Facebook Messenger “to swap out customer service for robots”

PanARMENIAN.Net - Facebook could be about to let robots take over its customer service, Digital Spy said.

The social media giant is expected to announce a "bot store" at its F8 event for developers, and the new tools for bots are expected to be just one part of a range of new Messenger features (via TechCrunch).

Instead of clicking through to an app to look at products from a specific company, users will talk to an artificially intelligent bot which will allow them to order products or return them.

The automated customer services bot would be able to send back programmed replies, intended to take people through the process of returning a product as one example.

As well as customer service, the bots could also use push notifications to tell users that a product from a specific business is back in stock or report on breaking stories from news organisations.

Facebook is expected to announce a scheme that will allow companies to borrow the company's bots for their own customer service needs. The social media giant could also launch a platform to allow companies to connect with the people that build the bots.

Earlier this year, the bot store was deemed arguably the "most consequential event for the tech industry" since Apple's App Store.

Meanwhile, it was announced that Facebook Live Video is about to get even better with a boatload of new options.