<s>
Conversational	B-Protocol
commerce	I-Protocol
is	O
e-commerce	O
done	O
via	O
various	O
means	O
of	O
conversation	O
(	O
live	B-Protocol
support	I-Protocol
on	O
e-commerce	O
Web	O
sites	O
,	O
online	O
chat	O
using	O
messaging	B-Application
apps	I-Application
,	O
chatbots	B-Application
on	O
messaging	B-Application
apps	I-Application
or	O
websites	O
,	O
voice	B-Protocol
assistants	I-Protocol
)	O
and	O
using	O
technology	O
such	O
as	O
:	O
speech	B-Application
recognition	I-Application
,	O
speaker	B-Application
recognition	I-Application
(	O
voice	B-Application
biometrics	I-Application
)	O
,	O
natural	B-Language
language	I-Language
processing	I-Language
and	O
artificial	B-Application
intelligence	I-Application
.	I-Application
</s>
<s>
During	O
this	O
time	O
,	O
in	O
China	O
,	O
e-commerce	O
via	O
WeChat	B-Application
–	O
at	O
its	O
core	O
a	O
messaging	B-Application
app	I-Application
,	O
but	O
also	O
letting	O
merchants	O
display	O
their	O
goods	O
in	O
mobile	O
Web	O
pages	O
and	O
via	O
social	O
feeds	O
–	O
grew	O
strongly	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2016	O
,	O
Facebook	O
announced	O
its	O
Facebook	B-Protocol
Messenger	I-Protocol
chatbot	B-Application
platform	O
,	O
heralding	O
the	O
arrival	O
of	O
conversational	B-Protocol
commerce	I-Protocol
via	O
the	O
most	O
widely	O
used	O
messaging	B-Application
app	I-Application
in	O
the	O
world	O
outside	O
China	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
More	O
than	O
34,000	O
businesses	O
had	O
opened	O
shop	O
on	O
Messenger	B-Protocol
by	O
August	O
2017	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Early	O
cited	O
examples	O
of	O
conversational	B-Protocol
commerce	I-Protocol
chatbots	B-Application
on	O
Facebook	B-Protocol
Messenger	I-Protocol
include	O
1-800-FLOWERS	O
with	O
an	O
IBM	B-Application
Watson	I-Application
artificial	O
intelligence-powered	O
chatbot/assistant	O
,	O
and	O
Mexican	O
airline	O
Aeroméxico	O
,	O
whose	O
chat	O
platform	O
running	O
on	O
Yalochat	O
lets	O
customers	O
search	O
,	O
book	O
,	O
track	O
,	O
or	O
check	O
in	O
for	O
flights	O
;	O
ask	O
any	O
question	O
,	O
using	O
A.I.	B-Application
</s>
<s>
and	O
NLP	B-Language
to	O
provide	O
answers	O
;	O
or	O
pull	O
the	O
chatbot	B-Application
into	O
a	O
group	O
chat	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
June	O
2017	O
,	O
Apple	O
announced	O
its	O
Apple	O
Business	O
Chat	O
product	O
,	O
allowing	O
consumers	O
and	O
businesses	O
to	O
message	O
each	O
other	O
via	O
the	O
Messages	B-Protocol
app	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
September	O
2017	O
WhatsApp	B-Application
announced	O
the	O
pilot	O
of	O
its	O
new	O
Enterprise	O
solution	O
,	O
the	O
first	O
time	O
large	O
companies	O
would	O
be	O
able	O
to	O
attend	O
to	O
large	O
groups	O
of	O
customers	O
in	O
an	O
approved	O
WhatsApp	B-Application
solution	O
,	O
after	O
WhatsApp	B-Application
banned	O
earlier	O
unofficial	O
solutions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Companies	O
who	O
piloted	O
the	O
solution	O
included	O
airlines	O
Aeromexico	O
,	O
KLM	B-General_Concept
,	O
Latin	O
American	O
online	O
travel	O
agency	O
Despegar	O
and	O
online	O
retailer	O
Linio	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Enterprise	O
solutions	O
for	O
Whatsapp	B-Application
have	O
been	O
available	O
since	O
2015	O
from	O
a	O
variety	O
of	O
third-party	O
vendors	O
,	O
and	O
though	O
unofficial	O
,	O
they	O
have	O
been	O
used	O
by	O
major	O
companies	O
and	O
governments	O
including	O
the	O
Governments	O
of	O
Colombia	O
and	O
Costa	O
Rica	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
March	O
of	O
2020	O
,	O
Podium	B-Protocol
announced	O
a	O
contactless	O
payment	O
solution	O
allowing	O
local	O
businesses	O
to	O
accept	O
payments	O
through	O
two-way	O
SMS	B-Device
text	O
message	O
conversations	O
with	O
customers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Through	O
Podium	B-Protocol
Payments	O
,	O
businesses	O
can	O
engage	O
with	O
customers	O
and	O
securely	O
close	O
sales	O
all	O
within	O
the	O
same	O
convenient	O
channel	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
May	O
2017	O
Telegram	B-Application
supported	O
basic	O
payments	O
in	O
chats	O
using	O
bots	O
and	O
in	O
April	O
2021	O
,	O
the	O
payment	O
2.0	O
that	O
supports	O
payment	O
in	O
more	O
than	O
200	O
countries	O
via	O
integration	O
with	O
9	O
different	O
payment	O
providers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Both	O
Amazon	O
and	O
Google	O
are	O
providing	O
APIs	O
to	O
enable	O
payment	O
via	O
voice	O
chat	O
using	O
stored	O
payment	O
credentials	O
in	O
Google	B-Application
Pay	I-Application
or	O
Amazon	O
Pay	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
,	O
they	O
do	O
n't	O
have	O
any	O
functionalities	O
to	O
facilitate	O
actual	O
transactions	O
within	O
the	O
conversation	O
,	O
companies	O
like	O
LiveChat	O
Software	O
,	O
,	O
and	O
LivePerson	B-Protocol
have	O
powered	O
live	O
conversations	O
between	O
customers	O
and	O
live	O
agents	O
as	O
far	O
back	O
as	O
the	O
2000s	O
,	O
before	O
retail	O
businesses	O
used	O
messaging	B-Application
apps	I-Application
to	O
communicate	O
with	O
customers	O
.	O
</s>
