There are some customer service situations where you might want to talk to a human about your problem in detail, but in others, communicating with a preprogrammed robot may resolve an issue more quickly. For those cases, Twitter is introducing a chatbot that companies can use to talk to customers via the platforms Direct Messages feature.

Twitter today announced new automated welcome messages companies can use as responses to customer DMs, and quick replies customers can send to ask about common issues, like “Where’s my order?”

The welcome messages allow businesses to reach out to customers as a DM conversation begins, without waiting for people to send the first message.

Businesses can create multiple welcome messages and deep link directly to a specific greeting from Tweets, websites, or apps.

The thinking is that a DM bot can help “customers more easily provide information to solve problems before an agent sees the first message,” or provide simple automated services.

Thus far, companies including Evernote and Pizza Hut have signed on.

“These features are designed to help businesses create rich, responsive, full-service experiences that directly advance the work of customer service teams and open up new possibilities for how people engage with businesses on Twitter,” the company says.

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