MSN Messenger Adds 2 Bots, But Asks Nicely First

By Michael Santo
Contributing Writer, RealTechNews

MSN Messenger added 2 bots to its service this week, but taking a different approach than AOL, it made them opt-in.

Microsoft released two new MSN Messenger bots this week, but took a noticeably different approach in introducing them to users by first asking. Competitor AOL caused quite a stir this month when it automatically added two AIM bots to its users’ Buddy Lists, which resulted in a flood of complaints.

The bots from MSN offer answers to questions from Microsoft’s Encarta encyclopedia, as well as BBC television listings. Users can start sessions with the automated services by saying “hello” and following the prompts. Those interested can add encarta@conversagent.com and bbcbackstage@hotmail.com to their contact lists in order to test out of the bots. Source: BetaNews

We Say: The prior story about AOL stirred up quite some discussion, both here and on the rest of the Web. In fact, when I indicated that AOL might have thought better of adding the bots automatically in light of Sony’s recent troubles, some people thought I was comparing the two acts. I was not. The Sony DRM issue, which I have written about many times, was much more onerous. What I was saying was that since Sony had stirred up such a tempest right around that time, it would seem the smart move for any company would be to do nothing that might even slightly irritate users. The AOL bots were not a big issue, but the action was ill-timed, as I indicated. Microsoft took a safer approach (in terms of PR) this week.