• The new update now allows businesses to manage messages initiated by people throughout their Instagram presence, including Profile, Shops, and Stories;
• The novelty is part of the integration process across different Facebook apps;
• Through the update, companies will be able to use bots to chat with their customers through the direct messages in the app.

Facebook announced on Monday that is updating the Messenger API to support Instagram messaging, giving businesses new tools to manage their customer communications on Instagram at scale. The update will now allow companies to use bots to chat with their customers through the direct messages in the app.

This is an update to the same API that until then worked only for Facebook Messenger.

This new update is part of the integration process across different Facebook apps: recently, the company also announced the integration between the messenger services of Instagram and Messenger, which means that the same conversation would appear in both apps. The novelty also brings Facebook Shops messaging features to the Messenger API.

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“Businesses want to use a single platform to respond to messages on multiple channels,” Messenger stated in a company memo. “The Messenger API now allows businesses to manage messages initiated by people throughout their Instagram presence, including Profile, Shops, and Stories.”

Tests are already being carried out on Instagram with selected partners, including Brazilian retailers Amaro and Magazine Luiza, as well as international brands such as Adidas, H&M, and Sephora.

“To get started, businesses can easily work with developers to integrate Instagram messaging with their existing tools and systems,” further stated the memo. Only approved partners can access the messaging API on Instagram, the company informed, but there is a business waitlist as well as a developer waitlist for those who want to join it.