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This article was published on March 30, 2017

Facebook is bringing chatbots to groups on Messenger


Facebook is bringing chatbots to groups on Messenger Image by: Facebook

Messenger chatbots will soon be available to groups, according to a report by TechCrunch.

To clarify, these won’t be “chatbots” in the sense that they won’t be trying to make conversation with you. Instead they’ll function more like news tickers, updating group members on outside information.

The bots include sports bots, e-commerce bots, and news bots. So if you’re part of a group of stock traders, for example, you might use a Messenger bot that keeps you up-to-date on financial news.

Having a group chatbot ensures all participants in the conversation are informed. Before now, chatbots were restricted to those users who searched specifically for them. Now one participant can add them to a thread, though it’s not yet clear how they can find the bots in the first place.

Facebook is also opening its API to let everyone build their own bots, so you and your friends could have your own bot assistant just for your group.

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