Facebook is testing personal assistant that can make purchases for users

Facebook has announced that it is testing a personal assistant in Messenger that can perform tasks for users such as purchasing products and delivering gifts, thanks to the use of human employees in the background.

Facebook’s personal assistant works on the basis of artificial intelligence that is trained by people, while human employees also continue to oversee the service. This is a kind of hybrid assistant that does not only run on artificial intelligence.

According to Facebook vice president David Marcus, “M” goes further than competitors like Apple’s Siri, Google Now and Microsoft’s Cortana because of its ability to purchase products and have items delivered. People would continue to oversee the operation, especially with these kinds of ‘autonomous’ tasks. According to Wired, the team members who will be responsible for this within Facebook are called ‘M Trainers’.

M can also book restaurants, schedule appointments and book travel. Facebook is going to test the service in San Francisco with a few hundred invitees. According to Marcus, the service will then be rolled out slowly, but it should eventually become available to all Facebook users.