Facebook bots will now be able to conduct business and display their own custom user interfaces, after an update aimed at enhancing its platform capabilities.
With Monday’s update, companies like travel search site Hipmunk will be able to sell users hotel and flight reservations directly from its Messenger bot. Facebook is working with banks and payment processors like Visa, Mastercard, Paypal, and Stripe to facilitate commerce through bots, said David Marcus, Facebook’s vice president of messaging products. Payments are available only to certain bot operators in the U.S. at the moment.
