Meta is rolling out its Meta Business Agent globally on WhatsApp and Instagram DMs, bringing AI-powered customer interaction tools to small and medium businesses after nearly two years of testing in markets including India and Mexico.
The AI agent can answer customer queries, recommend products, book appointments, qualify sales leads, and escalate conversations to human staff when needed. Meta is also testing a daily briefing feature that summarises overnight chats and surfaces actionable insights, currently being trialled across WhatsApp Business, Instagram Pro, Messenger, and Meta Business Suite.
Future capabilities in development include market research, calendar management, competitive intelligence, and integrations with platforms such as Shopify, Zendesk, and Shopee. Larger enterprises will be able to build custom agents on top of the platform.
Meta plans to monetise the agent through WhatsApp Business Premium subscription tiers, with large businesses charged on a token-usage basis — a significant evolution for WhatsApp, which has historically relied on business messaging fees and click-to-WhatsApp advertising as its primary revenue streams.
