Chatting With Lowe’s, Courtesy of Apple

When Apple announced details of its not-yet-released iOS operating system this month, the name Lowe’s popped up as a partner in a new feature called Business Chat.

That new feature will offer an avenue for Lowe’s to offer customer service through text messages, according to Apple.

“With Business Chat, it’s easy to have a conversation with a service representative, schedule an appointment or make purchases using Apple Pay in the Messages app,” a recent news release from Apple says. “Business Chat doesn’t share the user’s contact information with businesses and gives users the ability to stop chatting at any time.”

Apple lists Discover, Hilton, Lowe’s and Wells Fargo as companies that will be offering the chat feature in spring 2018. Apple’s marketing includes an image of a phone and an interaction between a customer and a Lowe’s employee about a smart home lock.

Business Chat will eliminate the need to make phone calls to get support and “will change the way we interact with companies from our smartphones,” CNBC reports. “Apple will likely add more companies, since the current selection is really slim, but Business Chat should be a huge new way to communicate with companies through iMessage without ever having to go to another app or website.”