Facebook Inc said it will allow developers to build chatbots inside its Messenger app to enable users to communicate with businesses directly in its latest effort to dominate enterprise transactions and customer service.

The chatbots expedite Facebook's moves to build out Messenger as the go-to place for users to contact businesses rather than through third-party websites and 1-800 lines.

"You'll never have to call 1-800-Flowers again," Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said during a demonstration of how the chatbots will work.

At the company's annual developer conference in San Francisco, Zuckerberg also announced during his keynote address its live video product, Facebook Live, was open to developers to create new features as Facebook seeks to encourage users to share more original content on the 1.6 billion-person site.

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