Skype rolls out its suite of third-party app chatbots
Use services like StubHub, Hipmunk and Skyscanner from directly within your conversations.
Skype is the latest service to be joining in on the bot craze. After deploying a preview of Skype Bots back in April, the company is pushing a new series of chatbots out into the Skype Bot directory across Windows, Android, iOS, Mac and Web apps.
The goal is to offer services to users in a more efficient manner so that more complex tasks can be completed in an expedient manner. You'll be able to bring bots into group conversations to manage tasks with friends and family, or collaborate on things like selecting restaurants, as daunting of a task as that can be. For instance, you can use Hipmunk to browse flight times or figure out travel recommendations directly within your discussions.
Skype has partnered with services like StubHub and Skyscanner to bring additional functionality to its bots, as well as the IFTTT Bot, which allows you to set your own personalized triggers like social media notifications, someone coming to your door, etc. There's also a special Star Trek Spock bot, if that's your thing.
Chatbots are quickly becoming a way of the future, so it's not surprising to see these bots being folded in to Skype functionality. Done correctly, they've got their own unique boons that make them useful for every day situations, but many do still have a long way to go.
