Facebook is already the world’s most popular and influential social media platform, and they’re showing no signs of slowing down. It has been announced that they are going to introduce a new personal digital assistant called “M”, who will live inside Facebook Messenger. Users will be able to ask M a question by text or voice command and get a response or recommendation – for example, ask it where the nearest Italian restaurant is, and you will be presented with a list of options in your local area.
M will join a host of digital assistants introduced in recent times by major players in the world of technology, including Apple’s Siri and Microsoft’s Cortana. Each digital assistant offers its own unique features in terms of what they do, how they work and how users can interact with them. Siri, Cortana, Google Now and Amazon’s Echo assistant use algorithms to provide users with information, while newer assistant apps are beginning to introduce real customer service staff to provide a more personal and individualised experience. M will use a combination of the two.
M’s functionality will largely depend on how much data you are willing to give it. The more detailed your Facebook profile, the more information you share and the more active you are, the more of a personalised and tailored service you will receive. As social media becomes more and more important in our personal and business lives and we entrust Facebook and other platforms with more personal information than ever before, it seems that an interactive assistant who knows us inside out is the logical next step.