Microsoft’s new found love is bots, and the company had already launched those on Skype along with a couple of other communication mediums such as Slack, Outlook, and LINE.
Now, the good news on this front is that Skype Chatbots have been introduced to Mac and the Web as well though only in preview mode as of now.
On the Mac, users will have to select on the ‘Add Bot…’ option from the Contacts menu to add the new Bots, just as they would have done to add any human contact.
For those on Skype on the web, users will have to tap on the ‘Discover Bots’ option from the left toolbar, which will list the bots that are available. Additionally, users also have the option to select bots right from the bots’ profile page itself.
Apart from its launch on the two new platforms, Skype also introduced two new bots – Murphy and Summarize. Among these, Murphy aims to help its users with images that would serve to answer those questions that are best answered with images rather than words.
Summarize, on the other hand, is designed to provide its users with an overview of say an article or a web page when the user does not have the time to go through it all.
Meanwhile, what is also becoming increasingly evident is the difference in approach with bots adopted by Facebook and Microsoft. While the social media company’s focus with bots on its Messenger platform is somewhat commercial, Microsoft has taken on a more practical approach with its bots designed to help users with everyday tasks.
Also, while Microsoft has classified the new bots as preview versions which mean they might still spring a few unexpected surprises once in a while, let’s hope those don’t repeat what the other chatbot Tay had accomplished a few weeks back.
The web bots are available in Australia, Canada, England, Ireland, India, New Zealand, and Singapore, along with the US of course.
