We've touched on the increasing influence of apps in keeping users corralled. But the big dogs can't lock down app development. Amazon has apparently had surprising success with Echo. Then there's Waze, Now, Siri. But, to me, these seem to be adopted more for voice control than assistants. The costs of development and maintenance do make bots more exclusive properties.
QuoteFacebook now wants to expand your social circle in its messaging app, Messenger, beyond friends to include chatbots, which are designed to shop, search and generally just get things done for you.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-tn-the-download-20160419-story.html