• MarTech Today
  • Sections
    • Advertising
    • Marketing
    • Content
    • Social
    • Commerce
    • Sales
    • Analytics
    • Management
    • All
    • Home
  • Follow Us
    • Follow
  • MarTech Today
  • Ads
  • Marketing
  • Content
  • Social
  • Sales
  • Analytics
  • Mgmt
  • More
  • Events
    • Follow
  • SUBSCRIBE

MarTech Today

MarTech Today

Customer Data Platforms

Why are they so hot now?

Podcasting's Rise

Creating new marketing opportunities

Events

Attend the MarTech conference

  • Advertising
  • Marketing
  • Content
  • Social
  • Commerce
  • Sales
  • Analytics
  • Management
  • All
  • Events
  • Newsletters
  • Home
Martech: Social

Subscribe to MarTech Today to receive news and insights of where marketing, technology, and management converge.

Note: By submitting this form, you agree to Third Door Media's terms. We respect your privacy.


Facebook shutters digital assistant ‘M’ and readies video ‘Portal’

The Facebook touch-screen video device will make calls, stream Netflix.

Greg Sterling on January 9, 2018 at 2:08 pm
  • More

One door closes and another opens. Facebook is shuttering its digital assistant, “M.” At the same time, the company is preparing to launch its rumored touch-screen video device named “Portal.”

It will compete with Echo Show and Google-powered new “smart displays.”

A report from Cheddar says that Facebook plans to announce or introduce Portal at its F8 developer conference in May. The video-chat device will apparently be available in the second half of 2018.

The device will be voice-enabled and have facial recognition, which will apparently associate people with their Facebook accounts. The Cheddar coverage also says that Portal will allow streaming content from Netflix and Spotify.

In retrospect, Facebook was perhaps too ambitious with M, which used a combination of machine learning and human concierges. The “M” brand will apparently survive and offer machine-driven suggestions in Messenger. The end of M’s expansive original vision certainly doesn’t mean the end of artificial intelligence at Facebook.

Facebook introduced M in roughly August 2015. It operated within Messenger and sought to offer, automate and complete a range of tasks beyond what Siri, Alexa, Cortana and the Google Assistant currently do. At the time, Facebook’s David Marcus said that M would help “purchase items, get gifts delivered to your loved ones, book restaurants, travel arrangements, appointments and way more.”

M never made it out of a private beta, which was limited to 10,000 people in the San Francisco Bay Area. The advanced capabilities were managed and largely fulfilled by an internal team of humans, who are now being redeployed to other groups within Facebook.

The closure of M and the impending launch of Portal come against the backdrop of aggressive expansion by both Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa in the smart home automation and the voice-enabled device ecosystem. At CES yesterday, Google announced a range of new third-party integrations, including “smart displays.”

Portal will reportedly cost $499, which seems high and may suppress demand. The just-announced Lenovo-Google Assistant smart display will retail for $199, while Echo Show runs roughly $230.



About The Author

Greg Sterling
Greg Sterling is a Contributing Editor at Search Engine Land. He writes a personal blog, Screenwerk, about connecting the dots between digital media and real-world consumer behavior. He is also VP of Strategy and Insights for the Local Search Association. Follow him on Twitter or find him at Google+.

Popular Stories

What is identity resolution?
Data location vendor worked with GDPR regulator on data consent model, yielding 70% opt-in rates
The future of TV advertising in today’s digital world

Related Topics

Channel: Martech: SocialChat & Text Messaging Apps

Subscribe to MarTech Today to receive news and insights of where marketing, technology, and management converge.

Note: By submitting this form, you agree to Third Door Media's terms. We respect your privacy.


We're listening.

Have something to say about this article? Share it with us on Facebook and Twitter.

Attend Our Conferences

Gain new strategies and insights at the intersection of marketing, technology, and management. Our next conference will be held:

April 3-5, 2019: San Jose

September 16-18, 2019: Boston



×

Attend MarTech - Click Here


Learn More About Our MarTech Events

White Papers

  • Four Steps to 1:1 Customer Interactions
  • The Ultimate Guide to Site Search User Experience
  • The Marketing Analytics Buyer’s Guide 2019
  • Mission Possible: Quality Content Marketing
  • 2019 Marketing Trends: Nine factors reshaping marketing and how you can stay ahead of them
See More Whitepapers

Webinars

  • How to Use Intelligent Site Search to Increase Conversions
  • Google’s Black Box Bidding Solution: A look under the hood
  • 2019 Martech Trends You Need To Know
See More Webinars

Research Reports

  • B2B Marketing Automation Platforms
  • Account-Based Marketing Tools
  • Enterprise SEO Platforms
  • Call Analytics Platforms
  • Paid Media Campaign Management Platforms
  • Local Marketing Automation Tools
See More Research
Master these trends of martech
Sign up for our daily newsletter
Martech Today
Download the Martech Today app on iTunes
Download the Martech Today App on Google Play

Follow Us

Facebook Twitter

© 2019 Third Door Media, Inc. All rights reserved.