Facebook Messenger’s AI ‘M’ can now assist you in Spanish
It sounds like Facebook “M,” the AI-powered virtual assistant for Messenger, has learned a new language. According to the social network, it can now dole out suggestions in Spanish if that’s your default language in the US or if you’re in Mexico. The company rolled out M to all users in the US in April, giving it the power to pop up in the middle of conversations. If you ask a friend to pay you $10 for pizza, it automatically shows all possible in-app payment options. Tell an officemate “let’s meet tomorrow,” and it provides a link to create an appointment and will even hail you an Uber or a Lyft. That’s the kind of assistant M is, and it now works the same way in Spanish.
If you ask a friend “¿Dónde estás?,” it provides a shortcut to Messenger’s location-sharing feature. Type “Besos!” or “Hola!” to bring up stickers. Friend won’t respond to the message asking him for that $10 he owes you? No problem. If he’ll be more receptive to a crisp scolding in Español, do it — M will understand and bring up the list of in-app payment options again.
Facebook apparently announced M’s new language and availability in Mexico on Messenger’s official account. We unfortunately can’t access the post, but a spokesperson has confirmed to Engadget that the Spanish-speaking M has already begun rolling out to users in the US and Mexico. Unfortunately, Facebook hasn’t announced whether the assistant will make its way to other countries, as well. If you don’t live in either the US or Mexico, you’ll just have to do things the old-fashioned way.
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