Getting a message to Barack Obama just got easier. Just hit him up on Facebook.
The White House unveiled a new feature on Wednesday that allows Facebook users to contact him via Messenger – just like they would any of their other friends on the site – using a chatbot.
“Hi! It’s great to hear from you – and we’re excited to learn what’s on your mind,” a message from the White House Facebook page reads. It pops up automatically when you click the message button. The bot prompts you to click “Let’s go!” before asking for your message. It gives you an option to proofread your message before sending, then asks for your mailing address and phone number.
Once your information is confirmed, it sends you a smiley face emoji and a clip from a 2009 video of Obama speaking about letters from the public. The video mentions that the president reads 10 letters from the public every day, which the bot also states in its opening message. “These letters, I think, do more to keep me in touch with what’s happening around the country than just about anything else,” Obama said in the video.
The interaction is fairly straightforward, but doesn’t respond if you try to type an answer to its yes-or-no questions instead of clicking the buttons. When you go off script, the bot prompts you to return with a “Whoops!” or “Oops!” or directs your to WhiteHouse.gov for more information.
Previously, Americans could leave a message for the president by phone, email or letter. Reading letters from the public dates back to Thomas Jefferson, a White House press release stated; this is the newest, most tech-savvy way to do it.
Using Messenger bots is a new and popular way for news services and other companies to tell users about news, weather and other topics. The Guardian created one to suggest recipes. Last month, Messenger had more than 11,000 chatbots, according to CNBC. Facebook has a guide to help make your own.
As Nieman Lab pointed out, what makes Facebook’s bots appealing is that brands and pages can interact with users “inside the existing chat environment you’re already addicted to”.
Facebook unveiled bots in its Messenger app earlier this year, but the idea has been around for a while. Anyone who used AOL Instant Messenger – better known as AIM – in its early 2000s heyday probably remembers the SmarterChild bot. It answered questions in a conversational tone and was widely used as a punching bag for teens testing out cursing. There are other types of bots, such as customer service bots and Twitter bots – like Microsoft’s Tay, which was shut down after learning to be racist through user engagement. A recent program, dubbed “the world’s first robot lawyer”, has been attempting to take on legal issues like parking tickets or homelessness in a chat-like interface.
It’s unclear if the White House bot will have some of the same problems as other bots on the Messenger platform – like spammy messages or an inability to unsubscribe from messages.
The president has been active on many modes of social media in addition to Facebook and Messenger. Under the Twitter handle POTUS, Obama recently dropped his summer 2016 playlist. The White House has its own Snapchat account. On Thursday, its Story, a message which lasts for 24 hours, gave instructions on how to message the president on Facebook. First lady Michelle Obama recently created her own Snapchat. She and Vice-President Joe Biden also have their own Twitter and Facebook accounts.
The news of the chatbot was also posted on Facebook, along with a gif providing instructions. Regardless of the new private messaging feature, more than 1,000 people left public comments on the post, many beginning with a variation of “Dear Mr President”.
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