Meta, formerly known as Facebook, took a significant step forward in monetizing WhatsApp, its popular chat service, by launching its first AI-driven ad targeting program for businesses. The announcement was made on Thursday at a conference held in Brazil, reports Reuters.
CEO Mark Zuckerberg unveiled the new tools via video presentation during the event.
This marks a notable departure for WhatsApp, which has long emphasized its privacy features and avoided the targeted advertising model embraced by Meta’s other platforms like Facebook and Instagram.
The newly introduced AI tools leverage user behavior on Facebook and Instagram to target advertisements to WhatsApp users who are most likely to engage with them, provided they use the same opted-in phone number across accounts.
Guilherme Horn, WhatsApp’s head of strategic markets, emphasized the importance of these AI tools for businesses, stating that they enable optimized ad delivery to users who are most likely to engage with the content, thereby maximizing the value of the messages businesses pay for.
Meta has been increasingly focused on monetizing WhatsApp, its largest platform in terms of daily users. Despite its popularity and the hefty $22 billion acquisition price tag in 2014, WhatsApp has thus far contributed minimally to Meta’s overall revenue.
In addition to the AI-driven ad targeting, Meta also introduced a new AI chatbot aimed at streamlining business communications within the app.
This chatbot will handle common inquiries such as locating catalogs or checking business hours, aligning with Zuckerberg’s vision of businesses outsourcing their communications to automated tools.
Moreover, Meta announced the integration of Brazil’s instantaneous digital payment method PIX into its WhatsApp payment tool in the country.
PIX, which accounted for approximately 39% of transactions in Brazil last year, offers services similar to WhatsApp payments, including money transfers between individuals and purchases from companies.
