At Meta's Conversations 2024 event, CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced major advancements in AI and exciting new features for WhatsApp Business. Zuckerberg highlighted Meta's commitment to AI, saying, “Our goal is to build the world's leading AI service, both in quality and adoption.”
One of the big announcements was the expansion of Meta AI. Following its April release with the Llama 3 model, Meta AI will soon be available in Portuguese and other languages. “That means more people around the world will be able to ask the Assistant questions in our apps,” Zuckerberg explained. He expressed confidence in the technology, adding, “I think people are really going to be amazed.”
Zuckerberg envisioned a future where businesses use AI to connect with customers in a personalized way. “Any business should be able to quickly launch an agent that can talk to their customers, provide support, and drive commerce,” he suggested. Meta is currently testing its AI-powered business agent with select companies in India and Singapore, with plans to expand to Brazil soon.
Beyond this vision of the future, Zuckerberg highlighted how AI is already powering WhatsApp's ability to connect businesses with relevant customers through optimized delivery tools. “Previously, businesses would typically send a message to all of their customers who opted in to receive updates on WhatsApp,” he explained. “But now, with Ads Manager, they can deliver that message to the customers who are most likely to be interested, with our AI system recommending the right subset of recipients.”
Zuckerberg also revealed several other important updates to WhatsApp Business.
Meta Verified for WhatsApp: Rolling out in Brazil, India, Indonesia and Colombia, this feature helps businesses build trust and credibility with customers through verified badges, impersonation protection and priority support.
Voice calling on WhatsApp Business platform: Businesses will soon be able to offer voice calling for more personal interactions and support for complex queries.
