Discover Tab

Discover is where people can browse and find Messenger bots, nearby places and businesses to message. Organized by category, recent activity and featured experiences, Discover complements existing entry points, including advertising to Messenger Codes, me.me links and plugins.

Contents

• Submit Your Messenger Bot
• Getting Visibility
• Setting a Target Audience
• FAQ

Submit Your Messenger Bot

To apply to have your bot included in Discover, have your Page admin complete the Discover submission form.

You can also navigate to the through Page settings:

1. Click Settings at the top of your page
2. Click Messenger Platform in the left column

From here, you can set the following:

• Overview: A brief description of your bot that will be used by our review team to evaluate your Discover submission.
• Category: The primary and secondary category you would like your bot to be surfaced in.
• Keywords: A comma-separated list of up to 10 keywords that will be used to index your bot for search.
• Language: The languages you would like your bot to be surfaced for.
• Summary: A brief description of your bot that will be displayed beneath your app name in Discover tab results.

This information will be used to enhance your bot description in Discover and will also help improve its discoverability.

Please note that each submission must be approved in order to be included in Discover, so be sure to properly describe and categorize your bot when completing the form. You can revisit the form in Page Settings at any time if you need to update your bot information.

For Pages that are not associated with a Messenger bot, we use existing categorization and Page meta data to identify the appropriate Discover category. You can opt-out of being included in the Discover tab through Pages Settings.

Getting Visibility

The Messenger bots that appear in the featured section and in each category of the Discover tab is determined algorithmically based on a variety of factors. While we don't disclose our filters and rankings, here are some of the things that can increase the chances of your bot appearing in the Discover tab:

1. High responsiveness rate. Can be seen from within Messenger thread with a page.
2. Making good use of platform features, including the persistent menu and get started button.
3. Low block and report rates for your bot. Can be found in Page → Insights -> Messages.

In addition, the bots shown in the Discover tab are personalized to each person on Messenger. This means you may see different results if you view the Discover tab with different accounts.

Setting Target Audience

You may specify a target audience for your Messenger bot by setting the target_audience property in your bot's Messenger profile. The target_audience defines whether your bot will appear in the Discover tab for everyone, no one, or a subset of people based on country. The target_audience property supports whitelisting and blacklisting of countries.

To set the target audience for your Messenger bot, send a POST request to the Messenger Profile API

curl -X POST -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d '{
  "target_audience":{
    "audience_type":"<custom | all | none>",
    "countries":{
      "whitelist":["<COUNTY_CODE>", ...],
      "blacklist":["<COUNTY_CODE>", ...]
    }
  }
}' "https://graph.facebook.com/v2.6/me/messenger_profile?access_token=<PAGE_ACCESS_TOKEN>"

FAQs

Discover Overview

Q: How did you decide which bots and businesses to include in the initial launch of Discover?

A: During the first phase of our rollout, the Discover tab features bots and businesses that best represent the wide range of experiences available on our platform today, helping to ensure that the experiences are compelling and high quality, making this new tab a trusted, and valuable surface for people and businesses. Additional criteria informing this process include English language-only bots since our initial launch is focused on the U.S.; the most active bots currently available on the platform; and bots that are in compliance with our platform and community policies.

Q: How do I get my Messenger experience included in the “Featured” section of Discover?

A: At initial launch, Discover features English language bots and businesses that represent the range of experiences available on our platform today. These bots are carefully selected by our team - think of them as an “Editor's Pick” approach - so we can offer the very best of what our team tests and enjoys to people, while helping the developer community raise awareness of new and yet-undiscovered great Messenger bot experiences.

Q: How often are the featured Messenger experiences updated in Discover?

A: We are constantly updating and improving this feature based on input from businesses, developers and consumers. We plan to update the list of bots and businesses featured in Discover on a regular basis.

Q. Do I have to have Page messaging turned on to be featured in Discover?

A: Yes. See here for how to turn on Page messaging.

Q: Can I opt out of having my bot being featured within Discover?

A: Yes, all Page Admins have the option to opt-out of any units and categories within Discover. Please go to Page Settings → Click on “Messenger Platform” → Tap on “Hide” within “Discover Visibility”. You can also set the target audience using Messenger Profile API, which allows you opt-out at the country level.

Q: What other ways can users find my bot?

A: Messenger Platform supports numerous other entry points, including Facebook pages, m.me links, plugins for your website, and more.

Discover Categories

Q: Why do I need to choose a category when I don't see categories in the existing Discover section?

A: We are rolling out the categories over time to provide the best experience for our users. In the meantime, we encourage all Page admins with bots to opt into the Discover category in order to drive people to their Messenger bots once this feature rolls out.

Q: I have a bot. Can I choose the Discover category that my bot appears in?

A: If you are a Page admin and have a bot on the platform, you can go to Page Settings → Messenger Platform at anytime to select the category your bot should appear in. See here for more details on how to complete this form.

Q: I have a page that does not have a bot. Can I choose the Discover category that my page appears in?

A: When you created your page, you selected into a Page category. We use this signal to automatically place Pages without bots in their respective Discover category, so no action is required.

Q. What if there are multiple categories my Page would like to be included in?

A: Currently, we only include Messenger experiences in one category at a time.

Category - Submission Form

Q: When I select two categories for my bot, does that mean my bot will show up in both categories?

A: While your bot is eligible for both categories, currently it will appear in only one, with preference given to the primary category.

Q: If I select multiple languages for my bot, will it automatically translate all messages into the other languages?

A: No, you need to provide the translated name and summary for your bot, and ensure it functions in all the languages you selected.

Q: What if I want to change the category my bot shows up in?

A: You can revisit the form in Page settings at any time to update your bot category.

Q: How do I know whether my submission has been processed?

A: You can check the status of your submission within Page Settings → Messenger Platform.