When Facebook opened up its API in April 2016 to allow companies to add Messenger or SMS chatbots, Live Nation had a lightbulb moment.

The promoter juggernaut, which leads the market here in Australia, is now using AI technology to notify music fans of upcoming concerts, help them buy tickets faster through a linked Live Nation account, and plan outings with friends.

The feature is currently only live in North America.

We tried to chat to Live Nation from Sydney and it went like this...

When the feature does head Down Under, fans can search for ‘Live Nation Concerts’ in the Messenger app, or visit Live Nation's Facebook profile page and click the ‘message’.

"Concerts are extremely social experiences, and we’re excited to introduce a concert discovery tool that embodies that social spirit," Lisa Licht, Live Nation's Chief Marketing Officer told Billboard. “Whether fans choose to interact with our new bot one-on-one, or get their friends involved in the planning, we think they’ll have a lot of fun finding shows to go to."

Live Nation is the latest to take advantage of Facebook's e-commerce offering, BET launched a Facebook Messenger bot for its four-day festival in the US earlier this year, Game of Thrones has a bot to quiz fans about the show, Toronto-based TD Bank Group is servicing customers via Messenger, and Burberry uses chatbots to provide customer service and recommend products.

In its February-released financial filings, Live Nation reported that across its 40 markets, it invested $4.4 billion to stage 26,000 shows. Its over over 50 top strategic sponsors spend over US$1 million per year with the promoter, a collective spend of US$245 million.

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