Facebook Advances Development of Built-In Messenger Smart Assistant; Acquires AI Startup Ozlo
In an apparent move to advance their efforts in incorporating artificial intelligence technology into their Messenger platform, Facebook has recently acquired the AI-focused startup Ozlo.
Ozlo is known for making a name in developing "conversational AI space," as Tech Crunch calls it. The company debuted its services in iOS shortly after Samsung confirmed their acquisition of Viv Labs, the company that conceived Apple's Siri smart assistant.
Like many startups, Ozlo was initially known for thriving amid its independence from bigger corporations in the technology world. And in an earlier interview with Tech Crunch, Ozlo CEO Charles Jolley said that their same name smart assistant was more than just a personal digital helper as it aimed to be relevant in the AI ecosystem.
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Now, Facebook seems to agree. According to a statement, the online social media corporation said: "We're excited to welcome the Ozlo team as we build compelling experiences within Messenger that are powered by artificial intelligence and machine learning."
Meanwhile, Ozlo's official website greets people with the news of the acquisition, as it said, "We're excited to let you know that we're joining the Messenger team at Facebook."
"Our world-class team has built a knowledge graph containing over 2 billion entities and created amazing AI technology that uses this data to understand real-world nuances," Ozlo added.
According to Recode, a Facebook representative confirmed that most of Ozlo's employees will be deployed to Facebook's offices in California or Washington. The spokesperson reportedly added: "They're just going to be working with [Messenger] to continue their work with artificial intelligence and machine learning."
It is also important to note that Facebook has already made initial efforts to develop the AI aspect of the Messenger platform. However, Recode recalls that Facebook is prioritizing the text-based AI where Ozlo's help is needed.
As for the voice-activated feature of Messenger's AI, the platform's executive, Stan Chudnovsky, said they prefer to perfect the text-based AI first before venturing into the voice-activated features. He added that they do not want to offer something that people will soon realize is not good enough "and then they may not give us another try."
