Facebook building a Google Now competitor called Moneypenny?

Facebook has had their hand dipped into nearly every facet of technology, and now the company is looking to their next challenge. The Information reports Facebook is working on a service codenamed Moneypenny.

It’ll be a virtual assistant service not unlike Google Now, Microsoft Cortana or Amazon Alexa, only Facebook proposes that their engine will be driven by actual human responses. It’s a tall order for Facebook to build such a platform with the potential for millions of people to use it.

The report suggests the feature will live inside Facebook Messenger, and its initial focus will be on helping people complete research on topics or look for shopping information.

And that’s the extent of what’s known at this time. Facebook certainly has the resources to build a virtual assistant juggernaut capable of testing the mettle of the aforementioned competitors, and the social-driven nature of their platform means they could be as well positioned as anyone to give users a truly personal virtual assistant experience. But they’re going to need to make sure they get it right unless they want it to repeat the same failures that ventures such as Facebook Home suffered.