AI can’t do your Christmas shopping just yet – but next year might be different 
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Facebook has done it again. After reshaping how social media and news consumption works, the social network is trying to change how people pay for things online. With a new feature added to its Messenger app, users can now shop while chatting using the thousands of bots available.
With the latest update, businesses can now use their Messenger bots to sell their services to users without ever having to leave the chat box, Computerworld reports. Payments can be done in a multitude of forms, thanks to Facebook making arrangements with platforms like Visa, MasterCard, Stripe, and of course, PayPal.
The service is only available in the U.S. right now and only through certain bot operators. As for the interface itself, Facebook will be leaving the customization feature largely up to the business operators. Everything from the font to the size of the screen that the service will take up falls on the service providers.
By providing users with a much handier option to conduct their shopping and even booking needs with, the social network is expecting to see a lot more engagement in their Messenger app. This is one top of the 1 billion active users that are already regularly using the app to communicate with their friends.
Right now, there are 30,000 bots made for Messenger and over 34,000 developers are onboard to creating their own bots, Tech Crunch reports. As the new offering picks up in popularity, it’s expected that more developers, businesses, and even major corporations will start cashing in on the impending craze.
Speaking at the TechCrunch Disrupt SF 2016, the head of Messenger, David Marcus explained what the new features are capable of. He also stressed that the interactions will not be strictly text-based but will instead involve interfaces pulled from the service provider’s website.
“Inside a thread you have identity, transaction capabilities, the ability to draw UI, and draw native buttons and interfaces,” Marcus said. “We’re bringing all these types of experiences together.”
