SMS messaging is one of the most popular means by which people communicate. Billions of text messages are sent on a daily basis. But SMS messages, or text messages, have never gone beyond much more than a means to communicate. When it comes to assisting in other daily activities, most people look beyond text messaging for help. There are apps for people to track how much money they spend, to meal plan and create a grocery list to add items to, and to schedule and track reminders through calendar apps. Text messaging has never been used for those purposes. Until now

Yahoo Pushes SMS Messaging Beyond Just Messaging

Yahoo has launched a new SMS-based tool named “Captain.” Captain is an AI chatbot, but rather than used through an app as many AI chatbots are, Captain runs through SMS messages. Captain can handle a variety of tasks, including scheduling, shopping list creation, and more. Send a text to Captain to put a reminder on your calendar. You can even add people to that reminder if it is a group event or activity.

“Yahoo believes the real value of Captain lies with families,” states Venture Beat. Captain allows families to easily and effectively communicate and manage daily activities. Text Captain to add eggs and sugar to the shopping list. Captain will respond that your spouse also added apples to the list. Signing up is simple: text “Hi” to 773-786. By utilizing Captain, you can save space on your phone because you do not have to download five apps to manage your daily tasks. Captain streamlines all of that for you.

A Positive Outlook for SMS Messaging

Yahoo’s new project shows the versatility of SMS-based tools. Whether it is communicating, managing daily tasks, or something yet unforeseen, SMS messaging is proving useful.