Twitter Introduces Customer Service ‘Bots’ For Direct Messages

Twitter might be known as the network where you get to know what is happening all over the world thanks to its live nature but the company has also seen it as an invaluable customer service tool.

This is why today the company has announced new ways to make businesses offer better customer service on the DMs: Quick replies and welcome messages.

Quick replies are automated responses that will be fed to the customer in the form of choosing from a list of options or by entering specific values. This sounds like how customer service is handled in the legacy way when calling a carrier where you are handled using an automated service.

Welcome messages will be preset by businesses which in turn will greet people when they enter the DM. These messages can also be linked to a greeting that could be found from a tweet, app or website which can be used to inform the customer of what services to expect from the business.

According to Twitter, two companies have already tested the new “bots” which include Evernote and Pizza hut. These features are going to boost the existing roster of CRM (Customer Relationship Management) tools that Twitter has been adding over time. They include starting a direct message right from the timeline and giving customers the ability to post their feedback from the service offered.

Twitter has provided a website where businesses can create a “default welcome message” which has options to receive DMs from anyone, explicitly dedicate the account for support, work hours and to add welcome messages. The company seems to be interested in involving developers to improve the product in a private beta, where you can sign up here.