Meta launches business AI on WhatsApp
Meta is rolling out AI business agents on WhatsApp to enable small businesses in India to automate customer interactions, grow sales and operate round-the-clock. India is a key market given the scale and diversity of its small business ecosystem, said Ravi Garg, Director Business Messaging, Meta India. “We have millions of small businesses using WhatsApp… this is a powerful tool to help them grow,” he told ET. Globally, more than 200 million businesses use WhatsApp’s small business app.The platform is now integrating agentic AI within the WhatsApp Business app.“We are enabling the power of AI to every small business… this agent can start responding to customer queries, help discover products, book appointments, and even resolve complaints,” he said.Unlike traditional chatbots, the AI agent can take actions such as managing bookings, recommending products, and guiding customers through purchases, Garg said.Businesses can customise the agent by linking it to product catalogues, pricing rules, appointment systems or payment methods such as UPI, without requiring complex integrations. “It’s not a very complicated technical setup… the agent learns and starts working on its own,” Garg added.Meta said early pilots have shown promising results with some companies reporting 30-40% growth in sales within a few weeks of deployment. The AI service is currently being offered free of cost with no immediate plans to monetise, Garg said.Meta is also working to integrate payments within WhatsApp chats UPI.
