The new Facebook Messenger Chat Plugin makes it easier for businesses to interact with customers without them needing a Facebook account.
In 2017, Facebook first released a new customer chat plugin that made it easy for customers to chat with a business. However, adoption was limited because users were required to sign in with a Facebook account in order to use it.
Today, Facebook is releasing a new version of its Messenger plugin for websites that no longer requires the customer to use a Facebook account.
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Because of the requirement to sign in using a Facebook account, many users who couldn’t remember their password (or felt uncomfortable revealing themselves), passed on the opportunity to communicate with websites that used the previous Messenger plugin.
“As a developer, it’s much easier to convince a business to use a live chat offering that is available to all their customers,” noted Soma Toth, founder of Recart. “Our business customers are seeing sales directly tied to engagement on Messenger, and the Chat Plugin helps them leverage the same investment across both their Facebook page and their website at no additional cost. It also reduces the complexity of having to work with or support a fallback for users who are not logged into Facebook.”
The new version still prioritizes users who sign in using their Facebook account, however, a new “continue as guest” option will now be available.
On the business side, all tools are available to manage conversations with online users – whether they opt to log in using a Facebook account, or to connect as guests.
Businesses now also have the option to install the plugin themselves, or work with partners like WooCommerce, ManyChat, and Haravan to have it installed for them, Facebook says.