemented so if you do use the Messenger chat bots from time to time, you should find the experience a little better.