It’s been a year since Apple announced its special plans to make worldwide Business chat available at the WWDC – WorldWide Developers Conference.
For the users of Canada and the USA, the company has now launched the service in Beta. It means the people residing in these countries can register for the Beta version.
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What is Actually a Business Chat on iMessage?
As we are using Facebook Chat Messenger to chat directly with businesses, Business Chat on iMessage will allow users and businesses to chat similarly to FB Messenger.
The main purpose of this service is to increase the engagement with users to businesses and vice versa and hence, businesses can able to respond to the customers’ needs without any communication barrier.
Do you know that “more than 330 million users connected with the small and mid-sized businesses on just FB Messenger in 2017 alone for the very first time?” Such statistical data inspires big companies to build a similar app to leverage chat application facilities.
330 million is really a big number and so, we can say that Facebook has proven its solvency by providing direct communication services between users and businesses. But the core question is that
“How Apple will tackle and catch up with the clear dominance of Facebook, especially in this segment?”
Apple is not behind in the profit-making market, it has tens of millions of iPhone users across the world including the USA and Canada. Home Depot, Lowe’s, Discover, Hilton, Wells Fargo, Marriott, and more are the early partners who are participating in the beta service launch.
As Apple devices and OS have been gaining more popularity for the last couple of years; Business Chat will get much exposure soon in the upcoming years. We have listed 2 reasons for the same. (There may be more too.)
Nowadays, almost all business owners use either MacBook Air, iPhone, iPad, or Apple watch or all, as the Apple systems are more secure, scalable, and reliable to use. On this theory, there is a chance for the business chat to get more exposure.
Facebook Messenger is a strong competitor for the Business Chat but you might have heard about the Cambridge Analytica scandal. Due to this horrible scandal, Facebook announced on 26th March 2018 that it is pausing the app review process as it is restructuring Messenger to reduce privacy issues. See what is a Cambridge Analytica scandal? And how has it affected Indian and USA politics?
If Apple will launch its live version of Business Chat on iMessage ahead of the schedule and before Facebook restructures its messenger segment.
It will be a big opportunity for Apple to get more exposure and will be called as the big jump in this segment around the world.
How is it Beneficial for Businesses?
- Users can directly connect with your business and schedule an appointment, ask questions, make purchases with Apple Pay & much more. These all facilities are actually built-in features.
- It can be accessed from the iPad, Apple Watch, Mac & iPhone. You can also start a chat from the business listing in Siri results, spotlight search, listing in Maps, and also on the Safari Web.
- This app doesn’t share the contact information of users with businesses.
- Users can stop chatting at any time and users love this feature and appreciate the privacy concern.
How to Register for Apple’s Business Chat?
Step 1 Go to https://developer.apple.com/business-chat/
Step 2 Click on “Sign up for Business Chat”
Step 3 Click on the “Sign” in Button
Step 4 Sign in with your Apple ID
Step 5 Integrate it with your Customer Services Provider (CSP)
That’s it. You are registered.
Requirements
- A user should be from the USA or Canada to avail of this chat application as it is in beta version now.
- A user should have the latest builds if Xcode 9 and iOS 11 to build this chat feature in his app.
Final Words
Apple has launched the Business chat beta for two countries only at this time and once it started to gain good feedback from the users; the app will be live for user around the world. If you are living in Canada or in the USA; follow the above simple steps to register and start experiencing.
Do you have any latest news related to business chat? Share with us in the comment section. We will add in our post if it is relevant and also discuss it with you for the same.
