We’ve received a large influx of calls this month from users who love using the Facebook messenger bots on their Facebook page, but when they move the Facebook chatbot to their website, they have seen their engagement decrease by half (and sometimes more).

The problem: Facebook chatbots require login, and when users are ready to chat, they don’t feel like logging into Facebook to talk with a business or provider. The bot does predict which user you are through cookies in some cases and hence, will only require a one-click login. That being said, this one click has dissuaded many users from venturing into the conversation.  

Facebook essentially makes money by collecting vast data about its users, monetized through advertising, etc. While there may be a wealth of data in customer identification, one of the issues with using Facebook chatbots is that you’ll always be at the mercy of Facebook’s preferences above your own: your data and your bot will never entirely be your own. Don’t believe it? Ask content creators.

All this being said, the most important take away is really not about Facebook, it’s about insight into the optimal UX of a messaging experience. Users need to know what they’ll get out of chat before they will venture into the conversation. Moreover, people like messaging because of its instant response. Any extra clicks required to get to the response makes the value of a chatbots and messaging overall moot.