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iOS 11 to Bring 'Business Chat' to Apple's Messages App

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On Apple's Developer site, there's a section outlining an upcoming iOS 11 Messages feature called "Business Chat."

Business Chat wasn't mentioned during the keynote event, but based on the text that describes the feature, it's going to allow businesses to make themselves available for quick chats directly in Messages for customer service purposes. Customers will be able to find businesses using Safari, Maps, Spotlight, and Siri, and then initiate iMessage conversations.
Business Chat is a powerful new way for businesses to connect with customers directly from within Messages. Using Business Chat, your customers can get answers to questions, resolve issues and complete transactions on their iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch. Customers can find your business and start conversations from Safari, Maps, Spotlight, and Siri.
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As The Verge points out, Business Chat will allow Apple to compete with social networks like Facebook and Twitter, where businesses use direct messaging functionality to interact with customers.

Features like Apple Pay and calendar integration will be added to the Business Chat option, allowing customers to make purchases right in a chat session, and it will also support third-party apps so businesses can develop custom features.

Apple plans to provide more details on Business Chat during a developer session that will take place on June 9 at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time.

Article Link: iOS 11 to Bring 'Business Chat' to Apple's Messages App
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2017/06/05/ios-11-business-chat-feature/
This is how WeChat is used in China. You can chat with businesses, order from them, pay, and they can set up custom apps. It's pretty awesome. Cross-platform would be better, though.
 
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A necessary move but not noteworthy. I'd like browser based iMessage.
 
Awesome!! How cool is that? This will be great for my home business thing that I should be dedicating more time to...
 
I was hoping this would just be an iMessage app without the clutter of stickers, doodles, GIFs, and whatever else they manage to stuff in.
 
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nabeel24 said:
Great gateway to connect with customers for businesses.
Unfortunately I'm guessing this only works for people with iPhones (iMessages)?
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I'm assuming you are correct. Either way, fairly clever idea for something more specific for a business and its customers as you noted.
 
This is going to be great for small business support, as well as the big guys. Very much looking forward to this...
 
This is only going to work if it's cross platform... otherwise, communicating with only 20% of your customers and not the other 80% (android) is useless.
 
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If you guys aren't familiar with WeChat (which it sounds like Apple is copying the concept of) and how it's used in China, I highly suggest looking it up (I'm sure there are good videos on it). As China basically skipped the PC as a platform that everyone uses, WeChat (a mobile app) is their way of interacting with just about everything. Ordering delivery? There's a WeChat app for that. Paying for something in person? Alipay and WeChat wallet are ubiquitous. Want to schedule an appointment to get your hair done? WeChat app.

Think of WeChat apps as lightweight mobile sites that are tied to a business's phone number. When you add a business to your WeChat, you gain not only the ability to send arbitrary messages to them, but you also gain access to this app. For example, you could use WeChat to schedule a hair appointment, and then chat with the salon to tell them if you're running late or early.

If Apple succeeds in bringing this to the US, it will be by far the most significant thing they announced at WWDC this year. To be successful though, I think they'll have to make it cross platform. Otherwise Facebook will come and eat their lunch.
 
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I mentioned the Messages payments and "business chat" to my wife , and she's hoping she'll be able to use that with our daughter's girl scout troop for taking cookie payments at booth sales. So few people care spare cash anymore, and they lose sales if they can't take electronic payments.
 
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