Martech: Martech is Marketing Logo
  • Topics
    Digital Transformation
    Marketing Operations
    Data
    Customer & Digital Experience
    Performance Marketing
    Marketing Management
    Special Reports
    All Topics
  • Conference
  • Webinars
  • Intelligence Reports
  • White Papers
  • What is MarTech

Processing...Please wait.

MarTech » Performance Marketing » Facebook shutters digital assistant ‘M’ and readies video ‘Portal’

Facebook shutters digital assistant ‘M’ and readies video ‘Portal’

The Facebook touch-screen video device will make calls, stream Netflix.

Greg Sterling on January 9, 2018 at 2:08 pm | Reading time: 2 minutes

One door closes and another opens. Facebook is shuttering its digital assistant, “M.” At the same time, the company is preparing to launch its rumored touch-screen video device named “Portal.”

It will compete with Echo Show and Google-powered new “smart displays.”

A report from Cheddar says that Facebook plans to announce or introduce Portal at its F8 developer conference in May. The video-chat device will apparently be available in the second half of 2018.

The device will be voice-enabled and have facial recognition, which will apparently associate people with their Facebook accounts. The Cheddar coverage also says that Portal will allow streaming content from Netflix and Spotify.

In retrospect, Facebook was perhaps too ambitious with M, which used a combination of machine learning and human concierges. The “M” brand will apparently survive and offer machine-driven suggestions in Messenger. The end of M’s expansive original vision certainly doesn’t mean the end of artificial intelligence at Facebook.

Facebook introduced M in roughly August 2015. It operated within Messenger and sought to offer, automate and complete a range of tasks beyond what Siri, Alexa, Cortana and the Google Assistant currently do. At the time, Facebook’s David Marcus said that M would help “purchase items, get gifts delivered to your loved ones, book restaurants, travel arrangements, appointments and way more.”

M never made it out of a private beta, which was limited to 10,000 people in the San Francisco Bay Area. The advanced capabilities were managed and largely fulfilled by an internal team of humans, who are now being redeployed to other groups within Facebook.

The closure of M and the impending launch of Portal come against the backdrop of aggressive expansion by both Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa in the smart home automation and the voice-enabled device ecosystem. At CES yesterday, Google announced a range of new third-party integrations, including “smart displays.”

Portal will reportedly cost $499, which seems high and may suppress demand. The just-announced Lenovo-Google Assistant smart display will retail for $199, while Echo Show runs roughly $230.


Opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily MarTech. Staff authors are listed here.


New on MarTech

    Will in-person events continue to be impacted as COVID constantly reinvents itself?
    Marketers say biggest challenge is getting cross-department alignment
    Study: Marketing automation teams mired in execution, neglecting strategic priorities
    Only 38% of marketers very confident in their customer data and analytics systems
    Does your email copy persuade or sell?

About The Author

Greg Sterling
Greg Sterling is a Contributing Editor to Search Engine Land, a member of the programming team for SMX events and the VP, Market Insights at Uberall.

Related Topics

Performance Marketing

Get the daily newsletter digital marketers rely on.

Processing...Please wait.

See terms.

ATTEND OUR EVENTS The MarTech Conference logo.

September 28-29, 2022: Fall

Start Training Now: Master Classes

Start Discovering Now: Spring



The SMX Conference logo.

Start Training Now:: SMX Advanced

November 14-15, 2022: SMX Next

March 8-9, 2022: Master Classes

Webinars

SEO Recon: The What, Why, and How for Building Amazing Links

Unlock the Cutting-Edge Potential of QR Codes

Why Finding the Right Platform is the Key to Winning in Email Marketing

See More Webinars
Intelligence Reports

Enterprise Marketing Performance Management Platforms: A Marketer’s Guide

Enterprise Customer Journey Orchestration Platforms: A Marketer’s Guide

Enterprise Account-Based Marketing Platforms: A Marketer’s Guide

See More Intelligence Reports
Featured White Paper

The Definitive Buyer’s Guide to Collaborative Work Management for Marketers

See More Whitepapers
Search Our Site

Receive daily marketing news & analysis.

Processing...Please wait.

Topics

  • Transformation
  • Operations
  • Data
  • Experience
  • Performance
  • Management
  • All Topics
  • Home

Our Events

  • MarTech
  • Search Marketing Expo - SMX

About

  • What is MarTech
  • Contact
  • Privacy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Marketing Opportunities
  • Staff

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Newsletters
  • RSS

© 2022 Third Door Media, Inc. All rights reserved.