UPDATED 03:58 EDT / APRIL 15 2016

NEWS

The definitive list of Facebook Messenger chatbots

Facebook earlier this week announced support for chatbots in its popular Messenger app. The social media behemoth is counting on users to ditch traditional mobile apps in favor of smart bots powered by machine learning.

Simply chatting to bots inside the Messenger app in a natural way (although this does not always turn out so well — yet) users are able to get news updates from mainstream publishers such as CNN and The Wall Street Journal, get weather updates from a poncho-wearing cat called Poncho, or order flowers from 1-800-Flowers.

These are just a few of the chatbots available right now with more to come. Bot curators @bentossell, @sethlouey, @mubashariqbal have added Messenger bots to their growing curated list of chatbots, Botlist. Twitter user and online journalist, Martin Hoffman (@martinhoffmann), has compiled a public Google Doc Known Bots on Facebook Messenger.

We’ve scoured these lists and Facebook’s press announcements and compiled a list of noteworthy bots available right now and those still to come:

Facebook Messenger bots available right now

Bots

What you can do

Link

1-800-Flowers “1-800-FLOWERS.COM will offer customers the ease and convenience of ordering floral gifts through Messenger. 1-800-FLOWERS.COM will blend its bot and live customer service support on Messenger to serve as “gift concierges” and answer questions, make gifting suggestions, process orders, send shipping updates and provide an array of other important information such as gift reminders.” m.me/1800flowers
CNN “CNN is using bots for Messenger for people to get CNN news and information in a personalized, private message. People can now chat directly with CNN to get breaking news or personalized and specific stories by messaging CNN with a keyword to receive related stories.” m.me/cnn
HealthTap “HealthTap is now offering the expertise of its network of top U.S. doctors instantly via Messenger. Now people using Messenger around the world have a new, convenient and simple way to access health information. Anyone can type a question into Messenger and receive free and trusted doctor answers wherever they are and whenever they need them.” m.me/healthtapapp
HP Print Bot “With bots for Messenger, HP consumers will be able to print their photos, documents and files to any connected HP printer as well as receive notifications to re-order toner cartridges.” m.me/HPPrintBot
Operator “Operator is offering a new way to shop on Messenger. With the new integration of Operator for Messenger, people can now discover and purchase on the go with the help of Operator’s network of experts and bots who help consumers find and purchase the best things from around the world.” m.me/operatorapp
Poncho “Poncho is using bots on Messenger to send people real time local weather reports, including a new on-boarding experience and scheduled weather pushes based on your preference during on-boarding.” m.me/hiponcho
Sequel Stories Publishing platform with a selection of choose-your-own-adventure stories m.me/storiesonsequel
Spring “Spring is launching Spring Bot, a personal shopping concierge powered by the Messenger Send/Receive API, Send to Messenger plugin and Zopim live chat.” m.me/springNYC
ToyTalk / PullString “ToyTalk has created a “choose your own adventure” game that can be played in Messenger.” https://www.facebook.com/jessiehumani
Wall Street Journal Breaking news and features from the WSJ. Also, get  live stock quotes: type  “$” followed by a ticker symbol. Or “lookup” followed by the company name. m.me/wsj
KLM “KLM is offering a new way to receive your flight documentation: Facebook’s Messenger service. After booking your flight on klm.com you can choose the option to receive booking confirmation, check-in notification, boarding pass and flight status updates via Messenger. This makes your travel information easy to find in a single place, available at the airport, en route or at home. Any questions? No problem. Ask away and contact us directly through Messenger, 24/7.” https://messenger.klm.com/

