“Today, I want to introduce Meta Business Agent, giving every business, of any size, an agent to talk to customers and help run your operation,” Zuckerberg said. “Now, a clothing shop in Birmingham or a bakery in São Paulo can offer the same always-on, highly-personalized experience as a major brand.”
Meta said the agent can answer customer questions, recommend products, qualify sales leads, schedule appointments, and transfer conversations to human staff when necessary. The company is also bringing the technology to Instagram direct messages and is testing features that provide businesses with daily summaries of customer conversations and performance insights.
The launch builds on nearly two years of testing AI-powered business tools within WhatsApp Business. Meta previously offered an early version of the service, then called Business AI, in select markets including India and Mexico.
Beyond customer support, Meta said it is developing additional capabilities for the platform. Future functions could include market research, calendar management, competitive insights, and tools that help businesses better understand customer interactions. The company is also working on features that would surface businesses through searches and contact-sharing inside its messaging apps.
For larger organizations, Meta is introducing a Meta Business Agent Platform that allows companies to connect external data sources and business software. The platform supports integrations with services including Shopify and Zendesk, enabling businesses to use their own data when interacting with customers through Meta’s messaging products.
Meta plans to monetize the offering through subscription tiers and usage-based pricing. The company said large businesses using WhatsApp Business will be charged based on consumption, similar to the way they currently pay for customer messaging services on the platform.
The move places Meta in a rapidly growing market for AI agents and business automation tools. Competitors including Amazon and Microsoft have recently introduced their own agent-focused products, while Meta continues to expand AI capabilities across its consumer and business platforms. For the company, Meta Business Agent represents another step toward turning WhatsApp and its messaging ecosystem into a broader platform for business operations and customer engagement.
This analysis is based on reporting from CNBC.
Images courtesy of Meta.
This article was generated with AI assistance and reviewed for accuracy and quality.
