Google Adds Business Messages to Maps and Search
In a bid to make it easier for customers to connect with brands over messaging, Google has added its Business Messages functionality to Maps and Search.
Now, when searching for brands that have Google Business Messages enabled, customers have the option of starting a conversation seamlessly on their Android or iOS devices.
This level of visibility is such an important step for the wider adoption of messaging channels. It’s taking messaging from being buried somewhere on a contact page to giving customers the option before they’ve even visited a website.
Screenshots of 'Message' appearing in Google Maps and Google search results
We’re currently working with a number of our partners to develop their Google Business Messages experiences, get in touch if you would like to find out how your brand can get started.
Twitter Introduces New Voice Feature
The move from 140 characters to 280 may feel like a distant memory, but at the time, it was the most divisive change in Twitter’s short history.
And now, Twitter is testing a new feature that lets users tweet voice recordings of up to 140 seconds.
The reasoning behind the new feature is that sometimes text can be easily misconstrued, particularly when tackling sensitive or complex subjects. It’s hoped that enabling people to communicate using their voice will leave nothing “unsaid or uninterpreted”.
Screenshot showing Twitter Voice in action
From a brand to consumer perspective, this could enable customers to communicate with greater clarity when seeking support rather than tweeting a string of shorter messages.
Now Every Support Agent Can Have Their Own Assistant
What if your agents could say, “I'm not going to do this. I'm going to let the bot go do it." And they could dispatch a bot to go collect the information that they need or help that customer with something that's very common while they focus on other customers that have more complex issues.
Well, that's exactly what we recently launched and we call it Agent Assist: It brings bots and agents together on the same platform and allows the two to work hand-in-hand, giving customer service reps a personal assistant to make their job a little bit easier.
You can listen to our VP of Product, Anish Bhatt, discuss Agent Assist in-depth on the latest episode of Conversations w/ Conversocial.