Chatbots may soon get a lot more common on Twitter.

The social network has rolled out several application programming interfaces (APIs) that enable developers to build chatbots that retailers can use to engage with shoppers, handle customer service inquiries and help market their brands.

The move builds on a rollout Twitter announced in November that enabled some retailers and brands, including those that work with marketing vendors such as Spredfast, Sprinklr or Sprout Social, to use automated chatbot-like messaging tools. Among those tools were welcome messages that automatically appear when a consumer starts a direct message thread with a brand’s Twitter account and the ability to add menus of formatted reply buttons that a user can select to interact with a brand.

Now, however, Twitter is letting all developers leverage chatbot-building tools. In doing so, Twitter appears to be fighting back against Facebook Inc.’s efforts to make its Messenger messaging platform the default online customer service channel for consumers.

Twitter says that in addition to the APIs, it is testing other tools that could prove helpful to retailers. These include custom profiles that allow developers to override a retailer’s default avatar and name and instead show a consumer the human agent or bot who is sending the message.

Twitter also is testing customer feedback cards that allow retailers to collect feedback from consumers on their interaction with a bot or human on Twitter.