The Weather Channel Launches Bot For Facebook Messenger, Powered By IBM Watson

LAS VEGAS, Oct. 25, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The Weather Company, an IBM Business (NYSE: IBM) announced today that The Weather Channel has launched a cognitive weather bot for Facebook Messenger – powered by IBM Watson. Around the world, Messenger is used to stay in touch with friends and family. Now with The Weather Channel bot, it offers a way to view and share personalized weather-related news content, current conditions, forecasts, severe weather notifications, and other relevant weather information.

Every day, millions of individuals and businesses across the globe rely on the hyperlocal weather data within The Weather Channel's mobile apps and website, weather.com, whether it's to plan their day, help them prepare for severe weather or make better business decisions. With the launch of the new bot for Messenger, The Weather Channel brings an entirely new customizable weather experience to users. Leveraging IBM Watson Natural Language Classifier and Alchemy Language APIs, over time the bot will learn a user's preferences to deliver weather-related content specific to their individual interests. Using the natural language and machine learning capabilities of IBM Watson – as a person continuously engages with the bot – it will make recommendations, predict, and have conversations to provide a more personalized experience.

"At The Weather Company, we want to create the best user experiences, and that means providing weather information and content in any format people want to receive it," said Cameron Clayton, general manager, The Weather Company, an IBM Business. "One billion people use Messenger every month, and most want to know how the weather will impact their day. The Weather Channel bot for Messenger will create a highly personalized experience for each one of those individuals."

Bot features include:

• Current conditions and hourly forecasts
• Daily forecast and 5-day outlook
• Extended forecast information: accessible via a link to the weather.com mobile website
• Severe weather alerts: option to view a summary or full description of active alerts in the area (currently available in the U.S., Canada, and Western Europe)
• Customizable notifications: select when to receive daily forecast information and news
• Breaking weather news: access the latest local weather news
• Content recommendations: utilizing news preference feedback, it will learn a person's interests and deliver tailored news content (U.S. only)

Available in 39 languages, Facebook and Messenger users can easily access the bot through The Weather Channel Facebook fan page, as well as the Messenger app.

The Weather Company, an IBM Business

The Weather Company, an IBM Business, is the world's largest private weather enterprise, helping people make informed decisions – and take action – in the face of weather. The company offers the most accurate, personalized and actionable weather data and insights to millions of consumers, as well as thousands of marketers and businesses via Weather's API, its business solutions division, and its own digital products from The Weather Channel (weather.com) and Weather Underground (wunderground.com).

The company delivers up to 26 billion forecasts daily. Its products include a top weather app on all major mobile platforms globally; the world's largest network of personal weather stations; a top-20 U.S. website; the seventh most data-rich site in the world; one of the world's largest IoT data platforms; and industry-leading business solutions.

Weather Means Business™. The world's biggest brands in aviation, energy, insurance, media, and government rely on The Weather Company for data, technology platforms and services to help improve decision-making and respond to weather's impact on business. For more, visit theweathercompany.com.

Twitter handles: @weathercompany,@weatherchannel, @IBM, and @Messenger

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20161024/432082

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20161024/432083

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150331/195533LOGO

SOURCE The Weather Company, an IBM Business