WhatsApp Adds AI Tools for Businesses
WhatsApp introduced artificial intelligence tools designed to help businesses use the app to sell products and services.
The tools on the Meta-owned messaging and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) app enable businesses to use AI to answer questions commonly asked by shoppers, to create ads to run on the Meta-owned platforms Instagram or Facebook, and to follow up with customers to remind them that they left an item in their cart or to offer them a discount on a purchase they have been considering, WhatsApp said in a Thursday (June 6) blog post.
“We believe AI tools can help businesses get people the help they are looking for and find new products and services as well,” WhatsApp said in the post.
WhatsApp is also beginning to roll out Meta Verified on the WhatsApp Business app in Brazil, Colombia, India and Indonesia, per the post.
Businesses that register their information with Meta will receive a Meta Verified badge, impersonation protection, enhanced account support from Meta and the ability to use WhatsApp across multiple devices for their employees, according to the post.
“We look forward to expanding this important service to more businesses and countries soon,” WhatsApp said in the post.
A third new tool announced Thursday by WhatsApp is a feature that will let consumers call larger businesses on the platform in one tap. The feature is designed to make it easy for consumers to switch from a text conversation to a voice call when they have a complicated question, for example.
“We just started testing this feature and will expand it to more businesses in the coming months,” WhatsApp said in the post.
Meta has been deploying AI across its platforms and plans to continue. For example, the company launched a Meta AI assistant that is free and can be used on Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger.
“We’re building a number of different AI services, from our AI assistant to augmented reality apps and glasses, to APIs that help creators engage their communities and that fans can interact with, to business APIs that we think every business eventually on our platform will use,” Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said April 24 during the company’s quarterly earnings call.
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