Facebook Messenger Platform gets updated: here’s what you need to know

In a little over two months since Facebook Messenger Platform was launched, the bot app landscape has changed pretty significantly. According to an update provided by Facebook’s David Marcus, Vice President of Messaging Products, the platform is attracting brands and businesses throughout, with more than 11,000 bots having been launched and more then 23,000 developers expressing interest for Wit.ai’s bot engine.

But there’s more. As a result of the ongoing feedback from these developers, Facebook has launched a new blog for Messenger Platform developers, as well as an update to its Messenger Platform. Below are the features now being offered:

• Ratings: Developers can now be given ratings feedback in the form of a star so that they can improve upon their app. These star ratings are seen only by developers via email or in the bot dashboard.
• Quick replies: These are up to ten dynamic buttons that align with messages that help with automation of the conversation.
• Persistent menu: Navigation with bots now supports up to five actions, eliminating the need for people to remember text commands and ensuring consistency.
• Account linking: Businesses can connect their customers’ accounts with Messenger accounts by opt-in only.
• Content: The updated Messenger Platform supports new content types, such as audio, video, images and files. All multimedia play natively within the app.
• Mute control: Users can mute bots just like standard conversations with friends.

All updated Messenger Platform functionality and information can be seen on the Facebook developer hub.