“The similarity of Facebook Messenger to live chat, an already popular channel for customer support, and the familiarity of more than a billion consumers with the social platform makes Facebook Messenger an ideal addition to our digital messaging offering,” said Dynamics 365 product marketing manager Erin Amstrup in a blog post. “While large numbers of consumers are using social messaging channels like Facebook Messenger for their personal communication needs, they are also using mobile messaging channels to engage with businesses.” One advantage of Facebook chat for consumers is the ability to reply when they want. They can send a message, close the chat, and come back to see the representatives answer. This means they don’t have to worry about their live chat session being lost to a connection switch. The integration with Dynamics 365 means that agents now have access to their tools while chatting. They can use scripts, make use of contextual interface prompts, and quickly search for cases and timeline updates. If Facebook’s plans for integration don’t get blocked, this functionality could eventually give customer service reps reach into WhatsApp and Instagram chats. “It provides contextual customer identification, real-time notifications, integrated communications, and agent productivity tools, including knowledgebase integration, search, and case creation,” expands Armstrup. The feature is available via Microsoft’s digital messaging offer, which adds a Dynamics 365-powered chat, SMS support, and Microsoft Bot Framework integration. Facebook Messenger support was previously available in preview, and its general availability suggests any critical bugs have been ironed out.
