American Express is bringing some new functionality to its Facebook Messenger chatbot, further cementing messaging as an invaluable tool for brands and marketers to connect with their consumers.

The brand has added a new “add a card” feature to its chatbot, letting consumers quickly add credit card information without opening the app. The move is an attempt by Amex to capitalize on the new popularity of messaging platforms.

“This most recent step in our long relationship with Facebook demonstrates just how quickly American Express can iterate new features and develop innovation with great partners,” said Dave Wolf, vice president of digital partnerships & development at American Express. “The speed of our tech development continues to allow us to meet our Card Members where they are, and we look forward to the additional benefits we can deliver to Card Members on this powerful channel.”

Add a card
While mobile apps have proliferated in the modern mobile era, brands and marketers have encountered the increasing problem of customers not having enough space on their phones to install a different app for every occasion.

Some brands have responded by making their mobile apps have as much functionality as possible ,packing them full of features in an attempt to outstrip other mobile apps in the competition for consumers’ storage space.

Other brands have gone in a different direction altogether, banking on the hottest new trend in mobile marketing and commerce – messaging platforms.

Many consumers are turning to messaging platforms as their preferred choice of mobile engagement, using it to connect with friends in place of social media, making purchases through chatbots, and staying in touch with brands through marketing interactions.

Amex is just one brand that has made strong use of messaging as an avenue for consumer interaction. Mainly, its chatbot has served as an all-in-one resource for consumers to make financial transactions and decisions.

Now, the company is adding yet another bit of functionality to its chatbot with its “add a card” feature.

This feature allows consumers to easily add another card to their account through the chatbot by conversing with it naturally.

This new feature provides yet another outlet for consumers interaction that does not have to be taken up by an app.

Chatbot
Messaging and chatbots have proved so popular in recent months that some are even saying that messaging could become the new “mobile operating system” – absorbing all other common mobile services into a single platform.

This view was expressed at a recent summit on messaging by an executive from Snaps (see story).

Many of the biggest brands have started using chatbots for their own gain, including big names such as Sephora (see story).

As chatbots continue to gain more features and functionality, the possibility that consumers do not need to download additional apps grows.

With this powerful tool on their side, brands can continue to beef up their mobile messaging offering and reap the rewards in the form of customer engagement.

“This new feature comes as Facebook and Messenger introduce new commerce initiatives,” said Kahina Van Dyke, Facebook’s Director of Global Commerce and Payments Partnerships. “We’ve seen commerce play an increasing role in how people interact with one another and we’re excited to see our partners at AMEX continue to create new ways to enable people to make seamless purchases with this new Add a Card feature.”