Facebook has announced a new Facebook Messenger website plug-in. The Messenger itself works as a plug-in on the website. It is currently in closed beta.
Customers will be able to talk directly with businesses on their websites using the messenger plug-in. It will support all platforms and it will be possible to continue the conversations across the web and mobile devices.
Unlike other plug-ins which allow chatting on a website available on the market, Facebook is a popular platform and has a larger reach.
Messenger is used by 1.2 billion users monthly and if integrated into your website, you will be available to leverage this massive userbase with a user-friendly interface to access most of your customers easily.
The new Messenger features business-friendly modules such as payment options, intelligent bots that are capable to use natural language, rich media, and much more.
According to Facebook, all of these features will be available in the beta and new features will be added over-time so the plugin can become as versatile as the main Messenger app.
The plug-in will act as an overlay and hover over the website, indicated by the blue Messenger icon of the business-website using this plugin. When a user messages the website-owners using the plugin, the owners will see a similar “hovering” interface in the Messenger app on their smartphones.
The best part is, even if the customers leave the website, they will be able to continue the conversation in their mobile device or PC using the Messenger app. This will ensure that the customers and the business stay in touch even if the business management isn’t able to respond on time.
This is great news for businesses which are popular on Facebook. Thanks to this plugin, they won’t need a separate communication channel for their website. Their Facebook pages and websites will have the same network and customer inquiries can be responded to easily.
The plugin is still in its development and in its testing phase, but if you want to be notified as soon as it’s available – you can sign up here.
It is not a new feature to talk about. Many websites are using it already. I am a developer and I implemented that in a project.
I have also used it, I think the above one doesn’t need the user to sign in on Facebook if it is, then it would be great.