The chatbot gold rush is officially here

Leave it to Zuck to strut out at F8 and make the announcement about chatbots: They're happening. As a major component of Facebook's new Messenger Platform, chatbots will enable businesses to develop a personalized layer of communication and commerce with their customers. Facebook's is just the latest, and biggest, play in the world of chatbots. Slack and Kik have been here for awhile, but Facebook's arrival signals inevitability. As one of the first platforms to launch bots about 18 months ago, Kik has been working with developers and product managers to figure out what makes for a successful chatbot.