WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger to host Meta’s AI Business Agent

LONDON: Meta Platforms revealed an artificial intelligence agent on Wednesday designed to help businesses manage day-to-day operations across its apps, including WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger.

The new “agentic” tool can handle tasks such as booking appointments, responding to customer queries, qualifying leads and even completing sales.

Announced at Meta’s WhatsApp-focused Conversations conference in London, the product builds on existing business messaging services and marks the company’s push into the enterprise AI market.

More than 1 million businesses are already using earlier chatbot versions on WhatsApp and Messenger, and the updated version will be rolled out globally to businesses of all sizes, including on Instagram.

The AI agent can be customised to match a company’s tone and escalate complex issues to human staff when needed. Meta said the tool will initially be free, with paid subscription plans expected later.

The company is positioning the product to compete with rivals such as OpenAI, Anthropic and Google in the growing enterprise AI sector.