According to reports, Facebook is building a new unified messaging inbox for businesses that would allow admins to respond to messages and interactions in one place.
In 2016, Facebook began integrating Facebook and Instagram interactions within one dashboard in its Pages app, but now, according to a report from Axios, the company is taking a big step toward further connecting Messenger and Instagram, by building an integrated inbox for businesses.
As the report reads: “The feature will add Instagram Direct messaging to a page owner’s messaging inbox within the Facebook Pages Manager app on web and mobile. The tool currently only lets businesses control messages coming from Facebook Messenger.”
The report also explains that “the function would exist only on the front-end for business page managers. Users would not be able to see the difference when their message is answered.”
Instagram comments – and not messages – were originally part of the first attempt, but the upcoming merger of features would allow the management of messages across platforms to be streamlined.
The news comes hot on the heels of a recent New York Times report that discusses Facebook’s thoughts of integrating Messenger, Instagram, and Whatsapp’s messaging features into one. Although Facebook has said this change is still in discussion and is unlikely to take place anytime soon, it shows a clear trend towards further integration between the three platforms – or at least Facebook’s willingness to do so.
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