Messenger launches Discover simplifying chatbot browsing and interaction

Say hello to the newest update from Facebook Messenger to help users Discover brand chatbots from the thousands available on the instant messaging platform.

Rolling to Messenger users in the United States of America today, the Discover update enables users to find and interact with the chatbot of their choice. A further attempt from Facebook towards boosting consumer-business interaction on their instant messaging platform, Messenger’s Yingming Chan writes, “As our platform continues to grow, Messenger is quickly becoming a critical channel for people to find and engage with the brands they love.”

Discover was first announced by Facebook along with a host of new changes at the Facebook F8 Conference earlier this year.

Chatbots have been a very attractive proposition for Messenger, and the new Discover v1.1 brings ease of access for users. It highlights the bots that were recently interacted with, and lets them look at Featured bots on the Discover home page.

Lucas Matney from TechCrunch thinks, “As the features move inside message threads with friends themselves, Facebook hopes that users will treat them more as utilities rather than voice assistant-style robots they can talk at.”

Messenger had also previously made some headway into incorporating a money transfer bot with TransferWise in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, and Europe back in February this year.

The Discover home page will also offers organized categories of chatbots based on different topics such as Business, Community, Education, Entertainment and more.

Perhaps this dedicated new space for chatbots would inspire more businesses to opt for their own chatbots and promote this new service with enthusiasm. Messenger’s Yingming Chan further writes, “We’re always surfacing more bots and businesses in Discover, and we encourage developers to complete the Discover submission form and choose the category where they think their bot should be included.”