Meet Captain, the Bot That Nags Your Family for You

Because having a conversation is for Luddites

March 7, 2017 9:00 am

Yahoo, of all places, may have figured out how to talk to your family.

The beleaguered Internet company just launched a “bot” (very new school) with a lot of old school charm, called Captain.

Old school because it works by simple text messaging. You type in, say, “Remind Sarah Dental appointment on Wednesday at 8 AM,” and the bot then confirms the details and reminds the other person of the appointment.

That’s it. You can also use Captain to create and collectively shopping lists and set up/look up reminders. To add a person to your group, you just text “add member [name]” to 773-786 from your phone.

No downloads, apps or passwords needed. It doesn’t even integrate with other services or calendars — everything goes through text, which is about as universal as you’re going to get for shared family communication. (Please don’t be that family that uses Slack).

Pretty bare bones. But great if you want to keep your family chatter to a minimum.

Nota bene: Looking for more A.I. help? The just-launched There Is a Bot For That is a good directory for all your bot needs.

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