Skype announced today that Mac and web browser users can start playing around with its new bots, outfitting the chat interface with fun, informative or just plain wacky AI.
Mac and web users join Windows, iOS and Android as platforms that can preview the app's bots. These include Murphy, which can generate images to answer such burning questions as "What if Charlie Chaplin had a really long beard?" and Summarize, which crunches webpages into quick, skimmable synopses.
Finding the list of available bots is as simple as clicking "Discover Bots" while in the browser version of Skype, or opening your Contacts list on Mac and selecting "Add Bot….". This will bring the chatty AI to your list like it were any other friend, coworker or family member.
Bot-tle rocket
Skype bots are currently available in Australia, Canada, England, Ireland, India, New Zealand, Singapore, and the US via a preview program. It's not confirmed whether Microsoft plans to expand to more regions once bots begin to take off.
Skype's primary intent with bots is to let users chat and interact with brands and services, letting them shop for clothes, play games, or make travel plans just by talking to their computer or smartphone.
Add this to Facebook's reveal of chatbots coming to Messenger last week, and we maaaaay never have to talk to another human being ever again.
