Twilio adds video capabilities to its communications platform

Twilio today is adding video calling to its array of communication services for businesses.

The company says video can be a an effective way of communicating an intricate problem to businesses and service providers. For instance, let’s say the faucet in my bathroom is leaky and water’s everywhere, but a plumber won’t be able to get here for several hours (imagine that all of the on-demand services are busy). I could set up a video with the plumber, and she could instruct me on how to manage the situation until she gets there.

Twilio also wants to give businesses a way to draw on that video, perhaps circling in red the part of the pipe that I need to focus on to stem the leak.

It’s a neat new feature that shows the potential of video use between consumers and businesses in the not-too-distant future.

Update: this article has been updated to reflect a change. An earlier version of this article referred to today’s update as a video messaging service as opposed to a video calling feature.