Glossary:

Since the topic of messenger services is a more comprehensive area in itself, we have compiled an overview of the most current messenger services for you below.

Messenger (general):

Messenger services owe their success mainly to the fact that they have replaced SMS in the form that the end customer no longer has to pay for individual messages, since the messages run over the Internet. Against this background, a wide variety of messenger services were developed and have become more or less popular. Even today, new messenger services are launched regularly!

Below, we have compiled the biggest international messengers for you and also listed some historical (inactive) messengers in addition.

 

WhatsApp Messenger:

WhatsApp certainly doesn’t need much explanation. Nevertheless, we would like to briefly explain some things about this messenger service that you may not have known. First of all, you have to distinguish between enterprise and private use when it comes to WhatsApp.

Whatsapp Messenger: The classic WhatsApp Messenger is used to replace SMS and user-to-user communication.

Enterprise use, on the other hand, is used for communication between companies and customers or interested parties. Here again, there are two versions:

WhatsApp for Business.
WhatsApp Business API.

While “WhatsApp for Business” is essentially for small and medium-sized companies, the large enterprise version with the name “WhatsApp Business API” represents a professional functionally more extensive solution. Both alternatives can be used privacy compliant (GDPR)!

You can control this service, as well as many others, from a central office with us and integrate them into your own systems.

 

Telegram:

A now very widespread and growing messenger service that offers chat, news as well as channel functions. The advantage of this solution is that users or end customers can subscribe to different categories of messages (sales, support, product news, etc.) and thus communication can be targeted and interest-based.

This service, as well as many others, can be controlled from a central location. This also especially to build your own community.

 

Facebook Messenger:

The messenger of the company Meta (aka Facebook), with which all Facebook users can chat and exchange messages with each other. Facebook Messenger is a good alternative, especially for companies, to communicate with both followers and customers, as well as to build a community.

You can access this service, as well as many others, from a central office with us.

 

Instagram for Business Messages:

This messenger service is just as easy to address via API, allowing business integration for Instagram business sites.  It is also referred to as Instagram Messaging API in the meta developer guidelines.

With the AnyMessage Cloud app, you can easily create content and publish it simultaneously to your Instagram Business account as well as any other selected communication channel.

 

Microsoft Teams:

The PC and phone-based chat, messenger and conferencing app from Microsoft. Even though this service is essentially aimed at intra-company communication, we at AnyMessage see this messenger on the rise and have already developed various bots for it. In addition, due to its architecture, it offers good opportunities for integration in enterprise and B2C communication. Especially if your company already works with Teams, the Teams Messenger in combination with the AnyMessage Cloud is a great way to integrate support and sales topics into the existing enterprise IT landscape. You can control this service, as well as many others, from a central office with us and integrate it into your own systems.

 

Apple Business Chat:

A service from Apple that allows your company to send information to your customers via iMessage. You can use Apple Business Chat to send messages essentially to users of Apple products (IPhone, IPad, etc.). You communicate via Apple Business Chat just like you would with iMessage, only via APIs that you can integrate with your CRM or our web platform just like the other Messenger channels.

 

Signal Messenger:

A freely available messenger service. The source code of Signal Messenger is open source, so it is easy to implement additional features.

You can control this service, as well as many others, from a central office.

 

Viber Messenger:

A messenger widely used especially in the south and east of Europe and Eurasia, which also makes it possible to send business messages to end customers.

 

Discord:

A messenger service that has a focus on communities and groups as well as group chats. You can control this service, as well as many others, from a central office with us and integrate it with your own systems.

 

WeChat:

A messenger that is particularly widespread in China, which offers payment options for business in the Asian region in addition to messenger functions.

And now something about “old messengers”, or solutions that have not established themselves on the market.

Below we list some of the messengers that were once used, but hardly play a role today. (By the way, another good reason to choose AnyMessage Cloud, as new messengers can be integrated for you without any effort, giving you less development costs, as well as a significantly reduced time to market….)

 

Tencent QQ:

Formerly a messenger service from Tencent that has seen strong growth and usage, especially in the Asian region from 2003 – 2010.

 

ICQ:

One of the very first instant messenger services ever. This messenger probably paved the way for many others and brought the concept of chat without SMS (also via various integrations) to the masses, or to create awareness for it.