Facebook Messenger enables users to hail a Lyft
Lyft announced yesterday that riders will now be able to hail rides in eleven US cities through Facebook Messenger, something that Uber users have been able to do since December. While  apps linking up may seem counter-productive, when you consider that when users leave one app for another, the original app loses the chance to advertise and generate profit, however the likes of Uber and Lyft mitigate that potential loss by offering $5 or $7.50 respectively for every new rider that comes on board through an outside app. In addition to Facebook Messenger, Lyft has also partnered with Slack, Starbucks, travel app Waze, and Shell.

Lyft, locked in intense competition with its larger, better financed ride-hail rival Uber, announced Monday that Facebook Messenger users can now do what they've been able to do with Uber since December: hail a Lyft car from within the Messenger app. Lyft is also expanding its API program, in which developers can use Lyft's application program interface to embed a button in their apps to hail a Lyft car. Today's announcement is a sign that API integration is quickly becoming yet another space for these two ride-hail giants to compete with each other.

On one hand, API integration, also known as "deep linking," is a clever bit of marketing. Lyft and Uber get to place their branded service within a third-party apps' ecosystem, often for chump change, and advertise it as a better user experience. (US-based app developers can sign up to be Uber "affiliates," in which they can earn $5 for every new rider they refer to Uber through the button integration.)

A clever bit of marketing

So what does this mean for customers? Someone who wants to make a reservation with OpenTable, find directions with Google Maps, or order a coffee from Starbucks is now able to hail a car from within those respective apps, thanks to API integration. Some, like Facebook Messenger, allow users to summon a car from with the app itself, while others will send users to the respective ride-hail app to connect with a driver. The latter action is the source of some fear from app developers — Uber calls it "FOLO," or the fear of linking out — but often the desire to create a soup-to-nuts app experience wins out over concerns of sending customers away to another app.