Publishers can now create bots for Facebook Messenger

You might have heard: At Facebook’s F8 keynote on Tuesday, the important announcement for publishers included better bookmarking, a new sharing tool for text, and more streaming options (Nieman Lab)

But did you know: Facebook announced at F8 on Tuesday that its Messenger platform is now open for publishers, marketers and anyone else to build bots to interact with its 900 million users. Some publishers including CNN and Business Insider had bots ready for Tuesday’s launch, while others like The Washington Post are still building bots for Messenger. CNN’s bot was built using Outbrain, and users who subscribe to CNN on Messenger will receive a daily digest of stories within the app. The bot will also recommend stories to users based on their preferences and learned interests, with the bot getting more personalized the more a user interacts with it.

+ More news from F8: Facebook says users prefer Instant Articles to mobile web stories and that they’re less likely to abandon Instant Articles before they load (Wall Street Journal); Facebook’s hidden “Save” feature has 250 million users each month, a number that’s expected to grow as Facebook introduces a “Save to Facebook” button for the web (The Verge); Facebook is making the API for its live streaming feature publicly available, which will allow developers to integrate live streaming into third-party apps and devices, such as a drone (Variety)