Facebook launches M suggestions in Messenger powered by AI
Facebook today launched the M suggestions feature into the Australian market, automatically adding recommendations such as emojis, saving a vegan blueberry cake recipe or calling a friend into Messenger conversations.
Launched in the US last April, the artificial intelligence driven service which monitors users’ conversations is now being rolled out in Australia, Canada, South Africa and the UK.
“Today, we’re excited to announce the launch of suggestions from M, your Messenger assistant, for Messenger users in Australia, Canada, South Africa and the U.K,” said Messenger’s global product manager, Kemal El Moujahid, in a company statement. “M is an automated assistant powered by artificial intelligence that detects intent and offers suggestions to enrich the way you communicate and get things done on Messenger.
“M will provide suggestions for sending stickers, sharing your location, making a plan, creating a poll in a group conversation, sending birthday wishes, saving content and making voice and video calls. To experience M, simply chat with a friend or a group as you normally would. When M detects a conversation relevant to the topics listed above, you’ll see the M logo and suggestion – it’s that simple!”
The feature will appear on both the iOS and Android apps, the feature was first trialled last year among a US sample group before being rolled out to all American users.
Facebook noted users can turn the suggestions off.
“As always, you are completely in charge of your Messenger experience and can mute suggestions from M at any time under Settings,” said El Moujahid. “You can also dismiss a suggestion from M if you don’t need it or find it helpful.”
The service will also add a ‘More’ tab to more easily access Messenger features such as Games, Payments, Share Location and Rides. For the moment features like payments are only available in the US.
At Mumbrella360 in June, MuteSixty founder Steve Weiss recommended Facebook marketers watch very closely what the company announces and to start experimenting with new features when the company makes them available.
When did AI come to mean “let’s just stick more content (which may or may not be commercially incentivised) in your face in a private conversation”?
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Maybe “superficial intelligence” is more apt.
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It’s all about making the Messenger experience as effortless as possible. Eventually, it will use calendar, GPS and camera data to tell people what you’re doing, and personality data to tell people how you’re feeling.
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