Facebook Marketplace Now Enables Meta AI to Reply to Buyer Messages

Facebook Marketplace has launched new Meta AI features, including functionality that automatically replies to messages from interested buyers, Facebook announced on Thursday.

The social network is also using AI to help sellers register items more quickly and summarise profiles, as well as providing sellers with the option to offer shipping on their item listings.

The company stated that because sellers receive numerous queries from buyers, it has made responding to initial messages easier with automated replies powered by Meta AI.

Now, when buyers ask about item availability, sellers can use Meta AI to automatically generate draft responses using information from their listings, such as descriptions, availability, pickup location, and price. Sellers can enable, preview, and edit these automated replies during the listing creation process.

This new feature is designed to address a common problem faced by sellers who often do not wish to spend excessive time responding to initial messages or repetitive enquiries, such as asking whether an item is available when it is already marked as such. One seller had even created their own AI tool last year to handle initial enquiries from interested buyers.

Facebook Marketplace now also allows sellers to automatically register their items using Meta AI. After uploading a product image, Meta AI can draft a listing, fill in the details, and suggest pricing based on similar items in the area.

Additionally, buyers will now see a summary of the Facebook seller’s profile at the top of their Marketplace page, including how long they have been using Facebook and the number of their friends. The summary also includes a breakdown of their Marketplace activity, such as listing history, types of items they sell, and their seller rating.

According to Facebook, sellers can now also expand their reach by offering shipping on their product listings. They can also create prepaid shipping labels and easily track each order from a simple dashboard.

This new AI feature joins existing Meta AI integrations already available on Facebook Marketplace, including tools that help buyers ask the right questions when making purchases, as well as AI-based insights for vehicle listings.