Subway, FreshDirect, and The Cheesecake Factory Launch Chatbots on Messenger

Mastercard has announced the launch of Masterpass-enabled bots to drive shopping on Facebook Messenger with FreshDirect, Subway and The Cheesecake Factory.

The bots leverage artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to enable consumers to interact with the retailers, build their order and securely checkout via Masterpass, all within the Messenger platform. Masterpass-enabled bots will also support all Masterpass-enabled wallets from banks.

Subway restaurants is launching a bot for Messenger that enables guests to order a sandwich or salad with their choice of fresh vegetables, cheese, sauce and toppings as well as chips, cookies and drinks.

“Our bot for Messenger, deployed in more than 26,500 U.S. Subway restaurants, is the largest deployment of a Messenger bot in the restaurant industry," said Carman Wenkoff, Subway’s Chief Information and Digital Officer.  "We’re proud to offer our guests an innovative new way to order and pay outside the restaurants. This is a new initiative in the quest to enhance the guest experience.”

FreshDirect is an online fresh food grocer delivering to seven states. Working with Mastercard, FreshDirect is making it easy for customers to browse, shop and purchase their groceries directly within Messenger.

“As a food tech company, it’s our mission to keep fresh at everyone’s fingertips," said FreshDirect CEO and co-founder, Jason Ackerman. "By harnessing the power of Messenger, we’re able to engage with our customers on a platform that fits their lifestyle and allow them to easily shop FreshDirect as well as collaborate on carts with family and friends.”

The Cheesecake Factory uses CashStar’s real-time gifting capability, which instantly approves and activates gift cards. The Cheesecake Factory is the first brand in CashStar’s portfolio to implement the bot capability for Messenger.

“Through this commerce-enabled bot we are able to leverage a new engagement channel with our guests," said said David Gordon, President of The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated. "The bot experience delivers the convenience of customizing a gift card through Messenger integrated with Masterpass payment functionality to enable a simplified checkout experience.”

“We are thrilled that Mastercard, in partnership with FreshDirect, Subway and The Cheesecake Factory, now offers Masterpass-enabled bots for use on Messenger. Building automated and AI-driven capabilities like bots to conduct commerce will make it easier than ever to interact with people in new, engaging ways,” said David Marcus, Vice President of Messenger.