The messaging app Kik has just launched on Tuesday a Bot Shop for third-party developers interested in creating bots to be used inside the app. The platform is beginning with three categories including entertainment, lifestyle and games.
Among the bots launched within the shop are Funny or Die, H&, J-14, Riffsy, Sephora, Vine and the Weather Channel. Its functions may go from asking for the weather to receiving make-up tips without having to leave the app.
“We want our users to have more fun and engaging experiences in Kik without having to leave the app,” said Ted Livingston, founder and CEO of Kik in a statement. “We have been innovating in chat in the last few years and have found that the best results come from low-friction experiences that do not hurt the simplicity of chat. Bots deliver that,” Livingston added.
The Facebook messenger competitor also named three launch partners: Imperson, Massively and Sequel. They will have the responsibility of helping bots-developers and companies to succeed in their quest.
Kik included with the Bot Shop launch three new chatbots features: web bubbles, to share rich media content in conversation threads; suggested responses to help expedite text input; and a mention feature that allows bots to participate in conversations threads involving multiples parties, including groups, the company said.
Facebook’s a step ahead
Many people were predicting for Facebook to announce its own bot store for Facebook Messenger at the company’s annual developer conference due to next week, according to Tech Times. However, it looks like now the pioneer company will have some serious competition.
It also appears that the bot fever is reaching every corner, as Microsoft also made a try into the new area. But a try does not mean a successful result. Unfortunately, the tech giant was forced to shut the bot down after a hate speech via Twitter.
But the failed hate-bot will not be a completely failure, as the company learned from its errors and even expanded to chats. They integrated contextual language analysis, machine-learning bots and proactive Cortana actions within productivity apps embedded directly into chat, as reported by PC Magazine.
Source: Kik