Twitter adds more tools to help you talk to businesses

Twitter is following Facebook into the automated customer service game.

The social network just rolled out new welcome message and dropdown response features for advertisers that are reminiscent of Facebook's recent branded bots push.

The former allows brands to add an introductory message to any direct-message conversation that will set the terms of the customer service exchange before a user makes the first move.

The latter feature, called "quick replies," supplements those messages by giving customers a cookie-cutter list of possible responses when interacting with a business.

Working in conjunction, the tools are designed to cut down on response wait times and give customers a better idea of the service options at their disposal.

Twitter claims that customers who receive a prompt reply to a Twitter message are anywhere between 3 and 20 percent more likely to shop at a given brand.

Nearly a dozen brands will inaugurate the twin features on Tuesday, including Airbnb, Pizza Hut and Spotify.

"I'm really excited about this new functionality that Twitter is releasing," said Tim Lopez, head of global social media customer care for Symantec's Norton anti-virus software. "These new features will allow us to streamline some common tasks that we have, such as gathering customer information, while still being able to focus on creating a personal experience for our customers."

Brands are an obvious and inescapable presence on any social media channel, but Twitter is perhaps where they're at their most personable

It's there they most often go to goofily weigh in on events of the day, individually respond to glowing or scathing reviews and maintain the kind of highly visible personality that's not quite possible on any other platform.

It makes sense then that Twitter has packaged this aspect of its service as one of its selling points to investors and advertisers alike — bolstering it with a series of moves designed to make retailers more approachable for customer service issues.

The most recent addition to Twitter's customer service suite follows the rollout of ads with built-in replies and the option for advertisers to add hours of service availability and more prominently encourage direct messages.