Meta intends to allow companies to run free AI-powered chatbots on WhatsApp as the social media giant aims to turn WhatsApp and its AI efforts into revenue streams.
Meta has chosen a special strategy for implementing its projects in the field of AI: the company distributes both large language models and tools for creating chatbots for free. Investors don’t like this strategy, especially as the company’s AI spending continues to rise. During its latest quarterly report, the company admitted that by the end of 2024, its expenses on AI could reach $10 billion. Following this announcement, the company’s shares sank by 10%.
Monetizing Messaging Apps
While focusing on WhatsApp in Brazil, India, and other countries, the company has surprised skeptics with its advances in monetizing messaging apps. In recent years, Meta has introduced fees for the WhatsApp Business Platform, a mechanism that allows companies to communicate with their customers on the app. In February 2023, the social media giant announced that messaging ad sales reached $10 billion annually, and in April, it added that other revenue from the Family of Apps segment was $380 million for the quarter, mainly driven by the WhatsApp Business Platform.
Meta (then Facebook) acquired WhatsApp in 2014 for $19 billion. Against the backdrop of $113 billion in total revenue for 2023, the revenue from the messenger seems modest. However, the company has already begun to reveal its plans to increase sales in this segment. At the Conversations event in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Meta announced its intention to expand the number of businesses that will be able to use AI when communicating with customers via WhatsApp. Chatbots will help manage the flow of information from these interactions.
Future Plans and AI Expansion
In July, the Meta AI chatbot will be launched in Portuguese, the first after English, since Brazil, along with India, is one of the main markets for WhatsApp. WhatsApp Business users will also be able to use AI to create advertisements, which Meta believes will attract new customers and drive revenue growth, adds NIX Solutions. We’ll keep you updated on these developments as Meta continues to integrate AI into its messaging platforms.