New Messenger Feature

Animated, mind reading gifFacebook’s new Messenger feature, M, uses artificial intelligence (AI) to make suggestions from reading words and phrases in your messages. Facebook announced on April 6, 2017 that they will expand, so M can anticipate your next move. Fear not. This feature will eliminate steps in your responses. It’s like it can read your mind.

Ok, mind reading might be a step too far, but the new Messenger feature uses reading software to trigger its capabilities. For example, you send a message to a friend asking if they want to meet up tomorrow. M reads “tomorrow” and asks if you want to schedule an event. Or, if you send “lol,” M would suggest a sticker or GIF. As a result, M anticipates your response and economizes your response time.

Official Messenger, M, logo; the new Messenger feature is expanding its ability to anticipate users' responsesFacebook launched M in August of 2015 after testing it in beta-version. Those using the beta-version could invite others to join and test the new software, according to this 2015 article. In its earliest stages, Facebook reported that humans monitored communication from start to finish. The people monitoring communication would report data entries to make necessary improvements as they were needed. Because it was a new feature, human monitoring helped streamline the messaging process.

Since its initial launch in 2015, Facebook feels confident that M can handle some “lightweight automation responsibilities” without human monitoring. It uses predictive language analysis to suggest possible responses. Facebook technicians designed M to become a part of everyday conversations.

Capabilities:

The new Messenger feature has many features to better your Messenger experience. Some of them include:

  • Stickers
  • GIFs
  • Event reminder
  • Money transfer or payments
  • Uber requests

If you want M to suggest stickers or GIFs, but not Uber requests, you can mute Uber requests. Just go to the Settings panel to mute any features you don’t want to see. This allows you to personalize your Messenger experience.

Facebook expanding M will help make your responses more animated and practical. You’ll never forget to call the Uber again; well, so long as you use Messenger.

Molly Coughlin
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About Molly Coughlin

Molly is a junior at Southern Methodist University (SMU) pursuing a double major in Political Communications and Public Relations with a minor in History. Her experience working on Capitol Hill in the summer of 2017 helped her realize her passion for politics. She hopes to return to Washington, D.C. following her 2018 graduation from SMU.