14 DAY TRIAL // A few years ago, Facebook introduced its own virtual assistant to the world, simply called M. The AI personal assistant for Messenger would help users book flights, get information about products and services, as well as get help when shopping online.
The assistant rolled out to a few Messenger users in San Francisco, but not much about it was revealed since then. Now, it seems that Facebook has finally decided to introduce M to the world and make it available to the millions of people that use Messenger.
Facebook’s virtual assistant M will offer suggestions to users by popping into an open conversation to suggest relevant content that may assist them. Facebook says that M has the capacity to “enrich the way people communicate and get things done.”
M has already been tested among a small percentage of users over the past few months, and because of its success, the company decided to expand it to all Messenger users in the US. Facebook detailed the list of M suggestions that would help users.
M will have the capacity to suggest fun stickers based on previous interactions, provide options for sending or requesting money, sharing the user’s location, making plans or launching Lyft or Uber for getting a ride. All of these suggestions are made based on the conversation, proving that M relies on AI machine learning technology.
Facebook redesigned the Messenger chat UI
Facebook says that the M logo would appear in a chat whenever the AI assistant would have relevant information or actions to suggest to users. In addition, M suggestions can be muted under the settings menu.
M suggestions are currently available in the US, but the latest Messenger update does bring a new UI for composing messages. Facebook changed the way Messenger users send pictures and videos, a simple long press will open the selfie camera and automatically send an image. Facebook also added a More tab for accessing Messenger sections like Games, Payments, Share Location and Rides.
