Businesses can now share and request locations in Direct Messages

Starting today, businesses building on our Direct Messages platform can request and share locations with people. Alongside quick replies, welcome messages and Customer Feedback Cards, this is yet another feature in the canvas we’re providing for businesses to create great human- and bot-powered customer experiences on Twitter.

People have complete control over the location information they share with a business. Businesses must first ask a person to share a location. That person can then choose to ignore the request, share a precise location, or pick a place name from a list – regardless of whether or not they are physically there.

For many businesses, delivering a great customer experience depends on understanding location for context — whether to engage with a location-aware bot or to get better customer service. For example,TGI Fridays has made it quick and easy to find a local store from which to place an order or make a reservation using Direct Messages.

Helping people find a location nearby makes perfect sense for brick-and-mortar businesses.Wingstop also offers similar functionality in Direct Messages. Now that businesses can easily incorporate location sharing into their customer experiences, expect to see other innovative location-aware use cases in Direct Messages.

Our new Direct Message APIs, currently in private beta, now include the ability to request and share locations. If you’re a business looking to use this feature, please show us you’re interested here. Developers looking to build on our new APIs can apply for access here.