WhatsApp has introduced a new function called “Business AI” on May 7. This is an AI-enabled virtual assistant designed to assist small and medium businesses in India operate efficiently and expand their business.
This AI virtual assistant is capable of working in all regional languages of India via the WhatsApp Business app. Businesses can utilize it to respond to customers round the clock, generate leads, schedule appointments, recommend products, and increase sales.
According to Ravi Garg, Meta India’s Business Messaging Director, WhatsApp has already been testing this feature with some Indian businesses for a few months now. In addition to India, this feature is accessible in several other locations such as Brazil and Cambodia. Eligible business owners can set up this feature by going to the ‘Tools’ tab in the WhatsApp Business app and selecting ‘Your Business AI.’
Once set up, the Business AI agent learns from the merchant’s past business chats, profile, and website. It can be further trained on the merchant’s products and services, the product catalog on WhatsApp, or Meta Commerce Manager. This will enable it to provide personalized answers to frequently asked questions (FAQs) and assist customers with inquiries related to products, services, pricing, discounts, and shipping.
Garg said that this feature will soon allow payments via UPI directly within WhatsApp chats, and there are plans to add other payment options in the future. Business owners can also instruct agents to transfer complex or sensitive conversations directly to the owner. They can also choose which customers the agent interacts with—such as only new customers, customers who come from ads, or all customers. These messages sent to customers will be labeled “AI” messages.
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Garg explained, “We will start with text messages and images. Over time, as we learn more about businesses’ needs and pain points, we will introduce other AI capabilities, including video.” He noted that the company has seen “early successes” during the pilot period.
He added, “Over the years, we have consistently heard that managing a large number of customer inquiries with limited resources is one of the biggest challenges for small businesses.” This is where we believe AI can be a game-changer for them.
Gunveen Kaur, founder of The Purple Sunset, who was part of the pilot, said AI helped her close six to seven orders directly every day. She said her sales increased by 40%.
