Facebook launched tools for developers to create chatbots for its Messenger app in April, with more than 18k created by July. Now the social network has updated that figure to 30k chatbots available for its messaging app, while admitting that some of the excitement around bots is overbaked. “It got really overhyped really, really quickly,” said Facebook’s messaging boss David Marcus in his appearance at the TechCrunch Disrupt conference in San Francisco yesterday. “This is a long journey, and you have to start somewhere,” added Marcus, who admitted that many of the early Messenger chatbots weren’t as useful as the standalone apps that many evangelists have suggested they’ll ultimately replace. “The basic capabilities we provided at the time weren’t good enough to basically replace traditional app interfaces and experiences.” One way Facebook is fixing that: the announcement yesterday that Messenger chatbots can now accept payments natively, which could be interesting for any bots trying to sell music or tickets.
Tools: platforms to help you reach new audiences
Tools: Kaiber
In the year or so since its launch, AI startup Kaiber has been making waves,…