Why it matters to you
You may be skeptical about the whole idea of chatbots, but a new Messenger update will help you find ones that might actually be useful to you.
Facebook first launched Discover at F8 as a way for users to quickly and easily find new Messenger bots and businesses straight from the Messenger app. Now, Discover is getting a little more intuitive and relevant for day to day use with the rollout of the so-called “Discover v1.1.”
Using Discover is pretty easy to do — all you have to do is tap the Discover icon at the bottom, after which you can browse bots by category, recently visited businesses, or “featured,” which basically shows the bots that Facebook recommends. This should help users more easily discover bots that directly relate to them and what they need, rather than going through a slew of bots that may or may not be helpful.
Messenger bots have grown a lot since they were first launched, and many argue that they could completely revolutionize how we interact with businesses. Not only that, but they’ve fast become a way to cut down on the number of apps you need to have installed on your devices — instead of having a Domino’s app installed on your phone to order pizza, you can just use the Domino’s bot, which will help you place your order quickly and easily.
“Our goal with Discover is to ensure that experiences in Messenger are compelling, high-quality, and easy to find. This latest update makes it even more intuitive for people to find what they care about most,” said Facebook in a statement. “And be sure to keep coming back — new experiences are always added!”
It’s nice to see Facebook highlighting great bots and helping people discover new bots, but it also highlights the fact that bots may not have caught on quite as much Facebook may have hoped. As mentioned, when bots first launched, they were tipped to completely change how people interact with businesses, but they’ve seen somewhat of a slow adoption. Still, they’re getting more and more useful, and as businesses invest in developing bots, those businesses are likely to promote them more — which could help push them more into the consumer consciousness.
The update to Messenger is rolling out across the United States now. It comes soon after a previous update to Messenger, in which Facebook added more smart capabilities to Facebook M, the company’s digital assistant.