Facebook’s Messenger Platform 2.0 Details, Play Music In Group Chats

The F8 Developers Conference hosted by Facebook is going on right now and one of the new goodies that the social media company unveiled includes the new Messenger Platform 2.0 upgrade. The update comes with some rather surprising and frankly useful features that might just change how messaging services work thanks to its numerous bots.

With the prospect of reaching hundreds of millions of customers via Messenger, companies have been applying for the privilege of having their own bots on the app. Back in April 2016, the number of bots on Messenger was zero. By September of the same year, it surpassed 33,000. Now, Messenger boss David Marcus told the audience at F8 that it stands at 100,000, PC Mag reports.

This makes a lot of sense since the bots, powered by artificial intelligence, are able to help users do things like book flights or order food without leaving the messaging app. This makes for some convenient group chats where participants can simply make decisions on certain transactions and everything can be done right there and then.

With the new update, which is still in beta, the bots get even better. A notable addition is the Spotify bot, which suggests music to users while chatting and will even allow for live play during the conversation. An Apple Music option is in the works, as well, and this is just a fraction of upcoming bots that will offer similar services in the future.

In addition, the new Messenger system also makes sorting through the numerous available bots much easier via a new tab. Called the Discovery Tab, it features some of the bots that are recommended by Facebook that users might find appealing, Yahoo reports. Users can scroll up and down to search for the appropriate bot to fulfill their needs.

It’s worth noting that this service is exclusive only to brands that Facebook considers worth the addition. In essence, it’s a VIP section for those companies that can afford to be chosen.