With the number of US mobile messaging app users on the rise, these chat apps are an emerging marketing channel. This report explains what marketers need to know about using Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp and the new texting standard RCS.

John Keefe, bot developer and app product manager at Quartz, discusses how the digital publisher uses Facebook Messenger to create loyal readers.

Every week on eMarketer’s “Behind the Numbers” podcast, we take a few minutes to discuss some of the most intriguing headlines over the past seven days. This week, we’re talking about how life has changed for young Americans in the last four decades and how comfortable people may be talking to a chatbot therapist.

The role of chatbots in ecommerce has evolved from a sales tool to a customer service assistant. When US internet users want to resolve a customer service issue quickly, more than half turn to chat, according to a CGS survey.

Social media marketers and advertisers are looking beyond the hype and mysticism of AI, and seeing its potential for both effective campaign management and optimization. eMarketer has curated this Roundup of articles, insights and interviews so you too can get a sense of the real reality of AI and how it can support your social campaigns. (Robot not required.)

Nearly three-fourths of US internet users think contacting customer service is a frustrating experience, according to a recent Helpshift survey. But 62.0% like email and messenger chatbots that collect information and get the right support agent, and 75.9% said chat-based messaging would be a preferred means to contact customer service if they knew they would get an immediate response.