Facebook has decided to enhance the usability of Messenger for business users by introducing new tools that would assist in lead generation and booking of appointments.
The announcement of Messenger being updated was made at the company’s annual developer’s conference on Tuesday.
Here, let’s take a look at some of the key developments Facebook has in store for Messenger.
A lead generation template for Messenger ensures that the bots ask people standard questions so they can receive similar answers as well.
One of the biggest drawbacks of chatbots is that they do not have the capability to process open-ended responses like we humans can. With the new updates in process, Facebook aims to generate responses that the chatbots can easily comprehend.
The Messenger service for desktop will focus mainly on chat, audio, and video calls.
Read next: Facebook is Reportedly Working on a Unified UI for its Events and Local Features!
The announcement of Messenger being updated was made at the company’s annual developer’s conference on Tuesday.
Here, let’s take a look at some of the key developments Facebook has in store for Messenger.
New Business Solutions for the Messenger platform
Facebook announced a chatbot program for Messenger two years ago. Well, the service is now being developed further with a set of new business tools to help the business owners operating from the platform.Lead-generation templates
A lead generation template for Messenger ensures that the bots ask people standard questions so they can receive similar answers as well.
One of the biggest drawbacks of chatbots is that they do not have the capability to process open-ended responses like we humans can. With the new updates in process, Facebook aims to generate responses that the chatbots can easily comprehend.
"In the coming months, we’re going to make it even easier for advertisers to run lead generation campaigns in Messenger by adding a lead generation template directly into Ads Manager.", announced Facebook.The lead generation templates will also be enabled with completion reminders and seamless hand-off to a live agent.
Booking of appointments
Facebook is also setting up a beta program where customers can book appointments through the Messenger app."We recognize that appointment booking is a common way that people and businesses are already interacting on our platform, so we built a dedicated solution that can be integrated with a business’ calendaring system to provide people with the most up-to-date appointment availability.", announced Ted Helwick, Director of Product, Messenger Business, in a blog post. Adding further, "A new standard calendar interface makes it easier for people to select an available appointment and add it to their preferred calendar. A reminder keeps the appointments top of mind for people and also enables them to make changes or cancel directly in the conversation, allowing for real-time updates to the business’ calendar."
Easy Authentication:
Facebook Messenger engineers also announced that soon they'll introduce "a new capability for m.me links – Authentication". Facebook further explains that, "Easy Authentication will complement the existing account linking platform feature and will help businesses handle common care issues such as billing inquiries, refunds, and more.Other key points from the conference
Facebook also announced a bare-bone version of Messenger that would be available on desktop later this year.The Messenger service for desktop will focus mainly on chat, audio, and video calls.
"Currently, there are over 40 million active businesses messaging people across the globe. Our developer community has grown to over 300,000 members, and people and businesses are exchanging over 20 billion messages each month."An updated app by the name of “Project Lightspeed” is also in the making for mobile phone owners with low storage. The newly updated app is deemed to cut 70 MB from the original Messenger’s file size.
Read next: Facebook is Reportedly Working on a Unified UI for its Events and Local Features!
