Meta brings Slack-like shortcuts to Messenger

Meta, formerly known as Facebook, is adding a new Slack-like "@everyone" functionality that will notify all participants in a chat about a new message. When you start a message with @everyone, all participants in the chat will be notified. @everyone is perfect for group reminders, impromptu get-togethers or when you need to gather the braintrust to crowdsource an answer to a time-sensitive question.

"@everyone is perfect for group reminders, impromptu get-togethers or when you need to gather the braintrust to crowdsource an answer to a time-sensitive question. This way, your message gets maximum exposure, and nobody misses out," the company said in a statement.

The company is also rolling out a "/silent" functionality. When you type in "/silent" before sending a message in a group chat, the members of the group will not receive a notification of your message at all. Sending a message with /silent removes the anxiety of interrupting someone with a non-urgent pop-up notification or disturbing them during their off hours.

"Now, you can share those late-night epiphanies in the moment without disturbing the peace, and your friends can read your message at their leisure," the company added. In addition, /pay shortcut makes it even easier to send and receive money right in your one-on-one Messenger chats. Simply type /pay to send or request money securely without fees - perfect for quickly paying a friend for dinner or getting paid back for a ride. Meta is also going to introduce a "/gif" shortcut that will allow users to quickly find and send GIFs. This feature will be coming to iOS users only.