Progress in the shift to conversational computing

  • Thread starter Thread starter Gurdeep Pall
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Gurdeep Pall

Four months ago at //build 2016, Satya Nadella outlined Microsoft’s vision for Conversations as a Platform (CaaP). He explained that pairing “the power of natural human language with advanced machine intelligence” will enable organizations and consumers to get more done and have more fun, with the help of intelligent bots. We envision a world where digital experiences mirror the way people interact with one another today. A world where language will become the new user interface, bots are the new apps, digital assistants are like meta apps or browsers, and intelligence will be infused throughout all interactions.

Intelligent conversations, such as those in Skype chat, will be where you discover information and get things done. We want bots to become the quickest way to handle simple tasks, like shopping or managing your calendar, and the most effortless way to complete complex tasks, such as booking a family vacation. And the more you use bots, the better they get at anticipating your needs.

Today, we’re taking another significant step towards bringing that vision into reality. Our hundreds of millions of Skype users will now have access to a series of new bots created by Microsoft and our partners. This new wave of bots focuses on travel and entertainment, and are available across each Skype client whether Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, or the Web.

Helpful experiences like the Hipmunk Bot, a group bot, that helps you and your friends collaborate on a task such as voting on a trip to take or simply choosing a restaurant together. The Skyscanner Bot lets you search for flights either individually or as part of a group, returning live prices and route options within Skype. And the StubHub Bot works on your behalf to find the perfect concert ticket. For more information on these bots check out the Skype Garage Blog.

Today’s news builds on a steady stream of momentum toward our CaaP vision. While it’s only been a few months since we announced our CaaP vision, we’ve worked closely with many different partners and developers to help advance the realities of conversational computing. At //build, we announced our first wave of Skype bots. In June, we hosted our very first Skype Bot Hackathon in our Palo Alto office where participants worked to create bots that did everything from helping you choose dinner, finding the perfect song to fit your mood, and even buying the right health insurance. In less than two days, dozens of bots were developed. In July, we announced three key updates to the bot framework tools, including group functionality for bots, to make your chats even more helpful. Currently, we are focused on creating Skype bots in our directory that deliver interesting experiences, in a variety of scenarios. We also have over 30,000 developers building bots on our platform and thousands of developers are able to share their bot through a Skype join link directly on their website.

We believe Conversations as a Platform will fundamentally change the computing experience and are committed to advancing this next frontier with intelligence that simplifies and enhances our digital interactions.

To check the new bots announced today and more, make sure you are on the latest Skype app for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, or Web! To learn more about bots, please visit our Skype FAQ pages.

The post Progress in the shift to conversational computing appeared first on The Official Microsoft Blog.

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