Microsoft is turning its chat app, Skype, into a full-blown messaging platform. To transform Skype, the software giant has to make it smarter using bots, and their creators. At its Build developer conference yesterday (March 30), Microsoft introduced the Skype Bot Program.
Some examples of what these Skype bots will be able to do include ordering a cab, booking a hotel room, and “anything that you may want to do that you’ve done historically with applications and websites,” said Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. During its Build conference, Microsoft demoed how Skype users will soon be able to start a chat with Cortana and get things done just by having a conversation.
If this new feature sure sounds a bit familiar, well that’s because the concept of smarter AI helping humans get things done was what Google did on it last year’s Google I/O developer conference where they showcased how Google Now can help Android phone users get revelation information and help them with their bookings and other important stuff, Facebook also has an assistant, called M which works with third parties and kind of does the same thing too, so I won’t say Microsoft is introducing something new here.
Well, we all know the company and its track record of embracing trends a tad too late, perpetually putting it in a second or perhaps a lower place position but that’s isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
Microsoft’s CEO, Nadella urged developers to build bots that work with Microsoft programs, making bots available to Developers at launch with a set of tools, including a SDK, API, and workflows which lets developers build bots for Skype.
