Meta Launches Business Agent AI for WhatsApp

Meta just introduced the Business Agent — an AI that runs on WhatsApp, Messenger, and Instagram to handle customer conversations around the clock. It was announced at Meta's Conversations event in London on June 3, 2026, and over one million businesses are already using it.

What Can It Do?

The Business Agent works like a virtual team member. It can:

• Answer questions about your business, hours, services, and policies
• Recommend products from your catalog based on what the customer asks
• Book appointments and qualify leads automatically
• Close sales directly inside the chat
• Hand off to a human when it needs to escalate
• Send you daily briefings with insights about your business activity

Where Does It Work?

The Business Agent runs across all of Meta's messaging platforms:

• WhatsApp — including the Business App
• Messenger
• Instagram — including Instagram Pro
• Meta Business Suite — for managing everything in one place

The Business Agent Platform

For larger businesses, Meta also launched the Business Agent Platform — an enterprise tool for building custom AI agents at scale. It connects to hundreds of systems including Shopify and Zendesk, so the AI can pull in real data from your existing tools.

Pricing

Getting started is free. Meta plans to roll out paid subscription tiers for different business sizes in the coming months.

What About WhatsApp Search?

Meta is also adding a feature where customers can search for businesses by name inside WhatsApp — similar to how you'd search on Google Maps. When someone finds your business, they can start a conversation with your AI agent right away.