What is a chat bot, and should I be using one?

Kik's new bot store offers weather, shopping and comedy video tools that plug into your messaging platform. But is it just a gimmick, or genuinely useful?

Once, a messenger app did just that - message. But with the rise of artificial intelligence, tech companies are falling over themselves to prove how much more useful and interactive their apps can be - which is why you're about to see an explosion of "bots".

Kik, the mobile chat application popular with teenagers, launched its Bot Shop on 5 April, and Facebook is poised to launch its own bot store for Facebook Messenger next week. Every brand from Barbie to the Washington Post seems to be working on a chat bot of its own.