WhatsApp by Meta Introduces New AI Business Assistant

Meta Platforms Inc., the tech giant behind the popular messaging application WhatsApp, is preparing to augment the chat service with an artificial intelligence (AI) business assistant. This innovative feature aims to support company-customer interactions with functionalities such as answering queries and bolstering sales through seamless chat mechanisms.

AI to Strengthen Business Communications

An experiment with the new AI assistant will soon commence with selected businesses in diverse markets, starting with India and Singapore, followed by Brazil. The initiative is designed to cater to the communication needs of the over 200 million businesses that engage with clients via WhatsApp. In the words of Meta's CEO Mark Zuckerberg, this move is to enable "any business to quickly establish an agent that can converse with customers, offer support, and facilitate transactions."

WhatsApp's Global Popularity as a Business Tool

Boasting over 2 billion users globally, WhatsApp has become an integral communication hub, especially in countries like Brazil, India, Indonesia, and Mexico. In Brazil alone, the monthly user count surpasses 120 million people. These countries have shown a trend where chatting with local businesses via WhatsApp is the norm.

Monetization and Future Enhancement Plans

Since Meta's $19 billion acquisition of WhatsApp in 2014, the company has actively sought ways to monetize the app. While the business version remains free, there are premium features available for a fee. Additionally, Meta derives revenue from businesses paying to send messages and from click-to-message ads on Instagram and Facebook. An upcoming tool, engineered using AI, will enable marketers to create these ads more efficiently. Meta is optimistic about these ads potentially generating significant revenue.

Expansion of AI Capabilities

Beyond messaging, Meta is also set to release its Meta AI assistant in Portuguese, expanding the capabilities of this AI, which is based on the company's large language model, Llama. This assistant is already servicing inquiries across various Meta platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.

WhatsApp, Meta, AI, Business, Technology