Yahoo’s New Text Bot Will Annoy Your Family For You

Need to remind your husband that you have wine night with the girls tonight, but don’t have time to text him? Yahoo’s new text message bot does.

The internet company — currently in the process of being purchased by Verizon — has just launched a bot called “Captain,” a personal assistant of sorts that helps users manage lists and sends reminders for family members via text.

The system aims to streamline family communications for sharing activities, setting reminders, and updating a master shopping list.

 

Captain doesn’t require a separate app, but people interested in trying it can text “Hi” to 773-786 to receive setup instructions.

Once the system is set up, users text Captain asking it to perform tasks, such as “add paper towels” to the grocery list,” or “remind Tim to pick up the kids at 5 p.m.”

Upon request, Captain can then show users the full grocery list, or send the reminder to the chosen contacts. Users can also ask Captain to show them a schedule for any given day.

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