Facebook hopes new features added to its Messenger Platform will help improve how bots perform within Facebook Messenger.
For example, people can now rate bots so developers have more direct feedback on what works and what doesn’t. Bots will be able to offer quick reply selections to help users know what to type/request within the context of a conversation. A persistent menu should help end users get used to chatting with bots, no matter what developer designs the bot.
Bot conversations also gain access to more content types, such as photos, videos, GIFs, and audio files. Last, end users will be given more control over bot conversations, such as the ability to mute conversations when its inconvenient to receive messages.
Facebook says its developer partners have created more than 11,000 bots for Messenger already, and more than 23,000 developers are working on bots. Facebook first introduced bots several months ago. It believes brands will use them to facilitate interactions with customers, fans, and others.
