Facebook is making Messenger even more useful for businesses with tools designed to generate leads and book appointments.
A series of Messenger-related announcements came out of Facebook’s F8 conference on Tuesday with new features coming for businesses and everyday users.
Here are some key takeaways from the conference.
Facebook Messenger Business Tools
Facebook’s first major business-related innovation for Messenger was its chatbot program.
The company announced since launching the chatbot program two years ago, there are now 300,000 developers on board.
A new business tool on the way builds on the success of Messenger with a selection of lead generation templates.
Lead-generation templates
Lead-generation templates for Messenger ensure bots ask people standardized questions so they can receive a standardized response.
One of the biggest weaknesses of chatbots is their inability to process open-ended responses, so the forthcoming update aims to generate more responses that chatbots can understand.
The lead generation templates will also come with completion reminders and seamless hand-off to a live agent.
Appointment bookings
Facebook is opening up its beta program which allows customers to book appointments through Messenger.
Appointment bookings through Messenger are currently available to barbers and dentists. Soon, all businesses will be able to schedule appointments via Messenger.
Other key highlights
Facebook announced at the conference that a bare-bones version of Messenger will be available on desktop later this year.
Messenger for desktop will be primarily focused on chat, audio, and video calls.
Lastly, an update called “Project Lightspeed” will cut 70 MB off Messenger’s file size, so people with low storage on their phones can download it.
