Ever since the release of The Matrix in 1999 (!), there have been numerous theories and articles contemplating whether or not humanity is the subject of some kind of simulation, or if indeed, technology will rise above us all. Enter Facebook messenger bots.
Messenger bots are not an entirely new concept, but they are far removed from the likes of the Terminator and Optimus Prime, in fact they are far more likely to order your pizza than take over humanity. Bots for messenger were launched in on April 12th, and have since gone on to spawn 11,000 accounts. Everything from a personal assistant to a weather bot.
Back when I was 11 and received my first (very large!) mobile phone, being able to send my 160 character limit, 11p messages to my closest friends felt revolutionary. Now I am able to have discussions in elaborate prose with the wikipedia bot – whose name, by the way, is Alex.
[Ok, maybe not elaborate prose.]
So what does this mean for businesses?
With the help of a developer, you are able to submit a bot program to Facebook HQ and start directly communicating with your customers. Whether answering queries and providing information or booking them an Uber, there are a number of ways the messenger bot can be useful to your brand.
There are strict guidelines from Facebook as to how your bot should interact with your customers; for example, simply sending promotional messages will not be accepted. The bot needs to communicate conversationally with the customer based on their questions and needs. In other words, no spam.
What does the future hold?
Bots have the potential to revolutionise the face of customer service and with companies like Amazon already tapping into a similar service with Amazon Echo, the future isn’t all that far ahead. Facebook are developing the service to be able to work with complex calls to action and even images.
As time goes on bots will get smarter and be able to solve more complex issues, you could see your defective products being replaced by bots in seconds or bad experience reparations being made instantly. Freeing up company time to be spent on other areas of the business.
How would you like to see the future of bots develop? We would love to hear from you!
Kate Tyler is the founder of Shake Social and our long time social media expert. A regular speaker at events, Kate offers consultancy and training on a range of digital marketing topics, in particular safeguarding and using social media in an educational setting.