Meta introduces new AI features to WhatsApp to enhance business efficiency

Author: Fang Jiayao

Source: Hard AI

Another AI achievement from Meta.

On June 6th local time, Meta announced at the "Meta Exchange Conference" held in Brazil that the company has introduced several new AI features for the WhatsApp Business application.

These features will enhance the efficiency of interaction between businesses and customers, including making it easier to create Facebook and Instagram ads that can directly initiate WhatsApp conversations, and automatically respond to common customer inquiries. In addition, WhatsApp's new AI features will also allow businesses to send messages to specific groups rather than all subscribers, meaning that businesses can send customized information to more interested customers.

Furthermore, Meta also announced that marketers will be able to utilize AI technology to create so-called click-to-message ads, where sellers can directly send messages to users and embed sales ads in chat content. This feature is currently being tested in markets such as the United States and Singapore, with plans to gradually expand to other markets. Zuckerberg stated that click-to-message ads are expected to bring Meta up to $10 billion in revenue annually.

Meta's CEO Mark Zuckerberg stated at the conference, "The company's goal is not just to create an AI assistant, but to develop a series of AI agents to meet the needs of different industries, especially in the business sector. Meta hopes that businesses can quickly deploy AI agents to effectively communicate with customers, provide services, and drive business activities."

Currently, the initial promotion of this new feature is set in India and Singapore, with plans to expand to Brazil shortly. Meta emphasizes that to ensure communication transparency, all replies generated by AI will be clearly marked, letting customers know that they are interacting with a bot and not a human.

These new features will serve over 200 million businesses globally that rely on WhatsApp to communicate with customers. WhatsApp has over 2 billion users worldwide, especially popular in regions like Brazil, India, Indonesia, and Mexico, where locals often use the service to communicate with local businesses. For example, over 120 million people in Brazil use WhatsApp every month.

Meta plans to launch the Portuguese version of its consumer-facing Meta AI assistant next month. Powered by the company's large language model Llama, the Meta AI assistant can answer various user questions on the Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp platforms.

Since acquiring WhatsApp in 2014, Meta has been continuously exploring the platform's commercial potential. The WhatsApp Business version is currently offered for free, including some paid features Meta also generates revenue by charging businesses to send specific information to customers and selling click-to-message ads that link to WhatsApp chats