Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced at the company’s messaging event on Thursday, WhatsApp is introducing free cloud-based API services to drive more businesses to use the app.
Messaging services, increasingly attracting business users, are among the platforms where Facebook-owner Meta rolled out more shopping and business-focused features.
Zuckerbergtalk at Meta Event “conversation”said the offering would mean “any business or developer can easily access our service, which builds directly on WhatsApp to customize their experience and speed up their response times for customers by using the secure WhatsApp cloud API hosted by Meta”.
WhatsApp already has an API, or kind of software interface, for businesses to connect their systems and engage in customer service conversations on the service, which generates revenue for Meta.
Meta, which bought WhatsApp for $19 billion (1,47,355 crore) in a landmark deal in 2014, says businesses won’t be able to message people on WhatsApp unless they request to be contacted.
WhatsApp also said on Thursday it was planning to offer optional paid features as part of a new premium service for users of its specialized business app, aimed at small businesses.
These features, still in development, will include options to manage chats on up to 10 devices and custom click-to-chat links that businesses can post on their websites and share with customers.
Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, speaking during a meeting with Meta CEO Sheryl Sandberg at the conference, said that a third of the users who order via WhatsApp in India are new customers.
The ride-hailing company, which launched its WhatsApp chatbot in December, is now planning to further customize the service starting for users in and around Delhi and expanding into markets like Brazil, he said.
© Thomson Reuters 2022
