Meta Plans Free AI Chatbots for WhatsApp

Social media giant, Meta, aims to allow companies to launch free artificial intelligence (AI) powered chatbots on its messaging platform, WhatsApp. The move heads up their strategy to cash in on the Messenger app and AI developments.

Meta’s AI strategy

Meta is known for its unique AI model distribution strategy. Large language models and chatbot development tools are given out for free, a move that investors find unimpressive due to the consistent surge of the company’s spending on AI. Meta forecasted its AI expenses to hit $10 billion in 2024 during its latest quarterly report, causing the company’s share price to drop by 10%.

Monetizing WhatsApp in major markets

Despite investor concerns, the company’s efforts to monetize the messaging app in countries like Brazil and India have shown promising results. The introduction of fees for WhatsApp Business Platform – a mechanism allowing businesses to interact with customers via the app – has been a significant revenue stream. The firm reported in February 2023 that ad sales leading to WhatsApp reached an annual rate of $10 billion. By April, Meta had generated an additional income of $380 million for the quarter, mainly from the WhatsApp Business Platform.

Infusing AI into WhatsApp Business

WhatsApp was purchased by Meta (then Facebook) in 2014 for $19 billion. While WhatsApp’s revenue, against the backdrop of Meta’s total income of $113 billion in 2023, seems modest, plans to boost sales in this segment are unfolding. A recent Conversations event in São Paulo revealed plans to expand the number of businesses that can leverage AI in communicating with clients through WhatsApp. The use of AI chatbots will better manage the influx of information from customers. We can expect the launch of a Portuguese-language Meta AI chatbot in July as Brazil, along with India, is a major market for WhatsApp. WhatsApp Business users will also be able to utilize AI for advertising. Meta predicts that this will attract new clients, contributing to an overall revenue surge.