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People are silhouetted as they pose with mobile devices in front of a screen projected with a Facebook logo, in this picture illustration taken in Zenica October 29, 2014. Facebook Inc warned on Tuesday of a dramatic increase in spending in 2015 and projected a slowdown in revenue growth this quarter, slicing a tenth off its market value. Facebook shares fell 7.7 percent in premarket trading the day after the social network announced an increase in spending in 2015 and projected a slowdown in revenue growth this quarter. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic

Facebook is prepping its own version of a virtual assistant that would compete with Microsoft’s Cortana, Google’s Google Now and Apple’s Siri. The company will soon release Moneypenny for the app’s millions of users.

The upcoming virtual assistant is reportedly being created to coincide with the Facebook Messenger app. Unlike Cortana and Siri, the app would connect users to real people and which would answer questions and help the user with research, specifically in buying products and services. The name Moneypenny may be derived from the assistant of Agent 007 James Bond's boss M.

The virtual assistant by the other competitors are digital and machine-driven. The most common complaints with machine-driven assistants include people can be misheard and most answers are generic. Another common problem is that responses are limited to what the company has provided. Although Siri and Cortana are provided with a lot of responses, they are still not capable of answering all questions of the user. With Moneypenny using real people to answer calls, it is likely that the service will avoid the common frustrations brought by Cortana and Siri, which are both computer-controlled. However, by doing so, Facebook would also be in competition with other concierge services including Operator, GoButler and Fetch, according to The Information.

The Messenger app has 700 million users on a monthly basis. The company wants Messenger to be more than just a way to send messages to people. Other features have been added to the app, including video chats, sticker and voice recordings. The Messenger app can also be used to send money and to update retailers with confirmations and shipping updates. With the addition of Moneypenny, Messenger could be an all-in-one app for users.

For now, the specific features of the service and how people will answer requests are still unclear. No launch date has been set for the service, but the company is reportedly trying to test out the product at this point.

For questions, contact the writer at jonasunico@gmail.com

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