Microsoft has made no secret of its
grand plans for chat bots, and this week it rolled out five new ones for Skype. Surely the most fun is "Spock," a bot that promises to help you "learn the ways of Vulcan logic."
Back in April, Microsoft debuted a preview of Skype bots, the
artificial intelligence-based helpers it hopes will make it easier for users to get things done. Today, more than 30,000 developers are building bots for Skype, it says.
The five new ones introduced this week were all inspired by partners and developers, and they're all now part of the Skype Bot directory in the service's Android, Windows, iOS, Mac, and web apps.
The Skyscanner Bot, for instance, focuses on trip planning and allows users to search for flights either individually or as part of a group. Based on location suggestions like “Paris in July” or “Spain,” it returns live prices and route options.
