At its F8 developer conference, Facebook announced the launch of AR integration and M translations for Messenger. The social media giant said that the new features would deepen connections between people and businesses. It said that the AR feature would give people a better way to look at products before purchasing them, and that M translations would help drive commerce by removing language barriers.
The AR feature is set to launch as a closed beta and those users involved will be able to see products, in augmented reality, from the likes of ASUS, Kia, Nike, and Sephora at launch. ASUS, for example, will give you an unboxing experience where you get a closer look at their phones before purchasing, and Sephora will let you try on their make-up with a filter. Businesses that want to join the programme can sign up to the waiting list. The new AR feature will help Facebook meet its goal of making Messenger more visual.
The other newly announced feature, M translations, is expected to reduce the language barrier in order to help businesses sell more goods and services. In its announcement, Facebook said:
“One of the key differentiators for people and businesses using Messenger is the ability to connect and reach people around the world. That’s why today we’re also thrilled to announce that buyers and sellers in Marketplace will be able to communicate across languages with M suggestions for translations. Now when people connected through Marketplace receive a message in a language that is different from their default language in Messenger, M will ask them if they want to translate the message. This will help drive commerce between buyers and sellers despite language barriers. At launch, translations from English to Spanish (and vice-versa) will be available in Marketplace conversations taking place in the US.”
M translations will be rolled out to users in the U.S. in the coming weeks. Facebook plans to roll out the feature to other countries, with additional languages, sometime in the future.
Source: Facebook
9 Comments - Add comment