Facebook Messenger bots coming soon

Bots What you can do
Bank of America “Bank of America is working with Messenger to deliver capabilities to help its clients stay connected to their finances whenever and wherever they choose. Initial capabilities will enable clients to receive important real-time alerts and communications from Bank of America through Messenger.”
Burger King / Tim Hortons “Restaurant Brands International (RBI), owner of Burger King and Tim Hortons, is launching on the Messenger Platform for an easier way for customers to interact with both Burger King and Tim Hortons. Their bot will provide a way for customers to order food through Messenger.”
Business Insider “Through Business Insider’s bot for Messenger, people will be able to sign-up to receive chat messages alerting them to the most important news, in real-time.”
eBay “eBay is launching a platform that allows buyers to receive price alert updates within Messenger so that they never lose an auction.”
Expedia “Expedia enables customers to search, browse, and book hotels inside of Messenger.”
Fandango “Fandango’s bot for Messenger will provide fans quick and easy access to movie information, trailers, show times, theater locations and a link to advance ticketing for all theatrical releases on Fandango.”
Great Western Railway / Conversocial “Great Western Railway is launching a tool to communicate with customers via Messenger, making the line of communication easier during busy times.”
LivePerson “LivePerson is announcing the seamless integration of LiveEngage and Messenger’s Platform. Through the new integration, consumers using bot assistance to interact with a brand on Messenger will be able to effortlessly transition to a live agent conversation powered byLiveEngage if in need of additional support.”
Mic “Mic is launching “Mic Check Yourself”, an integrated news product powered by bots for Messenger. Once a day customers will receive original takes on a major news story in that day’s news cycle, delivered to them straight through Messenger.”
OwnerListens “With OwnerListens’ suite of tools built especially for bots for Messenger, any business can now use Messenger to chat live with customers and do so safely and at scale. Improved customer experiences include multiple responders, automated, context-aware replies, templates, DIY Calls to Action (CTA), off hours settings, CRM integrations and more.”
Philz Coffee “Philz is offering customers the ability to communicate in real time, powered by the OwnerListens platform. Through bots for Messenger, Philz can answer customer questions, enable people to receive gift cards and choose to follow Philz on Facebook or Instagram.”
Rogers “Rogers enables customers to reach customer care reps via Messenger through a continuous chat, so they can ask questions, make changes to a plan, update accounts, set up a new line and more.”
Salesforce “Salesforce is launching a platform that enables businesses to tie live chat interactions with their backend CRM and Ads activities.”
Shopify “Shopify is using bots for Messenger to provide live customer support, automatically send order confirmations, shipping updates, push notifications and more.”
Sonar “Sonar is now built on top of Facebook’s API, allowing businesses and customers to communicate over its Messenger Platform offering features such as lightning fast messaging exchanges, status updates, rich media and structured messages.”
Sparkcentral “Spark Central powers live chat, which will send customers itineraries, status updates, and boarding passes and live chat customer support within Messenger.”
Staples “After signing up to connect on Messenger, Staples mobile web customers will now have the ability to chat with sales and customer service specialists for shopping assistance and post-sales support. Customers can also opt-in to receive personalized updates, like order confirmation and shipment notifications.”
StubHub “After signing up to connect on Messenger, StubHub customers will have the ability to receive ticket confirmations, event maps, event updates, and parking passes within Messenger. Customers can also opt-in to receive alerts for games and events in which they are interested.”
theScore “theScore is launching a platform that allows sports fans to receive automated real-time scores and news updates through bots for Messenger. theScore Bot will deliver scores, stats and news from the NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL and most major soccer leagues, and fans will be able to get alerts for game start, live scoring plays, the final score of a game and any breaking news related to the team being followed.”
Thrillist “Using Thrillist’s venue services and Spectrm’s chat platform, people can tell Thrillist’s Bot what they want to eat or drink, send their location and the bot will respond with curated recommendations right in Messenger.”
Twilio “Twilio is launching a platform enabling companies who typically communicate via SMS to send rich notifications via Messenger.”
UNICEF “Similar to UNICEF’s UReport program, people will be able to message UReport in Messenger, set up a profile, get involved as a UReporter and receive notifications.”
Zalando “Zalando, one of Europe’s biggest retailers, is testing an integration that allows customers to ask Jaff, “Just a fashion friend,” for product recommendations.”
Zendesk “Zendesk is launching Zendesk Message, one of the first dedicated customer service messaging software on Messenger. Zendesk Message integrated with bots for Messenger to create a tool built for businesses to address the unique characteristics of messaging and the growing demand for customer interactions within this channel.”
Zingle “Zingle is launching a platform that enables hotel guests to interact directly with hotel staff via Messenger.”

Sources: Facebook Messenger Partners (PDF download); Botlist; ConvJournalism (@convjournalism)


A message from John Furrier, co-founder of SiliconANGLE:

Your vote of support is important to us and it helps us keep the content FREE.

One click below supports our mission to provide free, deep, and relevant content.  

Join our community on YouTube

Join the community that includes more than 15,000 #CubeAlumni experts, including Amazon.com CEO Andy Jassy, Dell Technologies founder and CEO Michael Dell, Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger, and many more luminaries and experts.

“TheCUBE is an important partner to the industry. You guys really are a part of our events and we really appreciate you coming and I know people appreciate the content you create as well” – Andy Jassy

THANK YOU