Facebook tests personal digital assistant inside Messenger

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SAN FRANCISCO: Facebook tests a personal digital assistant called “M” within its Messenger service that can answer questions with live human help and perform tasks such as buying gifts online and booking restaurants.

David Marcus, vice president of Messaging products said, “M is powered by artificial intelligence that s trained and supervised by people.”

M is a hybrid backed by a team of Facebook employees with customer service backgrounds, called M trainers, who can also make travel arrangements and appointments, he added.

Facebook has introduced several functions inside Messenger, which boasts more than 700 million users, to transform it into a standalone platform. Earlier this year, it rolled out games exclusively on Messenger and launched products for businesses to directly connect with consumers.